UrbanSitter Rockin' Review And A Discount Code Too #UrbanSitter #babysitter

Now that I'm raising two urban kids in Chicago, it's much tougher to track down sitters safely and easily than it was when I grew up as a child of the suburbs. Sitters were plentiful and easy to find in the endless subdivisions. They were older sibs of our friends, or neighbors we knew. Here at ChiIL Mama, we were asked to check out UrbanSitter for a review and feature and we jumped at the chance. 

Annie brought a blanket since the weather was perfect to 

picnic in the park with Sage!

I have an 11 year old tween who is still young enough not to be left alone and old enough to feel she's outgrown a "babysitter". UrbanSitter found her a fabulous friend for a last minute, 3 hour work stint I had to attend. Sage and Annie Marie picnicked in Wicker Park, had a walking adventure to a local gourmet doughnut shop, played Uno, and took loads of creative photos together with a Polaroid Annie brought. We asked for someone artsy and creative and Annie, a recent Columbia College grad, was a great fit. They had a blast and I could get some worry free work done.

Creative fun with our UrbanSitter, Annie. Get the picture? Annie also put in her profile that she's happy to take phone photos 
while hanging out with kids and send them to the parents, 
so you can enjoy their adventures.

UrbanSitter is an ultra easy to use network that puts the friends and neighbors factor back in sitter selection, plus a whole lot more. We were able to see what ages sitters are comfortable with from newborns to tweens and teens, see video profiles, photos and descriptions, and match up our kids' interests. You can find sitters who have their own cars, are willing to drive kids around, run errands and more.

UrbanSitter popped up sitters our friends and circles of associates have hired and we could read peer reviews. UrbanSitter taps in to your friends and parenting social circles to help you find sitters personally hired and reviewed by parents from your child’s school, afterschool activities, and your network of friends on Facebook and LinkedIn.

There's also a dedicated team of real, easy to reach people behind the website to help along the way. We were contacted via e-mail by the Chicago General Manager, 2 people from UrbanSitter Support regarding a question about applying our complimentary code to review, and a sitter we were trying to book who was in and out of state. 

UrbanSitter's website & app made booking a breeze. They have easy online scheduling so you can see a chosen sitter's availability, and book with a click, if your timeframe is a bit flexible. We also loved going cashless with the pay by credit card option. It was super simple to pay on line and add a tip, and not hassle with a wad of bills.

Adventures in babysitting with UrbanSitter! 
Safe, fun and simple to book.

ChiIL Mama's readers can check out UrbanSitter FREE for a month!
Here's a sweet promotional coupon code for ChiIL Mama's readers to use for a free month of UrbanSitter membership, when you create an UrbanSitter account. FORFREETRIAL.

Finding your first babysitter or a last-minute babysitter

We had a chance to try out UrbanSitter's boards and book at a moment's notice when I got a last minute call for a one on one Wordpress tech consultation. Sometimes urban parenting is nerve wracking, but finding a sitter shouldn't be. I managed to pick my daughter up at school, grab a quick dinner to go and drop her at the local park, while I battled traffic to my meeting with minutes to spare. In the midst of all that, I put up our times needed on the UrbanSitter boards and had 4 sitters respond within the hour. You can even offer a job to several, so you're sure to have it covered, and UrbanSitter will confirm the first responder and eliminate the back ups. 

Here's Sage showing off her photo of our Wicker Park family brick, that includes the names of our 3 big dogs who adored Wicker dog park. UrbanSitter even lets parents know which sitters are pet friendly!

Urban Mom: Balancing Work and Family

Let's face it, sometimes it takes a village. Parents need help. Our extended family live far from our urban home, and can't often sit for us. And most of our friends work and have busy schedules of their own that make coordinating childcare tough to impossible. 

At first, through UrbanSitter, we were trying to book a specific sitter, a gymnast who had worked for friends of ours. My daughter is a gymnast who has gone to state 4 times and thought they'd have fun together. The sitter in question, though, was flying in and out of town frequently to judge gymnastics meets so we couldn't get it together in time. Still, she was professional about getting back to us. And when she couldn't accept our offer by deadline, UrbanSitter's support team got back to us ASAP with other booking options, suggested sitters and an open line to communicate. We highly recommend UrbanSitter. 

UrbanSitter's great for last minute babysitters, date night sitters, mother’s helpers, part- and full-time nannies and more. Click here to book your sitter or start your short list for the busy spring and summer months to come!

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.