Real Families Share How They Cover the Gaps in Their Childcare

What do you do when you need childcare for only an hour or two? Moms chime in with the creative, affordable, and clever ways they patch together babysitting in the odd hours.

Source: Vlada Karpovich

When Sarah Lewing, a mom of two in Chicago, decided to pause her career, she did so with an end date in mind. “I left my job as a financial planner when my kids were 3 and nearly 1,” she says. “I wanted to stay home with them until they were both in school full day.” To Sarah, the promise of a school day meant child-free time she could once again dedicate to her career. 

And now that her youngest is heading to full-day kindergarten, Sarah is finally ready to return to the paid workforce. She even has a job offer on the table, but there’s just one hitch: What does she do about childcare in the odd hours between the school day and dinner time when she is off the clock? 

It’s a conundrum many at-home parents face as they plan their return to the office. With less flexibility in their schedules, how do parents ensure they have childcare for an hour or two here and there? 

We pitched this question to the Mother Untitled community, asking for all the creative and clever ways–both paid and unpaid–that parents fill in the gaps in their childcare. Here’s what they had to say.

How Families Piece Together Affordable Childcare

They Think Outside the Box 

“We have had some luck with local teachers who are in the earlier part of their career. Since they end their day around 3 p.m., a couple days a week they pick our daughter up and hang with her during those in-between hours. We even have one night a week where they stay later so we can do a date night. It seems since they are earlier in their career they appreciate the extra cash for those few hours and it’s literally kept this family on track!” - Amy K. 

“An au pair has been a game changer. The decision offers a lot of flexibility in scheduling—as long as you set the right expectations up front so everyone is happy. I usually limit work to 9-3 (school hours) but a 4 p.m. meeting popped up today and I was able to ask her to switch her schedule to accommodate and handle bedtime—not possible always with a conventional nanny. I also have parents who help out so I’m lucky.” - Margot D. 

“My kids go to a preschool that lets you choose days per week, and full or half days. This summer I’m using a mother’s helper–a middle schooler neighbor. She is also homeschooled so I can use her during the school year too. Local homeschool groups are a great place to find a mother’s helper, and they are a little more affordable but still capable.” - Keeks P. 

“I pay a fellow mom a couple houses away to watch our twins in between their naps. I work from home, so I just run them over to her house when they wake up. It has been incredible, but she recently quit because she’s overwhelmed with our kids on top of her own. So now we’re back to square one.” - Megan T. 

We hired a family helper who comes from 3-7 p.m. to provide an extra set of hands.

“This has been hard! We live in a building in NYC, so I have found sitters who are young (13-16 years old) but can come downstairs to our apartment for an hour or two after school to cover when I’m working or if I need to leave the apartment but my husband is not yet home. Also, college students are often happy to sit for a couple hours at a time after their classes and are less concerned with consistency.” - Amanda S. 

“We hired a family helper who comes over M-F from 3-7 p.m. to provide an extra set of hands. She arrives to assist with housework (laundry, changing linens, loading/unloading the dishwasher, etc.) and then she accompanies me to pick up the kids from school. When we return home at 4:30/5 p.m., one person plays with the kids while the other cooks dinner.

If there’s an activity for one kid, we split up. Bath time is also a shared responsibility and depending on whether the kids want to bathe together or split up, we either double up or divide and conquer. On days where my husband isn’t working late, we all share the workload. It makes both my husband and I feel less exhausted or stressed, and on the days where one of us has plans, the other still feels supported.” - Vanessa

“We had a part time nanny for two hours everyday after school. This was pre-Covid when both my husband and I would go into an office. She would give the kids snacks, empty the dishwasher and then I also had a schedule for different chores she would take care of like folding laundry one day, vacuuming another day etc. The kids were school age and were independent so she didn’t have to do much for them. We just needed an adult in the house.” - Anu

They Share the Load

“We share a college-aged babysitter with another family at our daughter’s preschool! She picks them up at 3:30, brings them to one house until 5:30, and then takes the other one home. We would not survive afternoons without her.” - Liz E. 

