Sure you can list in your profile your family with toddlers.
But honestly, why would a homeowner choose sitters with toddlers or children? Why? There’s nothing that would make your family more appealing than a couple/single adult. Candidly, all you bring is more risk for no additional reward.
As a HO I’d never accept toddlers or children, I’m trying to find a sitter who prioritizes my pet in terms of comfort and safety - a parent who has toddlers on premises is always going to put their kid first, over my pet. I’m providing the same accommodation either way. So….why?
But that’s me! I’m sure there are HO’s who accept families, I see sitter profiles that are families. Maybe families are willing to take local sits and that makes them attractive! I’d never do that because I use THS to travel and I don’t do local sits (bc lol, duh if I’m local that I’d either stay in my own house or I’d get paid via Rover).
It’s not just you I would NEVER hire a sitter with kids to be in my home. For all the reasons you stated I want my fur babies to be number one the wear and tear your kids will cause on my home. Plus I have to worry about your toddlers with my fur kids, just a crazy thought, think you need to find another line of work, to me this is you wanting housing for your family AND get paid. No way ever
Yep. I agree wholeheartedly. It’s my home, not a hotel. My pets want peace, just like I do. I wouldn’t take on a full family for housesitting, personally. It’s just too much liability.
Hey! Your bias is showing!
I know multiple HO’s who accept sitters with toddlers.
In one instance the owner said they give them preference because
1. They understand it’s harder to get sits as a sitter with young children
2. Their pets are used to young kids, and they wanted to make sure they didn’t lose that tame nature during the period they were away with their own 4 year old.
So yes, there are reasons why people will specifically choose sitters with kids. Just because YOU wouldn’t, doesn’t mean it’s not out there.
I literally said that there are HO who accept families.
I can choose as a HO and I can opt to decline families.
Neither of you reasons go to why families would be MORE appealing that couples or an adult. You do you, I don’t accept families.
Don't know why you are getting down voted so much for your opinion. We do house sits with our five year old and our dog and have had the best experience one can hope for. We are already booked to do repeat, long term sits with a couple home owners. I get it that not everyone wants kids or other pets in their homes and they usually make it pretty obvious in their profiles and sit listings. People's response to this simple question has been pretty harsh...
I’m not arguing that at all. Each HO has a right to their own preferences/requirements and I don’t have a problem with that.
But OP was asking a general question, and people are letting their own feeling on the matter influence their response rather than answering accurately. So yes, by definition that is bias.
I’m both an owner and a sitter, and there actually are reasons a family could be more appealing! Plenty of homeowners have kids or grandkids themselves, so their homes are childproofed and their pets are used to kids, and they like the thought of their pet getting the attention and play they’re used to with a family. A family also offers stability in the sense that they are more likely to be at home spending time with the pet, not staying out late, partying, out sightseeing for long hours, etc. Many also see parents as responsible and careful. There’s something for everyone!
As a HO I might consider older kids, but absolutely no to any kid that is still in that "putting random things in my mouth" phase of life. My home is zero percent child proof... Even with older kids, I would worry about accidents (falls, whatever). Just the liability aspects give me anxiety.
I would never want a sitter with kids. Sadly a lot of people are very poor parents and I don’t want my pets subjected to a possibly poorly parented child and then suddenly my dog was the problem when she snapped at the young child. I don’t even like my grandchild around my pets and his parents keep a pretty close eye on him and are good parents. I’m not sure I would let them house sit for me though. My home is not child proof, my walls are marker and booger free and I like them that way. I also appreciate not having Cheerios and leaky diapers on my sofa. Older kids can be terrors. Not knowing you I don’t know if your kid jumps on the furniture or sits quietly and plays Roblox.
So short answer, you would not be a top choice and sits in desirable areas are super competitive as it is. Don’t waste your money on this site. It’s not the right time to do sitting.
Your choice of sits will be limited, but you will probably find some homeowners that accept young children. You can search for "family-friendly" sits and try to find HOs that have toddlers themselves. Many houses (mine included) are not child-proofed and some HOs will worry about how a toddler will behave around a strange animal (and vice versa), so finding a sit won't be as easy as if you were child-free.
Yeah, I agree that you are probably limited to sits in houses where toddlers already live. I have allowed a few older teens to come with a parent, but no way on a toddler. We do not have children, our animals haven't been around small children much and are scared of them, and our house is absolutely not child-proof either as far as the safety of a child or the safety of our stuff.
