Posting to the Childcare Listing

• See also: Policies for Childcare Posts ... Subscribing as a Nanny or Babysitter ... FAQ for Nannies & Babysitters

What is the Childcare listing?

• Find nannies & babysitters (nannies offering childcare, and parents offering a nanny share or recommending a nanny)
• Parents seeking childcare

Note: The Childcare listing does not include childcare centers or preschools. Announcements about current openings at these facilities, as well as at daycares, appear in the Announcements listing. Parents' reviews of daycares, childcare centers and preschools are public on the BPN website and can be viewed and posted on the facility's profile page. See "Childcare & Preschools" in the main menu above to search for one of these facilities.

Who can post to the Childcare listing?

It's free for parents to post, but if you want to publicize your own childcare services, even if you are a parent, you'll need to purchase a subscription. It's free for full-time students and some non-profits.

1. Parents looking for childcare, recommending their nanny, or offering a nanny share to other parents. Note: the free parent subscription cannot be used to offer your own paid services on BPN.  See Parents offering to babysit for more info about this.
2. Nannies offering childcare. See Subscribing as a Nanny or Babysitter
3. Full-time students in college or high school offering babysitting. Free to subscribe. See Subscribing as a Full-Time Student
4. Postpartum doulas (not childbirth doulas). See Subscribing as a Doula
5. Childcare referral agencies That place nannies or au pairs or help parents find childcare. See Subscribing as a Childcare Referral Service

Daycares, preschools, and childcare centers should post to the Announcements newsletter rather than Childcare, in the category "Preschools & Daycares with Openings".  Parents may post "Seeking a daycare" to the Childcare listing. Parents can also post a review of their child's daycare or preschool by finding the daycare's profile page on BPN and clicking 'Post a review'.  Please contact us if you want to post a review of a facility that does not have a profile page on BPN.

How often can I post?

• Nannies & babysitters can have one active post in the listing at a time. The post will be published for 30 days, after which you can post again if you are still looking for jobs. If you need to update a published post, unpublish it first and then post again.

• Parents can have two active posts in the listing, but they must be about different things. For example, a request for a nanny as well as a request for a nanny share.  Parents may not recommend the same nanny more than 3 times. Parents may not post more than 6 nanny reviews total on BPN. Instead, please help the nanny purchase a nanny subscription so she can post herself.

Hints for posting to the Childcare listing

To get the best response to your posting, we recommend the following: 

• Make sure you post under the correct category.  "Seeking a nanny share" and "Offering a nanny share" have two different audiences so your post may not be read if you use the wrong category.
• Be aware that most nannies want to work close to 40 hours a week. If you need fewer than 30 hours a week, consider a student or a nanny share and post in that category.
• The posts that get the best responses contain specific information about hours, days, and location. But flexibility is important if you are looking for a share or a part-time nanny.
• Make sure the title on your post is also specific. Only the title and your city appear in the newsletter. Include the hours/days and your neighborhood in the title. 
• If you are looking for a teenage sitter, please read Advice about Teen Sitters for info about what to look for and what you can expect.
• See Hints for parents for posting for more suggestions

How do I post to the Childcare listing?

Login to your account and click "Post a Message." 

You must have an account on this website, so subscribe first if you haven't already.  If you live in the SF Bay area, you can subscribe to BPN. For details about posting, see "How to Post a Message or a Review."  

Parents Seeking, Offering, or Recommending Childcare

• Parents who are looking for childcare, recommending a nanny, or looking for other parents to share their nanny.

Nannies & Sitters Offering Care

• This section is for nannies, babysitters, and childcare referral agencies who have purchased a Community Subscription. Subscriptions are free for teenagers in middle school or high school. If you are a parent and you are offering childcare, you still need to purchase a nanny subscription. See Parents offering to babysit for more info.  Please read About BPN Community Subscribers for information about paid subscriptions.

When will my post be published?

All posts are reviewed by a moderator first before being published, which is typically within 1-3 days. Occasionally moderators get busy -- they are all parents who volunteer on BPN in their "spare" time.  They may not have a chance to review new posts until just before the next Childcare newsletter is mailed on Sunday. There can also be a delay if there was a problem with your post, and the moderator needs to correspond with you. But all pending posts are always reviewed just before we mail the newsletter.  Since most subscribers wait for the newsletter to read new posts, your post will be seen, even if several days have elapsed between the time you posted and time it was reviewed by a moderator.  In the worst case, which is rare but can happen, if you post just after a Childcare newsletter was mailed, and the moderator doesn't review it until just before the next newsletter, there could be a 7 day wait for your post to be reviewed. You can check your account page to see the status of your post -- click "my account" on the BPN website. 

How do I reply to a post or send a message?

Scroll to the end of the post and click the "Contact" link. If you are reading the newsletter, click on a post to view the full post on the BPN website first. You will need to be logged in to your BPN account to read the post. 

When is the Childcare newsletter mailed?

The Childcare newsletter is mailed on Sunday.  The newsletter contains a list of "new" postings (posted during the past week.)  All posts remain published on the website for 30 days unless the author unpublishes them before that.  The moderator will catch up on all pending posts before sending out the newsletter each week, so post before Sunday to get your post into this week's newsletter.

Why don't I see my post in the newsletter?

Look at your account page to view the status of your post. (Click 'my account' at the top of any page.)

• Awaiting Moderation: Your post hasn't been reviewed yet, All posts are reviewed by a BPN moderator. When your post is approved, it will be published to the website and will appear in the next newsletter. It can take up to 7 days before the moderator reviews your post. However, usually they are reviewed within 2 or 3 days, and the moderator will catch up on all pending posts before mailing the newsletter. 

• Approved: Your post was approved by the moderator and will remain published on the website for 30 days unless you unpublish it before that. After 30 days your post expires and you can post again. The Childcare newsletter includes "new" posts from the past week, so your post will appear in the next newsletter after you post, but not again after that.

• Not Approved: Your post was not approved by the moderator and is not published on the website. You should have received an email from BPN that explains why. If not, contact us.

• Unpublished usually means that you unpublished your post, but occasionally moderators unpublish posts, and will send you an explanation.   If you're not sure why, contact us.

Parents offering to babysit

You must purchase a nanny subscription ($35) if you want to offer paid childcare to other parents on BPN. Your free parent subscription cannot be used to offer paid services, and can result in cancelation of your subscription.  See "I am a parent who is offering childcare - do I need to purchase a subscription?" (Note playgroups where all parents are present and childcare swaps between parents where no money changes hands do not require a nanny subscription - post this as a Parent-to-Parent Connection.)  

Providing childcare in your own home: You do not need a daycare license to provide childcare in your own home as long as you are only caring for children from one other family besides your own. However, if you care for children from more than one other family, you must be licensed as a daycare, and BPN cannot accept your post. For information about the daycare license, see About Childcare Licensing in California.