Caregiver Pair and Share
Nurturing care for infants, toddlers, and young children in your own home, or in the home of a personalized match we make for you in our program.
Pairing and Sharing Since 2015
We pair families with similar care needs, help prepare a host home for two families’ children to play, and place a team of Tinker-trained caregivers to share the job.
We began matching families with trusted caregivers in our circle since summer of 2015. We pair families with similar care needs, help prepare a host home for two families’ children to play, and place a team of Tinker-trained caregivers to share the job.
The process begins with an initial meeting, and outlining a family’s needs, space and preferences to create plan for care. We work with hosting families and share what we know about home safety and baby-proofing, non-toxic cleaning and establish places to play and sleep at the host’s family home. Each family pair has a team of 2-3 primary caregivers, and 1-2 substitutes for continuity of care.
Caregivers are employees of Tinker, and we cover their taxes and insurance and scheduling. Our hiring process for caregivers includes reference checks, background check, and 30 hours minimum training (including CPR and health and safety practices) before placement in a team. Tinker Tree provides ongoing support and training throughout their placement.
Caregiver responsibilities include preparing meals and snacks, activities, park outings, preparing for and supervising naptimes, reporting about the children’s day, and cleaning duties associated within the share activities only. Every effort is made that families and caregivers have a match that feels good for all. When there is room open in Tinker Tree’s family daycare, families enrolled in shares are offered spaces first, and children enrolled in shares can enroll part-time in daycare as spaces become available.
Babies
Starting at 3 months pair and shares are ideal for families who want flexible home care
Children
Best for older siblings of infants or two young children, families love pair and share
Natural Match
We pair you with a natural match for your needs and schedule

01.
Apply for a Share
Submit your application for a spot in our Caregiver Pair and Share program. Families can submit an application before their baby is even born!
- Submit the application
- Name, DOB, and location
- Siblings and twins welcome!
- We pair you with a family
- We assign our loving caregiver
- Your journey begins

02.
Be Accepted & Matched
After your application is accepted we match you with a family with a child that is similar in age, scheduling needs, and geographical location
- Based on criteria like
- Child's age
- Schedule
- Geographical location
- Start date
- Siblings or other family needs

03.
Start
After we find your ideal pair and match you, we work with you to choose a start date – and we begin!
- Flexible start dates
- Applications on a rolling basis
- Pairs happen when find a match
- Caregivers are CPR certified
- Caregivers are fully trained
- Caregivers are daycare providers