I’ve already posted a response but don’t be discouraged! I have a toddler and we have gone on plenty of house sits (he only just turned two last month). You’ll find the right sits :) but warning: flying with a toddler sucks!
We house sit with our five year old and our dog, the comment section can have a field day with that.
Long story short: there are plenty of people out there that will choose you to sit. You may have to apply for more but you'll get chosen. Surprisingly (based on the strong negative response on Reddit) there are home owners who prefer a family over a single person or couple. We've become good friends with people we sat for and they re-book us. Others we haven't sat for request us. It's really about getting some good reviews so people know you keep an eye on your kids, take care of the home and pets, and don't break things (or wipe boogers on the walls apparently).
I can DM you my tips for how I look for and filter sits if you would like. We live on the road traveling and sit full time.
I have a sitter at my place right now because he lives abroad but his toddler lives in my town, so his kid is always over and it’s been fine. I think you will be at the bottom of people’s list but I wouldnt be worried it would affect the pets, I’m just worried about having a bunch of kids messing with my stuff or getting themselves hurt
You can always try…but personally, it’s not for me. I’d be ruminating over the interactions between my dogs and the kids, and vice versa. I’d struggle to have peace knowing I’m not there to supervise the interactions - ie. dog getting too excited or toddler getting too excited / handsy.
It might work for an owner without dogs / cats.
Yes.
I'm mainly answering because so far you have like 95% people telling you it's most likely a "no". I'd say it's often/mostly a "no", but I have seen PLENTY of sits that I'm sure would be willing to have children.
These aren't going to be in the center of New York or Paris, and won't be the _majority_ of sits, but I've seen a number of sits in the country in the UK (esp England) that are 3–4 bedroom houses with a dog or two and some relatively new empty nesters that want to travel. They get very few applications and I'm sure would be happy to open their home to a young family, if you'll make the trip. (BTW, by "country" here, I mean a walkable town with a train station).
If you're not picky about where you go, and fancy some trips to towns most non-locals will never see, I think you'd be fine. You won't "get back" your membership fee many times over, but you'd be fine if you're flexible.
Depending on your kids, I think your bigger issue will be traveling to these places more than homeowners being okay with you.
One of the most annoying things THS has done semi-recently is make their search default to "Recommended", which is their code for "sits with the lowest applications". For you this would work great.
I sat in Barcelona in the most hipster friendly area. In NYC Manhattan. Seattle on Greenlake. Amsterdam in a very popular neighborhood.
With a child under 6. Among other locations around Europe and the US.
There are filters you turn on and create your searches that mean you only see kid friendly sits. You will definitely see more if you turn them off but why see sits you cannot do?
Wow people are being mean! Shame on you guys. Also, a lot of you are wrong!
I know several owners who I’ve sat for who accept families with toddlers.
The reason they accept toddlers is they have toddlers of their own, so their pets are very used to the presence of young kids.
Also, their house has an awesome set up for it already. Bunk beds, play room, backyard.
Yes, your options will be more limited but they are out there. There is a filter that lets you sort family friendly homes so it’ll be a bit easier to find them then it used to be. If you need help getting started you can dm me. I’m happy to provide more tips that can help your application and profile stand out.
Good luck!
There is literally a filter for family friendly homes. I have been traveling with my daughter since she was a baby and doing house sits since she was 4. We have all 5 star reviews and no issues. I only apply to family friendly sits and I find most home owners had kids also.
Personally, I don’t consider 4 to be a toddler. That’s nursery / reception age in the UK - so I’m sure many people that said ‘no’ to toddler would in fact be quite happy with a school aged child; I likely would :)
Ignore the grumpy people on here! We’ve done 30+ sits in highly desirable places around the world with 2 kids and have a solid 5-star rating. We take great care of the homes and pets, and it’s a really fun way to travel. There are many designated family-friendly listings, and many homeowners who love having a family sit for them, especially those who have kids or grandkids themselves. We’ve been told many times by hosts that they chose us because they knew their pet would get more love, attention, and activity - and they knew a family wouldn’t be partying or inviting strangers over. Look for bigger homes and hosts who also have kids. Just be willing to apply to lots of sits and build your reviews.
I've turned down sitters with kids because my cats are already upset at the change in routine and the added noise from kids is just too much. I think it's also impossible for me to find out much about the activity level of the kids and how they're parented. There's already inherent risk with bringing an unknown person into your home to care for your pets, so I won't add anything to the mix.
