Questions that usually come up.

Mamasitter is a platform where parents form pairs or small groups and take turns watching each other’s children.
It’s not a babysitter agency, and there’s no employer relationship. Here you don’t pay for childcare with money — you pay by returning the favor.

The childcare itself is always free — it’s tracked in points, not money. The app has a monthly subscription fee that funds the community and the organizational tools. During the initial period, we’re waiving this as a promotional offer. When we introduce it, you’ll be notified, but don’t expect it to be more than roughly the cost of one hour of babysitting per month.

Exactly. It’s the same thing. It’s just that back then, no app was needed because smaller communities made it work naturally. In the big city, we’ve drifted apart, and the organizing piece was missing. Mamasitter brings that back: the power of community and neighborliness, in digital form.

Primarily for moms with young children — it’s most helpful from 6 months through early elementary school age. It works for moms with one child or several. The only limit: one adult can watch a maximum of 3 children at a time. This helps ensure everyone can keep a safe eye on the kids and avoids falling under official childcare regulations.

Yes. Mamasitter’s name and communication focus more on moms, because experience shows that caregiving tasks, especially in the early years, tend to fall on mothers.

For now, the platform focuses on parents with young children. In the future, we plan to involve grandparents through a “substitute grandma” program, but that’s not available yet.

This is one of the most important questions, we know.

Mamasitter doesn’t run official background checks and, as a connecting platform, doesn’t take responsibility for members’ character or what happens during swaps. But that’s exactly why the whole system is built on gradual, personal getting-to-know — so that by the time you entrust your child, the other person is no longer a stranger. You decide freely; we guide you through the process, but we don’t believe any official check or algorithm can override your personal impression.

If someone abuses the community’s trust, the platform reserves the right to delete their profile without explanation.

Trust that feeling. You don’t need to explain, you don’t need to continue. The platform doesn’t obligate you to anything.
If you see anything you think we should know about, write to us at hello@mamasitter.com

No. Your exact address, date of birth, and email address are not visible to others — the system uses them to display calculated information.

Write to us at hello@mamasitter.com if you notice anything suspicious. We’ll look into it, and if necessary, we have the right to remove users from the community.

The app shows moms near you on a map and in a list. You check out their profiles, and if someone seems like a good fit, you send them a message.

It’s also worth checking the community feed: there might be a meetup in your area that you can join.

It depends on your situation, but experience shows that proximity, children’s ages, and the other mom’s values are what most people base their decision on. With younger kids, the connection between the moms matters more; with older kids, it’s the relationship between the children. The real picture always forms at the in-person meetup — so go ahead and suggest one.

Mamasitter launches city by city. If you sign up for the waitlist, you’ll be among the first to know when it starts in your area.

There’s no required number, but we generally recommend 2–3 meetups. After 1–2 meetings, you’ll feel whether things are heading in the right direction.

You can give it another chance, but if the feeling is strong, it’s not worth pushing. Saying no isn’t rejection — it’s about you and what you need. As they say, there’s a match for everyone — everyone finds their pair and their community.

It can sting at first — that’s completely natural. But remember, this isn’t about you.
Every yes and every no is about the other person’s own needs, rhythm, and situation. It’s very possible it has nothing to do with you — something else might be going on in their life that you don’t know about. They didn’t judge your worth; they decided based on their own.
The Mamasitter community is strong precisely because it has all kinds of moms. Some you’ll click with instantly, others you won’t. That’s a natural part of the search.
Everyone finds their match. Sometimes on the first try, sometimes after a few.

It happens. Give them 2–3 more chances: sometimes they just need time. Choose a neutral location. A shared activity brings kids together more easily than free play. Also know that at certain ages, it’s perfectly normal for children to play alongside each other — playing together tends to emerge more after age 4.

You agree on a time, discuss the details, one parent watches the kids while the other goes out. The app logs the swap. Points move automatically, but can be manually adjusted. Check out our detailed guide on this topic too.

Allergies, meals, sleep, clothes and belongings, location and transportation, communication, rules.

As long as you both agree on. The first swaps are usually shorter, but over time they can become overnight stays or even full days.
For overnight stays, the good practice is to count waking hours. If overnights become regular, you can agree on a universal point value (e.g. 3 points/evening).

Yes, up to three. This is both a safety guideline and an internal policy limit. We want to make sure nothing escapes a mom’s attention with too many kids, and that the arrangement doesn’t fall under official childcare regulations.

For younger kids, home is best. A fenced playground or a family-friendly café also works well for the first few times. Later, you can be flexible — whatever works best for you. You can take the kids hiking, to the pool, anywhere you can safely supervise.

This can be really practical and genuinely helpful. Don’t forget to notify the institution, tell the child in the morning, and provide written authorization for the person picking them up.

Call immediately. Always have the phone number discussed beforehand.

The app automatically credits points for swaps created and accepted within your Inner Circle, visible in the Points section. If something happened outside of that, you can manually log points in the Points section too. Remember, there should always be an agreement, because while one person gets points credited, they’re deducted from the other. The list always shows where points went. If you notice misuse, report it at hello@mamasitter.com.

