You have already done the hardest job there is.
If you have raised children, you know things a training course cannot teach. Families near you are looking for exactly that. Mitlea is where they find you.
It takes about fifteen minutes, it is free, and you can do all of it on your phone. Nothing is visible to anyone until you press publish.
You do not need to become anything new
Most of the women on Mitlea have never had a “profile” anywhere. That is fine. This is a page about you, and we will walk you through every part of it, one question at a time.
Your experience is the qualification
Mitlea exists because families want someone who has raised children of her own. You do not need a certificate to be worth booking, and you do not need to have done this as a job before.
You have done this before
Bedtime for a child who will not go to bed. A fever at nine in the evening. Two children who want the same toy. You already know what to do, which is the whole point.
It is your own page, in your own words
You write what you want families to know. Mitlea never invents a number, never rounds your years up and never adds a claim you did not make.
What you earn
You set your hourly rate, and you keep every cent of it. Mitlea charges no fee at all at the moment — online payment is not switched on, so you agree payment with the family directly. The figures below are what will apply once it is, and your rate will still not be reduced to pay for this site.
A weekday evening
$18/hr × 4 hours
- You receive
- $72
The family pays $80.64, including the $8.64 service fee.
A Saturday date night
$22/hr × 4 hours
- You receive
- $88
The family pays $98.56, including the $10.56 service fee.
A longer Saturday
$25/hr × 6 hours
- You receive
- $150
The family pays $168, including the $18 service fee.
When you are paid
Taxes are yours to handle
Everything is your decision
Mitlea does not assign you to anyone, does not set your price and does not schedule you. It puts your page in front of families and gets out of the way.
- Your hours
- Mark the days and times you are genuinely free — Tuesday afternoons only, or every evening except Sunday. You can block out a week for a holiday, and nothing can be booked into it.
- Your rate
- You choose your hourly rate and you can change it whenever you like. You also set the shortest booking you will take, so nobody asks you to drive across town for forty minutes.
- The ages you take
- Infants, toddlers, school age, teenagers — you pick. If you would rather not take newborns, you will not be shown to a family looking for one.
- The kind of care
- Babysitting, date-night care, after-school pick-ups, a regular weekly slot, homework help, or an extra pair of hands while a parent is in the house. Offer one or all of them.
- Who you say yes to
- Every booking is a request until you accept it. You can decline without giving a reason, and you can decline as many as you like. Nobody at Mitlea will ask you why.
- Whether you are listed at all
- You can pause your profile at any point and stop appearing in search. Nothing is deleted, and you can come back when you want to.
What verification involves
Verification is how a family knows the page in front of them is really you. You show a person at Mitlea the document, on a video call or in person. They record that they saw it and when it expires.
Mitlea does not keep your driver’s licence, your passport or your background-check report. There is no file of your documents to be lost or stolen, because there is no file.
Read the whole verification policyIdentity verified
Your driver's licence or passport, shown on a video call.
Background check
Your background check report, shown to us directly.
The badge comes off your profile when the certificate expires, and comes back when you show us a current one.
CPR certified
Your CPR certification card, with its expiry date.
The badge comes off your profile when the certificate expires, and comes back when you show us a current one.
First aid certified
Your first aid certification card, with its expiry date.
The badge comes off your profile when the certificate expires, and comes back when you show us a current one.
References checked
Two families we can call, with names and phone numbers.
Signing up is nine short screens
One question at a time, and you can stop after any of them and come back — your answers are saved as you go, and a draft is not visible to anybody.
- 01
Your details
Your name, your email address and a password. Two minutes.
- 02
Your profile
A photograph and a few paragraphs about yourself. A face makes more difference than anything else on the page.
- 03
Your experience
How many children you raised, how many grandchildren you have, how long you have been babysitting. Only what you want to say — every field can be left blank.
- 04
What you offer
The kinds of care you offer, and the ages you are happy to look after.
- 05
Your rate and your hours
What you charge an hour, the shortest booking you will take, and the days and times you are free.
- 06
Send it to us
Press send. Someone at Mitlea reads your profile within two working days and arranges a short call to see your ID. Your page goes live after that call — you never have to chase it.
Things people ask us
Do I need a computer?
No. Everything works on a phone, and the text is large and every screen is built for a phone. If you would rather do it sitting with someone, that is fine too.
Do I have to take a booking I do not want?
Never. Every booking is a request until you accept it, and declining takes one tap and needs no explanation. Your profile is not ranked down for saying no.
Does Mitlea employ me?
No. You are working for yourself. You set your rate and your hours, you choose your families, and Mitlea takes a service fee from the family for the introduction, the booking and the payment.
What if a family does not turn up, or cancels?
Once online payment is switched on: a family who cancels inside 24 hours of the session leaves you half of the session cost, and inside two hours all of it — already held, and sent to you without you chasing anyone. Until then Mitlea holds no money, so what happens on a cancellation is between you and the family.
Can families see my address or my phone number?
Not from your profile. Your page shows your town, not your street. Phone numbers are shared only once a booking is confirmed, so that you and the family can reach each other on the night.
What if I change my mind?
Pause your profile and you stop appearing in search straight away. You can un-pause it whenever you like, and you can close your account entirely.
The first families are looking now.
Mitlea is opening in Blacksburg, and the first caregivers are being found by families this month. If you have spent years looking after children, this is the moment to be one of the profiles they see.
Questions first? hello@mitlea.com