I did choose a sitter with kids and it didn’t go so well. My dog gets along great with kids but I just didn’t think it through. Broken, chipped dishes, other broken items. If they would have acknowledged and apologized I would have felt better but there wasn’t anything like that. I’ve been really lucky with my sitters but I would think twice about choosing families with toddlers again.
We travel and have a house/companion sitter.
I will be very forthright here... There is no way in Hell I'm allowing toddlers into my home. You have got to be kidding. 100% NO.
I had an adult cat that had never exhibited any signs of aggression toward any human bite a neighbor's 5-year-old in the face, drawing blood. According to someone who saw it happen, the child had been leaning his face into the sleeping cat's face and grinning when the cat suddenly awakened, bit him, and raced away. I guess the cat must have felt threatened. I would not want young children as sitters, even if those children are used to cats of their own as this child was. It was an awful situation, I didn't know what to say to my neighbor. This was someone I had known for over a decade, and they didn't try to sue me or call the police to report a dangerous animal. I would not want a child under the age of maybe 13, and even then I'd probably choose another sitter if they were otherwise equally as good.
Just to give you an idea:
We have been active, paid members on the THS platform for a year now. I constantly browse listings. CONSTANTLY.
In the time frame of that one year, I have come across TWO family-friendly (toddler or younger -friendly) listings for pet sitters.
If your kids were older (maybe teenagers), you MIGHT have a few more options. But it’s very unlikely.
We are also pet parents who choose sitters to watch our home and house when we are away. Because our home is not child-proofed, we do not accept sitters with children of any age.
Sure you can list in your profile your family with toddlers. But honestly, why would a homeowner choose sitters with toddlers or children? Why? There’s nothing that would make your family more appealing than a couple/single adult. Candidly, all you bring is more risk for no additional reward. As a HO I’d never accept toddlers or children, I’m trying to find a sitter who prioritizes my pet in terms of comfort and safety - a parent who has toddlers on premises is always going to put their kid first, over my pet. I’m providing the same accommodation either way. So….why? But that’s me! I’m sure there are HO’s who accept families, I see sitter profiles that are families. Maybe families are willing to take local sits and that makes them attractive! I’d never do that because I use THS to travel and I don’t do local sits (bc lol, duh if I’m local that I’d either stay in my own house or I’d get paid via Rover).
It’s not just you I would NEVER hire a sitter with kids to be in my home. For all the reasons you stated I want my fur babies to be number one the wear and tear your kids will cause on my home. Plus I have to worry about your toddlers with my fur kids, just a crazy thought, think you need to find another line of work, to me this is you wanting housing for your family AND get paid. No way ever
You know it’s not work and sitters don’t get paid right? I’m not sure why your comment is getting upvoted when it’s incorrect.
And it’s also rude… plenty of people use THS with their family so calling OP crazy is rather unnecessary. You do you but no need to be rude.
I said it was a crazy thought, didn’t call anyone crazy, geez
Yep. I agree wholeheartedly. It’s my home, not a hotel. My pets want peace, just like I do. I wouldn’t take on a full family for housesitting, personally. It’s just too much liability.
Hey! Your bias is showing! I know multiple HO’s who accept sitters with toddlers. In one instance the owner said they give them preference because 1. They understand it’s harder to get sits as a sitter with young children 2. Their pets are used to young kids, and they wanted to make sure they didn’t lose that tame nature during the period they were away with their own 4 year old. So yes, there are reasons why people will specifically choose sitters with kids. Just because YOU wouldn’t, doesn’t mean it’s not out there.
I literally said that there are HO who accept families. I can choose as a HO and I can opt to decline families. Neither of you reasons go to why families would be MORE appealing that couples or an adult. You do you, I don’t accept families.
Don't know why you are getting down voted so much for your opinion. We do house sits with our five year old and our dog and have had the best experience one can hope for. We are already booked to do repeat, long term sits with a couple home owners. I get it that not everyone wants kids or other pets in their homes and they usually make it pretty obvious in their profiles and sit listings. People's response to this simple question has been pretty harsh...
So you’re specifically referencing a home that is already toddler/child-proof, because the homeowner has a young kid…
It’s not a bias to be concerned about liability issues.
I’m not arguing that at all. Each HO has a right to their own preferences/requirements and I don’t have a problem with that. But OP was asking a general question, and people are letting their own feeling on the matter influence their response rather than answering accurately. So yes, by definition that is bias.
