Overnight Childcare
A weekend away or a short business trip? We can help.
We have the following policies:
Advance notice
overnight bookings generally call for about 14 days notice
3 night maximum for younger children
maximum booking length is 3 nights, with the possibility to extend for older children and teens
A sitter you know
overnights are booked with a sitter who has cared for your child
Appropriate beds & no bed sharing
we cannot permit a child to sleep in a bed with a sitter for any reason; sitter must put your child to sleep in an age-appropriate bed
please provide an appropriate bed for your sitter such as a guest bed, foldout sofa, or your bed with clean linens
Information about sleep disruptions
Please contact us before making an overnight booking if your child sleepwalks or has night terrors
Contingency plan
please plan for the person to relieve your sitter at your booking’s scheduled end time – example: your flight is delayed and you cannot get home on time
please have a plan in mind for the person who would take over in the rare event your sitter has an emergency
Pricing Details
The agency's booking charge
$35 per overnight
Your sitter's hourly wages
During the day you pay your sitter our standardized hourly rates, here. During sleeping hours we use a reduced rate, $15.69 per hour (2024 minimum wage in Boulder), for up to 8 hours. Federal law limits this reduced rate to 8 hours.
This reduced rate does not apply if a child wakes and requires care. Wake time at night is charged in 1-hour increments at our standardized hourly rates.
The reduced rate does not apply to night nanny care where the nanny may be awake or waking periodically.
Overnight Cancellation Policy
Babysitters carefully arrange their schedule for your family’s overnight booking. Once your booking is confirmed:
- if canceling with more than 10 days notice, 25% of the booking’s value is due to the sitter
- if cancelling with 3 to 10 days notice: 50% of the booking’s value is due to the sitter
- if canceling with less than 72 hours notice, 100% of the booking’s value is due to the sitter
- 3 hour minimum for all cancellation payments
Labor & Delivery Overnight Care
Care of other children while parent is in the hospital:
- sitter is on paid on-call status during the hours that you wish to reserve their availability – example: your neighbor who can help if you go into labor at night or on the weekend, so you want a sitter available weekdays between 9am to 3pm – you pay the sitter to be available during that 6-hour window
- the on-call hourly rate is equal to our standardized hourly rate – your sitter is reserved and declines all other work to remain available for your family
- these bookings follow our overnight cancellation policy:
- if canceling with more than 10 days notice, 25% of the booking’s value is due to the sitter
- if cancelling with 3 to 10 days notice: 50% of the booking’s value is due to the sitter
- if canceling with less than 72 hours notice, 100% of the booking’s value is due to the sitter
- 3 hour minimum for all cancellation payments
Federal & State Overtime Law
Overnight stays may be subject to federal and state overtime law if your provider is your nanny, rather than your occasional babysitter.
With very few exceptions, domestic workers, including babysitters and nannies, are classified as “non-exempt” (protected) workers. There may be exceptions for casual babysitters, meaning “employment which is irregular or intermittent, and which is performed by an individual whose primary vocation is not babysitting.” Read the Federal Code of Regulation § 552.5 here. The agency typically categorizes occasional overnight bookings as casual babysitting if the provider is not your nanny. However, we cannot professionally advise you regarding this. We recommend that you consult with your own legal counsel or tax service for wage and overtime questions. If you pay an overnight babysitter as a non-exempt (protected worker), then:
- Non-exempt workers are entitled to pay for every hour worked at a rate that may not be less than the federal, state and, if applicable, local minimum wage rate.
- Overtime (time-and-a-half) is paid for each hour over 40 in a 7-day workweek. Under Colorado state wage law, non-exempt domestic workers must be paid overtime (time-and-a-half) for hours worked in excess of 12 hours in one workday, or 12 consecutive hours regardless of the day.per federal law, sitters and nannies are classified as domestic workers, must be paid hourly for all hours/minutes worked, and cannot be paid salary, a flat rate or a lump sum
- per federal law, any time worked > 40 hours in a 7 day week must be paid a rate of 1.5x the standard hourly rate
- per Colorado law, time worked > 12 in a single day, or worked consecutively regardless of day, must be paid a rate of 1.5x the standard hourly rate.
faq
Do I pay for the time that my sitter is sleeping?
Yes. Because the sitter cannot leave the location at night, this is considered work time. The rate is $15.69 per hour for up to 8 sleeping hours (typically 10:00 pm to 6:00 am). If your child wakes in the night and needs care the standard waking hours rate applies.
My child might wake and want to get in bed with the sitter. Is this ok?
We cannot permit a sitter and a child to share a bed. Your sitter should be compassionate and comfort your child, however, they must place your child in your child’s bed. If your child needs to get in bed with a grownup in order to sleep then it’s not time yet to book our overnight sitters. It will be soon!
My child sleepwalks. Can we book an overnight sitter?
Possibly – please contact us. We will ask about the safety items, such as door locks and baby gates, in place to protect your child and what they typically do while sleepwalking.
My child has night terrors. Can we book an overnight sitter?
We cannot book overnights. We’d love to help your family during the day.