I’m attempting to find info on some kind of over night care for my 15 year old. We will be away out of town for nearly 5 days and the handful of options we were planning on using may be becoming unavailable. I don’t want my 15 left alone in the house for 5 days and i don’t have local options. Seeking options. I appreciate any leads. Thank you!
We’re in Arlington |
Do you have any family you can fly in? |
Will she need rides to sports and activities or just an adult in the house? |
Mostly just an adult in the house on the hours outside of school. She does have one evening/activity program that frankly I’d be willing to skip just to make sure we had supervision. Weve flown in family in the past, but don’t think it can work this time around. |
I don’t know if this is possible for you but I’ve been able to arrange for mine to stay with a friend. First time, I had a kid in residential treatment and we had to do a family visit. I had hosted their child for may overnight and weekend visits, but never for school. I was desperate so I asked and they were so generous. Second time for with a different friend’s family and it was for an anniversary trip. I also host the friend a lot, but had never on a weekday.
I left a credit card, got my kid a debit card that I can transfer funds to should they need money and left the insurance card. None of that was needed - no unexpected expenses or emergencies. I did not send gifts because they never did so I figured that wasn’t the custom in our kid’s friend groups. |
Right now, she is slated to stay with a close friend and I'm not sure what is going on right now, but it is *something* so I'm getting prepared to have a back-up. I'm attempting to patch together different families, but it's challenging because schedules aren't allowing it. Believe me, I'm considering all options. Just thought someone might know if bonded overnight sitters or something like that. Thanks for your tips, though appreciate it. |
any nanny agency can help |
I did something like this once. I was a Nanny for young children but had a neighbor with 2 teens. One parent was state dept based overseas but the 15yo son needed to be here for HS ( I’m giving the short version) The Dad asked me if I would stay with the son for 5 weeks while they were out of the country. I still went to work, saw friends etc but slept at their house, had dinner with the kid most nights etc. it worked out well. Do you know anyone with a Nanny or older sitter that might want to do this for pay? |
This is what I was going to say - use the babysitter/nanny services. |
Who is "we?" You and your spouse?
Is this a business thing? Then you don't both go. One of you stays behind. Is this a vacation? Cancel it. PLEASE do not leave your kid behind with a stranger. I have personal experience with this (as a kid) and experienced abuse at the hands of the caregiver that I will NEVER forgive my parents for. |
Nanny agency |
I agree that hiring a Nanny from a local, reputable agency is your best bet in your situation.
Be careful of online babysitting services such as Care.com + Sittercity.com as anyone can create a childcare profile & label themselves a “Professional” Nanny and lie about their childcare experience. |