School Closings Boosts Local Baby Sitting Business

By Colleen Chen, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Students in the metro have had about four snow days from the latest winter blast and it has been sending parents into stress mode trying to find kid sitters.

Many parents still had to work while their kids had snow days, and others just needed a break. It's why call volume has jumped up at Seeking Sitters in Oklahoma City.

"Requests for sitters has been high since the storm hit, but has even increased 25 percent since Monday afternoon. I could tell when schools started deciding when to close by the calls I was getting," said franchise owner Alicia Champion.

Seeking Sitters OKC has 40 sitters that have all gone through thorough background checks. The sitters are matched up with families signed up for the service. Families also go through background checks to create a safe environment for parents and sitters.

Kirby Strother is one of those sitters and said, "I appreciate the extra hours. It's a lot more than usual, especially since it's been back to back days."

Parents like Kathryn Gusafson are beyond grateful.

"If Mid-Del closes school one more day, I'm going to go insane," Gusafson joked.

There are Seeking Sitters franchises across the United States. Find a sitter in your area through Seeking Sitters.

"Ironically, my husband and I started the first OKC franchise after we had trouble finding sitters during a winter storm. This latest winter storm has boosted business. We've had a lot of last minute requests," Champion said.