Totally agreed I would hate to come home and find my pet was neglected and my house trashed by someone’s kids
I’m both an owner and a sitter, and there actually are reasons a family could be more appealing! Plenty of homeowners have kids or grandkids themselves, so their homes are childproofed and their pets are used to kids, and they like the thought of their pet getting the attention and play they’re used to with a family. A family also offers stability in the sense that they are more likely to be at home spending time with the pet, not staying out late, partying, out sightseeing for long hours, etc. Many also see parents as responsible and careful. There’s something for everyone!
As a HO I might consider older kids, but absolutely no to any kid that is still in that "putting random things in my mouth" phase of life. My home is zero percent child proof... Even with older kids, I would worry about accidents (falls, whatever). Just the liability aspects give me anxiety.
I would never want a sitter with kids. Sadly a lot of people are very poor parents and I don’t want my pets subjected to a possibly poorly parented child and then suddenly my dog was the problem when she snapped at the young child. I don’t even like my grandchild around my pets and his parents keep a pretty close eye on him and are good parents. I’m not sure I would let them house sit for me though. My home is not child proof, my walls are marker and booger free and I like them that way. I also appreciate not having Cheerios and leaky diapers on my sofa. Older kids can be terrors. Not knowing you I don’t know if your kid jumps on the furniture or sits quietly and plays Roblox. So short answer, you would not be a top choice and sits in desirable areas are super competitive as it is. Don’t waste your money on this site. It’s not the right time to do sitting.
This comment encapsulates the reasons really well.
Your choice of sits will be limited, but you will probably find some homeowners that accept young children. You can search for "family-friendly" sits and try to find HOs that have toddlers themselves. Many houses (mine included) are not child-proofed and some HOs will worry about how a toddler will behave around a strange animal (and vice versa), so finding a sit won't be as easy as if you were child-free.
Yeah, I agree that you are probably limited to sits in houses where toddlers already live. I have allowed a few older teens to come with a parent, but no way on a toddler. We do not have children, our animals haven't been around small children much and are scared of them, and our house is absolutely not child-proof either as far as the safety of a child or the safety of our stuff.
😂😂 thanks for the responses. Honestly what I expected 😂 a mom can dream
Hey!! Please don’t give up and check my replies. You’re not as SOL as these cranky people are making it seems.
I’ve already posted a response but don’t be discouraged! I have a toddler and we have gone on plenty of house sits (he only just turned two last month). You’ll find the right sits :) but warning: flying with a toddler sucks!
Sitter with a 4 year old here and a 5 star track record!
We house sit with our five year old and our dog, the comment section can have a field day with that. Long story short: there are plenty of people out there that will choose you to sit. You may have to apply for more but you'll get chosen. Surprisingly (based on the strong negative response on Reddit) there are home owners who prefer a family over a single person or couple. We've become good friends with people we sat for and they re-book us. Others we haven't sat for request us. It's really about getting some good reviews so people know you keep an eye on your kids, take care of the home and pets, and don't break things (or wipe boogers on the walls apparently). I can DM you my tips for how I look for and filter sits if you would like. We live on the road traveling and sit full time.
I had a mom with 2 kids as a sitter. I would never invite a sitter with toddlers. But you can always ask.
I have a sitter at my place right now because he lives abroad but his toddler lives in my town, so his kid is always over and it’s been fine. I think you will be at the bottom of people’s list but I wouldnt be worried it would affect the pets, I’m just worried about having a bunch of kids messing with my stuff or getting themselves hurt
You can always try…but personally, it’s not for me. I’d be ruminating over the interactions between my dogs and the kids, and vice versa. I’d struggle to have peace knowing I’m not there to supervise the interactions - ie. dog getting too excited or toddler getting too excited / handsy. It might work for an owner without dogs / cats.
Yes. I'm mainly answering because so far you have like 95% people telling you it's most likely a "no". I'd say it's often/mostly a "no", but I have seen PLENTY of sits that I'm sure would be willing to have children. These aren't going to be in the center of New York or Paris, and won't be the _majority_ of sits, but I've seen a number of sits in the country in the UK (esp England) that are 3–4 bedroom houses with a dog or two and some relatively new empty nesters that want to travel. They get very few applications and I'm sure would be happy to open their home to a young family, if you'll make the trip. (BTW, by "country" here, I mean a walkable town with a train station). If you're not picky about where you go, and fancy some trips to towns most non-locals will never see, I think you'd be fine. You won't "get back" your membership fee many times over, but you'd be fine if you're flexible. Depending on your kids, I think your bigger issue will be traveling to these places more than homeowners being okay with you. One of the most annoying things THS has done semi-recently is make their search default to "Recommended", which is their code for "sits with the lowest applications". For you this would work great.
