Village is focused on the practical aspects of childcare. Our Experts are not doctors or psychologists and focus on helping parents with the day-to-day responsibilities of caring for children. For a complete list of challenges, please see our How Can We Help? page.

Nope! As long as you are a regular caregiver in the child’s life, you can benefit directly from Village. Even if you occasionally care for the child (such as a grandparent) and would like to learn more about the techniques & strategies, you’re welcome to learn from our Experts.

We match Experts based on the challenge that you select and the age of your child. We are confident that any Expert we recommend will be able to help you with your challenge. If you would like to select a particular Expert, you can look through profiles of matched Experts to find one who resonates with you.

When scheduling a session, you will see availability for the matching Expert or Experts. Your Expert will need to confirm the session before it is scheduled.

Across challenges, we recommend working with the same Expert so that you can continue to build on the existing relationship. However, some Experts are specialized in certain age ranges or challenges so it might be necessary to work with a new Expert.

A typical Village session is 45 minutes long. We give you an additional 15 minutes for your first session with an Expert so you can get to know each other.

For all sessions, we recommend that you have a way to take notes. It is critical that all the regular caregivers are present on the session so your child receives consistent parenting.

First Session

Before your first session, we need to learn a little bit about you & your family. Knowing the age of your child or children will help us understand the kind of challenges you’re facing. It is also important to know the other regular caregivers in your family so your Expert can advise accordingly. We make it easy for you to input these details so you only need to do it once.

Going into the session, you should be prepared to discuss the details of the challenge you’re facing, what you have already tried, and successes & opportunities to improve, as well as details like your child’s daily schedule.

Subsequent Sessions

For all subsequent sessions, you should be prepared to discuss the effectiveness of the Expert’s guidance. In between sessions, it is very critical that you follow the guidance consistently and diligently. Because of the way a child’s brain works, they will only adopt a behavior if it is consistently enforced as the norm. Taking notes on how your child responds is a great way to make sure you capture the effectiveness of a technique and will help your Expert to adjust their guidance accordingly. If a new & more pressing behavior arises, be sure to mention that at the beginning of your next session.

First & foremost, you should expect a welcoming, open environment where you can feel comfortable to discuss your challenges free of judgment with a veteran childcare professional who is there to find the right solution for you & your family. The more information you share with your Expert, the more they will be able to help you. There is no question too simple, basic, or insignificant.

Your Expert will ask you questions to diagnose the situation and inform their recommendations. This time is for you and you should ask many questions as you need to understand the guidance.

All families are different and what works for one child, might not work for another, even siblings. If you are not comfortable with a technique or feel it is not right for your family, your Expert will help you find one that suits you better.

We recommend using video in your session as it helps you form a connection with your Expert. