GRAND RAPIDS — A lot of parents are trying to find a way to balance work, school and childcare. It’s really no easy task and now more than ever, parents are needing a little more help to make it all work. Care.com has been seeing that firsthand.
Families worried about kids falling behind in school who need a couple hours of tutoring, to parents working from home who now need a sitter to help out a couple of hours a day. Some families have even hired someone to supervise groups of homeschool pods.
Chief Marketing Officer Carrie Cronkey says they have seen a 50% increase in jobs that mention keywords like distance learning. In West Michigan they have seen triple digit increases in demand for home care.
In fact, they recently did a survey to find out exactly how parents are handling all of this. The survey found that 73% of parents planned to make major changes to their professional lives, with 15% even leaving the workplace. 66% of working parents say they agree that juggling childcare responsibilities during COVID has caused their productivity to suffer, and all of this is particularly harder on working moms who take on more responsibilities. No matter the case, it’s a lot of weight for parents right now trying to come up with the best solution.
“It doesn't have to be full time, it can be a part time or it can be a full time position. We have a lot of different caregivers on our platform. We have a lot of college students which can be a great solution for this. I'm using a local college student to come in the two days a week that my daughter has distance learning which can be a great solution. You can also find more about career caregivers or nanny’s to come in and do full time work as well,” said Cronkey.
Of course cost is a big factor in all of this. Cronkey said in the Grand Rapids area specifically the average hourly rate for a nanny is $13 and for a tutor it’s around $14.75. That can vary depending on the number of children.
