*A Note from Rebecca: This article shares one of our sister sites' experience with College Nannies + Sitters. We have worked with Aly who manages the Myers Park and Ballantyne offices for years and we know just how special this company is! For more information take a peek back at the Facebook live we did with them in April, we chatted about all of the ways they can help support you and your family during the summer! Looking for a summer gig? Our local offices are hiring! Reach out to Aly at 704-817-4833 for details on jobs or if you need in-home care!
Sometimes as parents we have an unrealistic expectation of being able to "do it all" on our own. Being a Super Parent just isn't reality, and sometimes you just need a helping hand or two. Our family recently moved and with one parent having responsibilities with work, two kids learning from home, and me trying to unpack and fill the gaps, I realized we just needed some help. This is where College Nannies + Sitters came into our lives.
When it comes to selecting childcare, a couple of things are really important to me.
- Experience - Experience matters and different situations call for different kinds of experience. I needed someone who has had enough childcare in their background that he or she could walk in and be a hands-on playmate and caregiver for the youngest and be a pseudo older sibling for our nine-year-old. It was a relief to know that all of the sitters and nannies you can find at College Nannies + Sitters have not only been screened with background checks at the local, state, and national levels but they are provided training opportunities to keep their experience and skills top-notch.
- Flexibility of Scheduling - This was one of the biggest draws to using College Nannies + Sitters because once you are set up and have access to their scheduling app, it becomes very easy to find the right person for your schedule. Whether you need someone short notice, on a regular basis, or once in a while for a date night, it is not a problem with College Nannies + Sitters. Here is a sneak peek of their app:
After I enrolled our family with College Nannies + Sitters here in Chicago, I had full access to the app and was able to select the date and time and review one of several available care providers. It's hard to pick just one from a handful of really good options, but we ended up with Juliet assigned as our sitter. I received a confirmation from College Nannies + Sitters and also received a call and text from Juliet - who wanted to introduce herself to me and find out if there was any information she should know before arriving at our house. I shared what the scenario would be and what kind of assistance I was needing:
- My husband and I would both be home - him at his job, me working on unpacking more of our things
- Our oldest would be mostly self-sufficient, but our four-year-old would be very excited for a "play date" and loads of attention from her
- I would love for her to spend as much time as possible with them outside, not only because we would be inside working, but because it was going to be a gorgeous day
When Juliet arrived I barely had time to introduce myself because our youngest whisked her away to start playing in the backyard. That was perfect. Exactly how I hoped it would go - that she would just sync her way into our day and lives seamlessly. I didn't see or hear from them for nearly two hours. A few times I tried to sneak a peek at what they were doing (playing hide and seek), but I was caught every time.
When they decided they needed a snack and some water and came back inside, I was ready to send them out with money for ice cream and a backpack of playground necessities. They didn't arrive back home until about fifteen minutes before our time with Juliet was scheduled to end.
Turns out that was just enough time for them all to clean up the toys they had been playing with and help say goodbye to our new friend. I also didn't have to worry about finding my wallet, running to get cash, or making sure I had the right app to pay our sitter for her time. When you enroll as a family, you provide payment information and it is all handled through their payment service, but naturally, tips are at your discretion.
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Later I asked both of our children how the day went. Our son, the oldest and a boy of few words said, "She was pretty great mom and Cece really seemed to like her." He went on to say that she didn't treat him like a little kid, but she didn't ignore him either and focused most of her attention where it was most needed - on his little sister. Our daughter had A LOT more to say about her new best friend Juliet and all of it was a glowing review about how much fun she had with her. In fact, the next morning she woke up and the first she said to me was "Can we invite Juliet back today?"
If that doesn't tell you what a success the day was, I don't know what does?
Oh, wait. Maybe this photo will help.
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College Nannies + Sitters is a professional resource for safe, quality, flexible on-demand or regularly scheduled care for families. Stop the search and learn more about College Nannies + Sitters by visiting their website or calling 847-998-5657. I found my conversations with the local owner extremely helpful and she was so responsive to any questions I had during the process. We are all looking forward to having Juliet come back for another visit soon!
I received compensation in exchange for my honest review of the service. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
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