Being a single parent is hard. Right now during lock down, with no school or friends to occupy their time we can struggle to get five minutes peace and if something goes wrong where do we turn? I think I have found a solution for not only lock down emergency help but longer term too, which will help me out immensely once we are back to normal.
Childcare.co.uk is an easy to use website which has over 2 million members. Launched in 2009 they are now the UK’s biggest childcare site providing information about local babysitters, nannies, registered childminders and tutors.
What I love about it is the ease of use. You simply enter what professional or service you are looking for and your postcode. The details of individuals local to you are then brought up, you can view their profiles and check qualifications. There is a section for them to write an intro and detail experience they have. This is great as a lot of sites simply have no personality and if I am leaving my children with someone I want to get to know them. To get a feel of what they are like as a person and whether they would be a good fit for my family.
On the profile pages it details prices which is perfect as you can sort out individuals according to your budget too. Which at the moment is essential in the current climate. I love that there are plenty of details regarding long term contracts etc but right now the fact that if I need someone as a last minute life line in an emergency the option is there.
It is free to create an account and the whole process is super easy, no hoops to jump through or complicated forms to fill in. I found it so easy to local local babysitters who work a variety of hours and could help me out at very short notice. Living in a pretty small village I was concerned that I would struggle with help but within a 5 mile radius of our town there 66 results of people who were willing to travel to my home or accommodate the children at theirs. From thinking that I was potentially stranded with no help in an emergency to having a whole host of qualified child care providers on hand makes me breathe a sigh of relief.
They say it takes a village to raise children and I think childcare.co.uk are providing just that! Highly recommended!
