The novel coronavirus has drastically changed people’s lives across the world. Many families are now doing everything at home: working, exercising, homeschooling, relaxing, socializing — on top of regular home duties like parenting, cleaning and cooking, according to Forbes.
Before COVID-19, parents could get much needed help by setting up a playdate, taking their kids to a daycare or hiring a babysitter. That’s become more difficult during the age of social distancing, but the Washington Post reports some parents have found the workaround — virtual babysitting.
Parents are hiring babysitters to use a video conferencing service like Zoom or FaceTime to spend time with their children, Yahoo! News reports. Sometimes the babysitters do puppet shows, make crafts or even teach a lesson. Other times they just chat.
Erin Butler, a mother in New Jersey, told Today that her son was so excited about his hourlong virtual babysitting session that it ended up becoming a 90-minute session. Butler was able to complete conference calls for work while her son told his babysitter stories and took her on a tour of his room.
“There’s not a lot we can do these days — no playdates, no parks and it’s still cold out in the northeast — so it was nice to see him interacting with someone,” Butler told Today. “He’s already drawn a picture to show Sarah on their next session.”
Many parents aren’t just using virtual babysitters so they can get more work done. The Washington Post reports that some are using the extra time to help other kids with home schooling, catch up on home tasks or even do some necessary self-care.
Babysitting services like Care are switching to virtual sessions during the pandemic. New services like Sitter Stream that are devoted to virtual babysitting are even starting to pop up.
The demand for virtual babysitting has increased by 700% in the last month, but Forbes notes that it may not work for all kids — perhaps some kids are too young or too rambunctious to be entertained through a screen. It can also be difficult to get children to be interested in a virtual babysitting session for more than an hour at a time.