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With Spring Break around the corner, a California company offers a nanny-matching service for parents traveling with kids.
Launched in 2011, Nanny in the Clouds connects moms and dads with babysitters on the same flight.
“We are growing daily with both nannies and parents signing up,” said Julie Melnick, Nanny in the Clouds' founder and president. “(As) a national company, we are also getting many requests for international flights.”
If my baby was crying and screaming, I don't know if they'd go to a stranger when they're upset.
–Mimi Jones
At NannyintheClouds.com, there is no sign- up charge for parents to search the database or for nannies to sign up. The matching fee is $10, and parents negotiate rates with nannies depending on the length of flight, number of children, etc. Parents can pay an annual subscription of $50.
“I don’t know if I’d do it,” said Mimi Jones, mother of four, in Holladay, Utah. In the past, Jones worked as a flight attendant for Southwest Airlines and Morris Air.
“For me, it depends on your child. If they’re used to nannies, maybe it would work. If my baby was crying and screaming, I don’t know if they’d go to a stranger when they’re upset,” Jones said.
#poll
“Kids scream and cry on planes because of their ears, and trying to adjust to the altitude, whether you’re a parent or a nanny,” Jones said.
With more than 70,000 flights hitting the sky every day, according the National Air Traffic Controllers Association's web page, the new nanny-matching service has a monumental challenge to build a comprehensive database.
For parents getting ready for Spring Break trips, the Transportation Security Administration provides tips for traveling with kids.
Crystalee Beck is a writer, marketer, and traveler who lives with her husband in Ogden. She has been to all 50 states; just ask to see her snazzy postcard collection! Follow @Crystaleelee on Twitter or email her at delightedtowrite@gmail.com.
