Find a Baby Sitter For Short-Notice, Last Minute Or Emergency Child Care

The key to success in arranging for short-notice care is in the planning you do in advance. Take the time now to prepare for emergency situations and you are far more likely to be able to make last minute arrangements that are appropriate and affordable. There are three good ways to approach your situation using outside sources:

In some major market cities, a new crop of Drop-In Emergency-Care Daycare Centers are appearing. The centers are staffed with nurses, nursing students and early childhood development students and are set-up specifically to care for mildly ill children. Costs can vary - but generally will run in the range of $75-$125/day.
Sign-up with a professional Nanny Agency in your area. While using a nanny agency to hire a full-time nanny can be relatively expensive, using an agency's "On-Call" service can be a down-right bargain when you use them in an emergency. Most agencies will require an up-front application fee of $50 - $250 dollars - or maybe an annual membership fee of $100 or so. But then you can call the agency with little or no notice and request a care provider. If available, the agency will dispatch an experienced sitter to your home within hours for a placement fee usually between $15 and $30. You will then pay the sitter directly whatever she charges - usually between $10 and $15 per hour.This is a great option - but PLAN AHEAD and get registered with an agency. A professional agency will rarely send a sitter to the home of a stranger who just calls in at the last minute.Try a search at the website of the International Nanny Association (nanny.org) to find a nanny agency near you.
Use an inexpensive service online sitter-search service like The Sitter Cafe to build up a FAVORITES list of a half dozen or so on-call sitters in your area. Use them for occasional sitting so they become familiar with your family and you become comfortable with them. Then, when you need one in an emergency, the chances will be much more likely that someone will make themselves available to you when you call.

Example Nanny/Sitter web sites: SitterCafe.com The Sitter Cafe 4inhomecare.com Childcare Solutions