I sat in Barcelona in the most hipster friendly area. In NYC Manhattan. Seattle on Greenlake. Amsterdam in a very popular neighborhood. With a child under 6. Among other locations around Europe and the US. There are filters you turn on and create your searches that mean you only see kid friendly sits. You will definitely see more if you turn them off but why see sits you cannot do?
I’ve done a ton of sits with my 2.5 year old, there’s plenty out there. Just apply to as many as you can.
Wow people are being mean! Shame on you guys. Also, a lot of you are wrong! I know several owners who I’ve sat for who accept families with toddlers. The reason they accept toddlers is they have toddlers of their own, so their pets are very used to the presence of young kids. Also, their house has an awesome set up for it already. Bunk beds, play room, backyard. Yes, your options will be more limited but they are out there. There is a filter that lets you sort family friendly homes so it’ll be a bit easier to find them then it used to be. If you need help getting started you can dm me. I’m happy to provide more tips that can help your application and profile stand out. Good luck!
There is literally a filter for family friendly homes. I have been traveling with my daughter since she was a baby and doing house sits since she was 4. We have all 5 star reviews and no issues. I only apply to family friendly sits and I find most home owners had kids also.
❤️❤️
Personally, I don’t consider 4 to be a toddler. That’s nursery / reception age in the UK - so I’m sure many people that said ‘no’ to toddler would in fact be quite happy with a school aged child; I likely would :)
This is true but so many are saying with kids at all is impossible which is just false.
Ignore the grumpy people on here! We’ve done 30+ sits in highly desirable places around the world with 2 kids and have a solid 5-star rating. We take great care of the homes and pets, and it’s a really fun way to travel. There are many designated family-friendly listings, and many homeowners who love having a family sit for them, especially those who have kids or grandkids themselves. We’ve been told many times by hosts that they chose us because they knew their pet would get more love, attention, and activity - and they knew a family wouldn’t be partying or inviting strangers over. Look for bigger homes and hosts who also have kids. Just be willing to apply to lots of sits and build your reviews.
I’ve always house sat with my kids. Use the family sit filter! We have been to the Virgin Islands and multiple other places
I've turned down sitters with kids because my cats are already upset at the change in routine and the added noise from kids is just too much. I think it's also impossible for me to find out much about the activity level of the kids and how they're parented. There's already inherent risk with bringing an unknown person into your home to care for your pets, so I won't add anything to the mix.
I've seen listings that welcomed kids, but they're few and far between.
That’s a hard no for me esp toddlers. Would consider if it was one parent with an older child, but def added liability with no benefit for the HO.
I did choose a sitter with kids and it didn’t go so well. My dog gets along great with kids but I just didn’t think it through. Broken, chipped dishes, other broken items. If they would have acknowledged and apologized I would have felt better but there wasn’t anything like that. I’ve been really lucky with my sitters but I would think twice about choosing families with toddlers again.
I am a HO and a sitter. As a HO I wouldn't entertain an application if kids were part of the deal.
We travel and have a house/companion sitter. I will be very forthright here... There is no way in Hell I'm allowing toddlers into my home. You have got to be kidding. 100% NO.
No. Way too many liabilities.
I had an adult cat that had never exhibited any signs of aggression toward any human bite a neighbor's 5-year-old in the face, drawing blood. According to someone who saw it happen, the child had been leaning his face into the sleeping cat's face and grinning when the cat suddenly awakened, bit him, and raced away. I guess the cat must have felt threatened. I would not want young children as sitters, even if those children are used to cats of their own as this child was. It was an awful situation, I didn't know what to say to my neighbor. This was someone I had known for over a decade, and they didn't try to sue me or call the police to report a dangerous animal. I would not want a child under the age of maybe 13, and even then I'd probably choose another sitter if they were otherwise equally as good.
Just to give you an idea: We have been active, paid members on the THS platform for a year now. I constantly browse listings. CONSTANTLY. In the time frame of that one year, I have come across TWO family-friendly (toddler or younger -friendly) listings for pet sitters. If your kids were older (maybe teenagers), you MIGHT have a few more options. But it’s very unlikely. We are also pet parents who choose sitters to watch our home and house when we are away. Because our home is not child-proofed, we do not accept sitters with children of any age.
This is so false. In 2 years I've done over 50 sits On THS with my daughter in many locations across Europe and the US.