Making a backup childcare plan | Progyny

Written by the Progyny Editorial Team — September 2025. 

You’ve spent hours researching the perfect childcare option for your family. Before you know it, though, your little one gets sick. Or there’s a family emergency, the childcare provider can’t make it, or a snowstorm hits.

Do you have backup childcare in place?

Discover your options ahead of time

As a working parent, scrambling for emergency childcare is stressful. It might be OK to take unplanned days off once in a while, but it’s important to have backup childcare in case you can’t take time off.

To really help avoid stress, try to come up with a Plan “B” and a Plan “C.” Your backup might not be able to come through on short notice.

Talk with your partner, family, or neighbors.

Do you have a partner, relatives, or neighbors who may be able to help? Talk with them to find out:

• Who can use their time off
• Who can work from home
• Who has flexible work hours

To avoid last-minute disagreements, you and your partner might try taking turns staying home.

Screen caregivers ahead of time.

You can search websites like care.com for babysitters or nannies you can use in an emergency or drop-in basis. Interview them ahead of time so you have a list of possible caregivers ready if you need it.

Do you have help from your employer?

Some employers may help by:

• Saving spots in nearby childcare centers on a drop-in basis
• Working with a company that sends trusted caregivers to an employee’s home

In addition, your Employee Assistance Program (EAP) probably offers help finding backup childcare and can tell you if your employer offers any discounts. A couple of childcare companies that do this are Bright Horizons® and KinderCare®.

And don’t forget to talk with your manager! It’s always helpful to communicate clearly about your situation. They might be able to offer flexibility or alternatives to taking time off.

If your child is sick

Many childcare centers require that a child be fever-free for at least 24 hours before they can return.

If you or your partner can’t stay home with your little one, be sure to ask your relatives, neighbors, or in-home babysitters if they are comfortable with sick children.

Some cities may offer “sick child” daycare, which is staffed by nurses who can give medicine and keep children comfortable. The organization Child Care Aware has a helpful resource about finding childcare if your child is mildly sick.

We’re here to help

Let your Progyny Care Advocate know if you’d like help creating your backup childcare plan. We’re here to ease stress and help you stay on-track with your life at home and at work.