Babysitting, Nanny & Tutoring

Care.com, UrbanSitter, Bambino, Wyzant, Khan Academy — find sitters, nannies, and tutors.

The "we need someone to watch the kids Saturday night" + "she needs help with algebra" marketplaces. For family calendar / scheduling see Family Calendars; for kid-device parental controls see Family Location Sharing and Kids Chores & Allowance; for kid-coding / STEM see Edu Math for Kids, Edu Coding Practice Platforms, and Edu STEM Hardware (micro:bit).

Babysitter / nanny marketplaces

★ Care.com — paid + free; the widest US network for sitters, nannies, senior care, tutors. Free to browse; paid (~$40-80/mo) to message + see contact info. The default in 2026 — but the paid wall is meaningful.
★ UrbanSitter — paid + free; strong in dense urban markets; trust networks (mutual connections); cleaner UX than Care.com.
Sittercity — paid; older incumbent; declining vs Care.com.
Bambino — paid + a few free credits; college-aged sitters; popular among parents who want younger sitters at lower rates.
Helpr — paid; corporate-benefit-flavored.
Trusted — paid; pediatric-nursing-flavored (special needs / medical).

★ Apple Family Sharing screen-time delegation + iMessage / FaceTime — for "remote check-in" babysitting (older sibling watches the kids; parents available). Free.
Local subreddits, Facebook neighborhood groups, Nextdoor — free; the "post a query" answer; works in suburban + small-city contexts.
A friend's college kid — the underrated default for many families.

★ Wyzant — paid; the broadest US tutoring marketplace; per-hour, vetted tutors; in-person + online.
Varsity Tutors — paid (subscription + per-session); pricier; vetted.
Care.com Tutoring tier — paid; bundled with the broader Care.com membership.
Tutor.com (Princeton Review) — paid; subscription; on-demand.
Outschool — paid; live online classes for kids (not 1:1; small group); huge catalog.
Preply — paid; international; language-learning leaning.

★ Khan Academy — free; K-12 + early college; the default free tutor-replacement. See Edu Math for Kids.
Khan Academy Kids — free; ages 2-8.
IXL — paid + free trial; per-grade per-subject practice.
Prodigy Math — free + paid; gamified math.
Duolingo — free + paid; language; not a "tutor" but works for many.
YouTube — free; 3Blue1Brown, Veritasium, Crash Course, Khan Academy — the unsung tutoring engine.

Mathnasium, Kumon — paid franchise tutoring centers; in-person.
Sylvan Learning — paid franchise.
Code Ninjas, Codeverse — paid; kid coding centers.
Online coding for kids — see Edu Kids K-12 Coding and Edu Coding Simulators for Kids.

Background checks — Care.com / UrbanSitter / Wyzant offer them, often as paid add-ons. Always do one for in-home.
First-meeting pay-the-sitter — pay even if it's just a meet-and-greet. Sets the tone.
Care.com paid wall — you cannot message until you pay; treat this as the "do I commit" gate.
Reference checks — apps don't replace calling two prior families. Always.
Specific certifications — CPR, special-needs experience, swim certification — filter before browsing.