Crying itself isn’t a problem — it’s how tension is released. Your job isn’t to stop it immediately, but to be there while it passes. Read more about this in our guide.

With love, but briefly and firmly. Never sneak away — always say goodbye. Younger children don’t understand clock time or “I’ll be back soon,” so tie it to an activity: “You’ll play here, then you’ll have a snack, and by the time it’s over, I’ll be here to pick you up.”

This is connection-seeking, not disrespect. Describe the situation instead of giving commands.

This is almost always about the child seeking connection with you, not being disrespectful. They may not trust you enough yet, looking for safety by testing boundaries.

Try playful cooperation appropriate for their age, or invite them into shared problem-solving. Not “Put your shoes on!” but “These shoes are SO hungry, they want to eat some kid-feet.” “I see a big mess here — the toys can’t find their way home. What would a superhero do?”

Another useful technique: give information instead of commands. Not “Go wash your hands!” but “We always wash our hands before lunch.”

Conflict is natural and one of the most important learning experiences. Your goal isn’t to solve it immediately, but to help them get through it.
Try to acknowledge both sides’ feelings before looking for any solution. Don’t decide who’s right — just mirror what you hear. Check out our detailed guide on this.

The golden rule: don’t force it. Your responsibility is what goes on the table and when. The child’s responsibility is whether they eat and how much. Keeping these separate is a relief for everyone.

Ages 1–5:
“This is lunch. If you get hungry, it’s right here.” — and move on.
Eat together with your own child — modeling is a powerful motivator.
Playful tip: “This isn’t just any sandwich — it’s a magic sandwich that makes your legs run faster.”

Ages 6–10:
“Are you not hungry, or do you not like it?” — this helps clarify things.
“Okay. If you get hungry later, just let me know.”
Playful tip: “You’re the official taste tester today. Out of five stars, how many would you give this dish?”

This is often hard even with our own kids. Make sure they have everything they need: pacifier, lovey, favorite object. Before nap time, help them wind down from stimulation. Don’t force it — pressure only makes it harder.

Tips: “You don’t have to sleep. Let’s just rest a bit and be quiet.” Stay next to them calmly — your inner state is contagious.

This can be hard for you too, but know this: the emotional part of the child’s brain has taken over. This is not the time to teach — it’s the time to provide safety.
The principle: connect first, then redirect. If you explain or give consequences first, the child can’t hear you because the part of their brain that would process it isn’t active right now. Honestly, we adults are often the same way :)
The ground rule: anger can be expressed, but it must not be directed at another person. They can scream into a pillow or punch one.

When mom arrives and the child suddenly bursts into tears — even though there were no signs of sadness before — this is completely normal. In the safety of mom’s presence, the child can finally release what they’d been holding. This doesn’t mean they had a bad time. Both things can be true at once: they missed mom and had fun playing in the new setting.

Let the mom know, talk through the situation.
If it’s an emergency and you need to act immediately, do what you’d do for your own child.

1 child = 1 hour of care = 1 point. The smallest unit is half an hour = 0.5 points. Everyone starts with 5 points upon registration. When you need help, you “pay” with points; when you help someone, you earn points in return. Points can be redeemed with any Mamasitter member in the app. Points don’t expire.

That’s what point credit is for. The system allows you to request help down to -3 points, even if yours are all used up. Life doesn’t care about points, and we don’t want you to be left without help. But when you get the chance, offer to help others so you can earn new points.

With anyone in the system.
They don’t have to be in your Inner Circle — in fact, you can use points with a mom you haven’t even helped before, as long as you’re both community members.

In trust-based relationships, helping each other comes naturally. Yet unconsciously, an invisible scoreboard starts ticking. When someone feels the balance has shifted, it creates inner tension — often unspoken. The point system makes this visible and fair. It motivates helping and opens the possibility of freely asking for help from people you haven’t directly helped. Just like in life: everyone contributes to the shared pot and takes from it. Here, the point system keeps it proportional and free.

No. Points can only be earned and used through swaps within the community.

Occasionally, Mamasitter may give points as promotional gifts.

The way points work may evolve in the future, but we’ll always let you know in advance.

Important to know: although we hope it never happens, potential technical outages, discontinuation of the platform, or account deletion (for any reason) may result in permanent, irreversible loss of your point balance. No financial or in-kind compensation claims can be made against Mamasitter’s operator for lost points.

During the introductory period, the service is completely free. Later, we’ll switch to a monthly subscription. We’ll inform our founding members about the exact price in advance. We plan to keep the monthly fee no more than the cost of a single hour of babysitting, so we’re confident it will remain accessible for everyone.

The monthly subscription covers your Mamasitter membership, access to all mobile app features, and the ability to participate in community events.

Yes, anytime.

Your points are preserved if you cancel your subscription, but you won’t be able to use them. If you resubscribe, you can pick up right where you left off.

If you delete your account, all your data is permanently removed, including your points, connections, and messages. This step cannot be undone.

By email: hello@mamasitter.com

We launch city by city. Sign up for the waitlist.

Yes, it’s available on both platforms.

Write to us: hello@mamasitter.com