lakeside77

Has anyone ever used any type of child care while on vacation? We may leave out little guy with the grandparents, but we would prefer to take him with us. Are there any options out there to get child care while on vacation? Never had to explore it before, and I don't anticipate a successful post, but it doesn't hurt to ask.

lakeside77

Posted too soon - sorry...not looking for childcare for the whole time, just maybe 2 or 3 days during the day to give us some alone time on the trip.

tchoiniere

Where are you going? Places like Disney certainly have it.

lakeside77

i figured places like that would have options, as do cruises, etc. But we're going to a beach in Hawaii. It would be nice to have a couple of days of childcare so we can snorkel together, etc.

socaltraveler

If you are staying at a hotel in Hawaii, you should be able to arrange childcare through their concierge. If your child is old enough, there might be a "camp" program. If you are renting a condo or apartment, you might want to think about bringing a sitter with you.

highflyer

Bigger resorts have child care programs. The age range accepted varies but most accept kids from 4-10 years.
My daughter has spent a couple of afternoons at 2 different Westin hotels in their child care program. She was 7 and enjoyed one but not the other (one was a room with mainly babies napping!)

lakeside77

Considered bringing someone with us, but financially it's not feasible. And it probably wouldn't have worked where we are staying.

gail

Call hotel and ask them - amny maintain lists of locals or even employees, often in housekeeping, who provide child care. Check local yellow pages on-line as some areas of country have variety of child-care agencies that provide people in your home.

This has been discussed here before - wish I could find thread, but maybe not, since it turned into a bicker-fest between those who thought leaving kid with sitter service on vacation was child neglect and those who thought it would be fine to leave kid with any bum on the street. Obviously the truth is in between.

Having read these posts here fore years and as a parent, my take is that one would expect to take the same care in selecting a child care provider on vacation as at home - it just becomes a little more difficult while on vacation.

Ryan

Our kids are 6 and 5 and we've used childcare on almost every vacation.

Most hotels (though I can't vouch for the Red Roof Inn, Hampton Inn category) will have access to a baby sitting service. The cost really varies depending on where you are. But, figure at least $20 per hour. Some use an outside service or send a hotel employee who can make some extra money.

As stated, Disney hotels have a kids club. That starts at age 4. Our kids have a great time when they go to The Neverland Club at the Polynesian.

Some hotels, such as Club Med's, welcome families with young children. We recently returned from the Club Med in Ixtapa and they have child-care service that runs from 4 months old to 11 years old. For babies they provided diapers, formula, babyfood, strollers, etc.

There really should not be an issue in finding a sitter for a few hours, in most places. It doesn't hurt to ask the hotel if they use and outside service and if the employees have been checked with law enforcement if you're concerned.

lakeside77

All good thoughts...just never have had to consider it before now. I would feel more comfortable using a church daycare, etc, but not just a "sitter" in a situation like this. Just thought I'd see what others' experiences were - definitely NOT wanting to start a debate about whether it's right or wrong!

gail

? church daycare ? - most daycares with fixed centers that I know of do not accept random drop-in kids.

Our own experience was to use on-site resort "kids Club" type places - since we felt there was often safety in greater numbers and more chance staff would be checked out. We also waited until our kids were old enough to report back what they did while in care.

There was a particularly wonderful set-up I remember at a Marriott in Florida - they had an all-glass room between beach and pool for a child-care center. We alsways felt that since it was in plain view, kids were safer - and we could spy on them as we walked by as well.

dmlove

We once, because we had no choice, used a sitter from the service suggested by the hotel (we had an affair to go to, our kids were 2 and 4 and were not invited to the ceremony). It worked out fine - she took them to the zoo (this was in Honolulu). But it's very nerve-wracking leaving your children with a stranger (and this was in the days before cell phones).

lakeside77

gail - in most cases of daycare centers, I would agree, but I work at a church and have a large daycare. We do offer drop-in options for people with connections to our ministry or under certain circumstances. Within our denomination is one possibility I'm exploring.

taitai

Once, in Maui at the Kea Lani, we were vacationing with our then 4 month old. We, too, wanted to go snorkeling and go together. So we arranged a babysitter through the hotel. However, as wonderful as this woman was (a grandma, super nice) I just couldn't leave my baby with a stranger so we bought her a ticket on the snorkel boat and she and the baby came with us (we called ahead to make sure they had infant life vests.) It worked out great but probably not a practical solution if you want to go out to a romantic dinner or something similar. Since that Hawaii trip, we have always taken a grandparent(s) (once all four!) or babysitter with us on vacation. It is an added expense but really the peace of mind is well worth it. Plus, we have wonderful vacation memories of both our kids and our parents. A win-win.

Good luck with whatever you do.

taitai

kelliebellie

We've used hotel babysitters a few times. It has always worked out great. They are usually people that the hotel folk know. Call your hotel and see what they have.

lakeside77

Now that's an idea had not thought of - taking a sitter with us on a snorkeling trip, etc. to watch our baby even though we'd be right there. A little bit of flexibility for us but at the same time the comfort of being there with him. Definitely a good idea.

kangamom

We've used sitters numerous times through the hotels where we've stayed. Most of the hotels use some sort childcare agency where the sitters are screened and bonded.

BKP

Out of curiosity -- where does the sitting happen? Obviously the resorts with Kids Clubs have a location -- but the hotels that use an agency or something -- do they just hang out in your hotel room with the child or do they take the child somewhere?

dmlove

When you hire a sitter through an agency, it's up to you (not the hotel, which just provides the name and phone number of the service, not the sitters themselves) what they do and where they go. As I mentioned above, we had a sitter who took our kids to the zoo (Honolulu) for the afternoon while we were at a bar mitzvah. I'm not sure I would have been comfortable with that if both kids were walking, but one was strapped in a stroller!

emcash

It's all a matter of your comfort level. i always thought i could never leave my child with a hotel sitter but when we last went to FL, i called the coordinator for the hotel just to see how they worked it. The coordinator, a wonderful woman, assured me that she understood my apprehension and would make sure we got one of their best sitters who had been with the hotel for 13 years. the woman was a gem and she sat for us the whole trip.

We only used the sitter for dinners out, so she remained in the hotel with our DD. That's what I'm most comfortable with.

On the other hand, one time, i called the Ritz in Miami and the concierge said they didn't have sitters in the hotel, nor could they "recommend" anyone, but they could give me numbers for a service. i chose not to go that route.

gail- you are right, this has been a hot button topic with people making inappropriate comments. I was chastised for leaving our daughter home w/ family for a weekend so DH and I could celebrate our anniversary. Others have been chastised for using hotel sitters. People are quite opinionated and often ready to strike. You have to just do what works best for you.