Our reviewers evaluate products and services based on unbiased research. Top Consumer Reviews may earn money when you click on a link. Learn more about our process.
Monday, March 8th
Sittercity primarily focuses on childcare for families, but also offers caregivers for special needs, companionship, and pet care services. The business was started in 2001 by parents who wanted to help other parents take back some freedoms and have the flexibility to work, run errands, or even go on date nights without their children. Sittercity has been featured by Good Morning America, Today, The New York Times, Scary Mommy, and Forbes.
25 cities
Although there is much more focus on childcare at Sittercity, families are able to post a job on their website to find a senior care companion to fit their needs. There are 25 cities listed that have services available for families, so there will definitely be many people who are not able to use the services of Sittercity.
Senior care options
For those who have Sittercity services near them, the list of care options include:
Confusing questions
To post a job to find a caregiver, you can either sign up with Facebook or email. At this point, thought things got a little confusing. You're asked to give information about the schedule you need a caregiver for, a start date, the number and age of your children, rates, and a description of the needs of your family. What does the number and age of children have to do with senior care needs? We were puzzled by the fact that the job descriptions seem to only work for childcare, which is frustrating.
Not inexpensive
Although it does not seem that Sittercity puts much emphasis on helping families find senior caregivers, they are still happy to charge you to put it to the test. You'll need to pay to have your job posted and all the caregivers have access to contact you. Subscription plans to their services can be purchased for 1 month at $35, 3 months for $49, or 12 months for $98.
Senior "sitters"?
Even though the Better Business Bureau gives Sittercity an A+ rating, this does not impress us enough to give them a high rating. We were disappointed when we realized that they really push for users to find childcare rather than assistance for seniors. They refer to all their employees as "sitters", which seems like a strange term for someone taking care of an elderly individual.
Better choices out there
Overall, we feel that Sittercity is a weak option for anyone needing constant, quality care near them for a senior member of their family. Needless to say, it will be in most people's best interest to look elsewhere for this.
When someone we love needs extra help in their older age, we would go to the ends of the earth to find them the best place and people to care for them.
As much as we would love to have time 24/7 to provide everything they need, we often must resort to getting outside help for our elderly friends and family members in order for them to get the full attention they deserve. Not only might they need medical care, but also help with their finances, personal hygiene, shopping assistance, and help getting around.
It is important for many elderly people to feel self-sufficient while also having people there to support them. This can be a hard balance, so senior care services might be as minimal as periodic in-home visits to help with medical needs, take care of shopping trips, or complete housework. Other more intensive senior care services might look like a live-in senior facility where residents have their meals prepared for them, attend planned activities, and have little personal responsibility besides just relaxing and enjoying life.
To find the right care services for your loved one, looking around online is going to be the fastest, most reliable option. It could take months to go from company to company or facility to facility to meet all the staff members, learn what they have to offer, gather pricing information, and get a feel for the quality of care they provide. Thankfully, you can browse through the many senior care websites available to gather all the information you are looking for and compare them within a matter of minutes.
There are quite a few senior care services to choose from. Before committing to a company to take care of the special, elderly person in your life, we suggest you consider the following things:
To help you find the best senior care, TopConsumerReviews.com has reviewed and ranked a variety of options. We hope this information helps you feel confident about the care your loved one will receive!
Select any 2 Senior Care Services to compare them head to head