“For the two hours after school, look into sports, Girl Scouts/Boy Scouts, enrichment activities, or after school programs to fill the gap. Or hire a responsible high school or college kid with a good driving record (your friends’ older kids are perfect for this) to pick up your kid and watch them until you get home. For the odd hours between, make friends with other moms of the kids your child likes and take turns taking the kids in between activities. It can be as simple as watching a movie in the car together or getting a slushie and a snack.” - Stacy R. 

We share a college-aged babysitter with another family at our daughter’s preschool!

“I’m in freelance PR and recently got offered a lovely contract with a well-being charity after a four-year pause. I started just doing mornings between Mon-Thurs when the eldest two do pre-school, and my 10-month baby does a big morning nap at home and then goes to a childminder for just two hours, after which I pick the three of them up together at lunchtime. It’s been a lovely set-up because it means we have every afternoon together and the baby only being gone for two hours and sleeping at home first means it just feels like the same gap you’d have if you went for lunch or got your haircut. I sometimes pick up any extra work in the evening….” - Anna H. 

“Friends and neighbors! This is the best way. It builds such a strong community. And the more you ask, the more others ask you and it all becomes a big win win. Kids have way more fun being together vs with a sitter. It takes a lot of guts to ask and receive, but I find that those that are willing to do these swaps, have a deeper sense of belonging in the neighborhood.” - Tiere H. 

They Reconfigure Work Schedules

“When I re-entered the workforce after my second child, I negotiated a schedule that aligned with my kids’, which meant I worked until 3 p.m. each day. Then sometimes [I’d work] early morning or late evening as needed to make up time. I also chose a company that valued output over face time. My company has a global footprint and my hours are actually aligned with our Asian or European offices and clients (i.e. me being available at 9 p.m. for an occasional meeting with Asia is better than being available at 4 p.m. when I could instead be at gymnastics with my daughter).” - Jessica E. 

My partner and I stagger our work schedules to make certain one of us is always available for this weird in-between time. 

“When I first went back to work, my partner and I relied on grandparents for babysitting between 3 - 6 p.m. But the truth is, our parents are getting older and asking them to cart kids home from school and to after school activities no longer feels right. While we lean on grandparents occasionally now, my partner and I stagger our work schedules to make certain one of us is always available for this weird in-between time. 

At the moment, I work from home starting at 6:30 a.m. each day and ending at 2:30 p.m. My partner covers the morning routine and school run, and I carry on where she left off with school pick-up and dinner. It’s not a perfect system and it can be exhausting to go from work to child-care duties, but for now this is the best option for us.” - Emma P. 

They Lean On Screen-Time & Snacks

“I just handle it myself. It’s not the best solution, but the most affordable. It is hard, especially when taking a meeting or really trying to focus and write that email/doc/presentation. I’ve had many mini breakdowns. 

The truth is finding someone for just the odd hours seems impossible. I have family help some days, but more days than not it’s me figuring it out between school, daycare, camp, etc. I totally acknowledge this isn’t sustainable, but I do my best throughout the day and try to catch up on any work I can in the evening hours. 

Also, childcare is extremely costly to have to pay for in addition to already paying for daycare. My company does provide me with some childcare credits, which is wonderful. It helps but it’s not nearly enough compared to what I would really need. But this is a U.S. problem and I always say that if [more] men were the primary caretakers, childcare would be a fraction of the price.” – Lulu N. 

I ply them with snacks, give them an hour of TV time, and put in another stretch of work until my husband gets home and makes dinner.

“I have a 6.5-year-old and have been doing this since she was born as a contract employee at an architectural firm in NYC. I have tried it all. Fortunately, I work from home and as a flex worker, it can be easier to manage, but I swear by after school activities, taking calls in the school library/parking lot, and as a last resort, screen time. Lots of screen time.” - Judith 

“I can’t stomach paying for childcare right now on my salary. So for now, I work out of the office downtown until 2:00 each day and then I pick up my boys from school and we head home together. After an hour or so of settling-in time, I ply them with snacks, give them an hour of TV time, and put in another stretch of work until my husband gets home and makes dinner.” - Bea N.