Childcare

Date night (or whatever you call it in your house) helps keep couples happy, and reminds kids that mommy and daddy really do have lives of their own. Unfortunately, it's a pretty pricey proposition once you tally up drinks, dinner, an activity and, of course, the sitter—who sometimes costs more than the meal!

Sure, every once in a while you can swap kid-watching duties with another mom, and as children get older, there are sleepovers and sleepaway camp. But in the meantime, the cost of a night out scares many couples into settling for the couch, Netflix and a bottle of Chardonnay.

But date night doesn't have to be that way. Several play spots in the city offer safe, supervised drop-off nighttime care for kids for less than your average sitter. Better still: Not only do you get some adult time, your kids get to enjoy a night out with their peers, too.

"A live in nanny? How can you afford a live in Nanny?” That's what most people say when I tell them who watches my children. No we're not rich and we don't live in a sprawling 5 bedroom apartment, but we've found that for our family a live in nanny works best and the benefits outweigh the downfalls. If you've ever wondered how any normal person in NYC could have a live in nanny or if you've never even considered it as a possibility, read on to find out more about this surprisingly doable childcare alternative.

Finding good babysitters for an evening date night can be hard, but there's one solution that's a total no-brainer. Kids for a Cause hosts monthly date night drop-off evening childcare events run by NYU and Columbia University students to raise money for Baby's First Home, a charity that helps provide shelter for NYC homeless teen mothers. And they are Pay-What-you-Wish.

Talk about Win-Win! You get inexpensive, fun babysitting by great college sitters and get to help young mothers and their baby's at the same time.

Trying to save a few bucks by skipping out on a baby sitter doesn’t mean you have to be cooped up every Friday night, dreaming of sassy restaurants with plush furniture. Many places in New York City offer drop-off times, especially around Valentine’s Day, that allow you and your date to have some play time while the little guys are having a good (and safe ) time, too. Plus, drop-off services won’t leave your wallet as empty as that baby sitter of yours, you don't need to worry about paying for the car service home, and your kids will have so much fun they'll think it was their party night, not yours.

In honor of Cupid, skip the Netflix and try one of these happenin’ spots for a night on the town that’s fun for you and the kids. We've listed the Valentines Day event, but most of these places do a Parents' Night Out Event regularly, so check them out for now, or for later.

Private schools just had their Spring Break and public schools have theirs coming up and as we're waiting for the weather to warm up, we've got vacations on the brain.

Have you ever been stuck with a family vacation that actually seemed like more work than not being on vacation? If you are used to having childcare, a family vacation can be a shocking experience. It's not something that most people want to admit, and of course we all love spending lots of time with our kids, but hard-working parents need some real down-time too or they're going to have their own little melt-downs that no binky can fix.

Taking a babysitter on vacation with you might seem like a huge luxury, but sometimes luxuries are really necessities. But wanting to take a baby sitter on vacation with you and actually doing it are two different things, two things with lot of steps in between, like how much to pay and how to find a sitter who will travel with you, etc. The experts at Sittercity have shared some tips with us on how to make the fantasy a reality.