{"id":16,"date":"2025-06-15T10:13:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T10:13:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/?p=16"},"modified":"2025-06-15T11:09:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T11:09:40","slug":"how-do-you-find-good-child-care-while-traveling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/?p=16","title":{"rendered":"How Do You Find Good Child Care While Traveling"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Along with my children\u2019s first plane flight and first hotel stay, I\u2019ll never forget the first\u00a0babysitter\u00a0we hired to watch our kids during a vacation. Her name was Tat. She was in her mid-30s, not much older than I was at the time, and her charges for New Year\u2019s Eve 2014 in Park City, Utah, were my two daughters, ages 3 and 2, and our friends\u2019 children, ages 4 years and 6 months.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My friend had done a precursory interview with Tat, who was recommended to us by another family, but I had no idea what to expect when she arrived at the rental house we were staying in for the trip. Even though everything with Tat checked out from a safety and background standpoint, I still had my reservations. I kept wondering how she would manage with four kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was below freezing that night with snow covering the ground and icicles dangling from the roof. Taking the kids outdoors would not be possible. Since it wasn\u2019t our house, there weren\u2019t a lot of toys around except the ones we had brought. And what if the kids didn\u2019t like her? Or what if someone wouldn\u2019t stop crying? Worse, what if there was an emergency? All these questions, and more, ran through my mind as we introduced her to the kids, showed her around the house and went over the bedtime routines. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then, as we were about to leave for dinner, dreading that moment when the children finally realized we were out the door, Tat reached into her bag and pulled out the most genius item of distraction\u2014a balloon. It turns out she brought a whole stash of them. She blew each one up and the toddlers spent most of the night chasing these balloons around. The balloon trick was two-fold\u2014it was something to do and it tired the kids out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we got back to the house after dinner, every child was sound asleep and Tat was calmly reading a book.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"How<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Resources for Finding Child Care While Traveling<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Looking back now, we were pretty lucky to have found such a skilled sitter during our trip. Much like finding a new babysitter at home, hiring responsible child care while traveling can be stressful and difficult, especially since the pool of available sitters is often much smaller than your hometown. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your child and you are also without your usual comforts, such as favorite toys and bedtime books. And depending on where you are traveling, the options to take the children out to explore or even stroll to a local playground might be limited or not at all possible. Not to mention you\u2019re staying in a new place with a different bed, which already might have your child, and possibly you, on edge.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, there are times when you actually need childcare while traveling like when attending a wedding or a conference, or any other event where bringing kids isn\u2019t ideal. So what\u2019s a parent to do? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not every sitter can be as cool and calm as Tat, but there are several options for finding someone to watch your kids when staying in a hotel or a vacation rental. Here are a few of our suggestions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contact a child care agency<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

While most hotels don\u2019t hire their own babysitters, many keep a list of local\u00a0child care agencies\u00a0that you can call during your stay. These agencies are licensed and bonded in the state they do business in and typically require that their sitters complete several certification classes before working with children. These sitters do cost more than your at-home sitter, however, as most agencies tend to charge by the hour and usually request a four-hour minimum.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going to a theme park like Disney World? Consider hiring a local\u00a0theme park nanny.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Get a referral<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re visiting a town or area where you have friends with children, ask them for referrals, whether it be their usual Friday babysitter or another kind of childcare provider, or maybe even their relative. Just remember, despite your friend\u2019s recommendation, be sure to do your own due diligence when interviewing the sitter, asking all the questions you would ask of a new sitter back at home.\u00a0And\u00a0no sitter stealing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consider an all-inclusive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If childcare is important during your vacation, consider staying at an\u00a0all-inclusive resort, which tend to have in-house babysitters and kids clubs with extended hours.\u00a0Jean-Michel Cousteau Resort Resort in Savusavu, Fiji\u00a0has dedicated full-day nannies or buddies for each child included in the cost of every stay. Kids are welcome to hang out with their nannies on the property, go out on kid-friendly excursions, or head to the Bula Club where they can take part in a daily menu of curated activities.

At resorts like this one, parents are able to sneak away for a few hours alone, even if it\u2019s just to the adults-only pool or the hotel restaurant. Similar to babysitting agencies, the childcare costs at resorts tend to be much higher than your usual sitter. Be prepared to budget for this when plotting out your vacation spending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bring along a relative<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Unsure about hiring a new sitter? You could always\u00a0ask your parents\u00a0or relatives to come along with you. That way you\u2019ll have total peace of mind when you step out for a few hours. This is an especially good option if you\u2019re attending a multi-day event, like a conference or a wedding. Of course, it will be your relatives\u2019 vacation time too so they may not always be on-call when you need them. But as long as you specifically state what hours and days you will need help, your relatives will know exactly when they can have their own time to explore.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look for affiliates to known daycare centers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

If you attend a larger daycare center and\/or are part of a family of centers, also known as a chain, you should find out if there is an affiliate daycare center at the location you will be staying. For temporary or part-time care, your child records can often be faxed over in advance. You can also complete any registration forms ahead of time, and you may be able to get special rates or services.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travel with your usual sitter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Asking your usual babysitter or nanny to travel with you may make the most sense, since they are someone you trust completely and your child is already familiar with them. And you won\u2019t have to feel as if you\u2019re imposing on grandma or grandpa yet again. There are specifics to work out such as how much the sitter will be paid for the trip, their travel expenses, and if they will be staying in a separate hotel room from you. This is where it\u2019s best to look for extended stay hotel brands, which offer much more space for families than regular hotel rooms. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

My daughters are now rapidly approaching the age where they don\u2019t need a babysitter at all anymore. Indeed, on our most recent vacation, they watched their little brother in the hotel room while my husband and I spent an hour together in the lobby going over the next day\u2019s schedule without interruptions. But to this day, whenever I pack for a long, trip I stash some balloons in my bag. It’s still a crowd-pleaser. Thanks, Tat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Along with my children\u2019s first plane flight and first hotel stay, I\u2019ll never forget the first\u00a0babysitter\u00a0we hired to watch our kids during a vacation. Her name was Tat. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":17,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-main-menu","category-travels"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18,"href":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16\/revisions\/18"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/travelscab.online\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}