As moms, the constant demands on our time can seem endless! Between work, home, school, and kids activities – it can be really overwhelming to balance our schedules and find time to prioritize our own wellbeing. Admittedly, it’s especially hard to prioritize relationships with friends, family, and even spouses when things get really busy. We’ve all read an endless list of articles, social media posts, etc. telling us how important it is to prioritize self-care, but it’s still hard not to carry guilt when saying “YES” to one thing means saying “NO” to something else!
This is why we’re so happy that Otter is now serving families here in Chicago! Otter matches Chicago parents who need care with vetted sitters in their community, on-demand. Their care options are designed to cater to your future plans (go ahead and book that date night!) and also have your back when you’re in a pinch (they can often fill requests with as little as 2 hours notice).
Here are some fun ways to use Otter to say YES to prioritizing yourself:
- Host a Playdate: Try Otter’s new Playdates feature! You can spend time with a friend while an Otter sitter keeps your kids safe and happy. Whether you stay home or go out is up to you, and your sitter will take care of the childcare so you can enjoy time together while your kids have a blast! It’s a win/win!
- Check things off your to-do list: If you have a long list of errands or just things to get done around the house, an Otter sitter can keep your kids entertained while you get some peace to check things off your list! Sometimes, prioritizing yourself means clearing your mind of all those little things that need to get done – and you know you’ll be so much more efficient without the kids tagging along.
- Plan a Day or Night Out: Have tickets to an upcoming event? Going out with friends? Need a date night? Make plans and book an Otter sitter to get out and enjoy yourself!
- Fill in a childcare gap: Daycare closed? Have a late work dinner? Or maybe you need childcare during an appointment? Otter can help whether you know you need a sitter in advance or at the last minute! If you have multiple children, you KNOW how hard it is to bring the whole crew to each child’s activities – we’re looking forward to using Otter to give our younger kids an occasional break and let them stay home!
More about Otter
Otter sitters are experienced and love providing safe, compassionate care for kids they adore. But, it’s often not all they do. Many of Otter’s sitters are college students, teachers, nurses, or experienced nannies looking to round out their schedules and earn money on their own time.
Every sitter on Otter has passed a skills assessment, a background check, and a reference check. Their skills assessment tests previous care experience and judgment in complicated care situations. Next, sitters must pass a background check and provide references. They follow up with their references to learn more about their care experience from the people they’ve worked with before.
And after all of that, their sitter acceptance rate is under 10%. Their standards are high because they know the stakes are, too. They’re picky so you don’t have to be!
How Otter works
- Sign up: You’ll tell them your name, contact info, and a little bit of info about your family.
- Book a sitter: Need care? Submit a booking request for the day and time you need care. Once they have a sitter for you, they’ll send you their profile for you to review and confirm.
- After you confirm, they’ll send you a calendar invite, connect you to your sitter via text 48 hours in advance, and send you a payment link after care.
How much does Otter cost?
Below are the hourly costs for families with 1-2 kids. Families with 3 or more kids will incur a $2/additional child hourly charge.
- Bookings more than 48 hours out: $22/hour
- Bookings within 48 hours: $30/hour
- Bookings within 24 hours: $38/hour
- Bookings made for weekends (Fri-Sun) will incur a $2 additional hourly charge
Where is Otter available?
Otter is available within the Chicago city limits.
What are care teams?
Care Teams allow Otter families to build a bench of reliable sitters that are a great match for their family. When a family starts using Otter, they’ll add sitters they’ve had a positive experience with to their Care Team, meaning they’ll send any future care requests to those sitters first.
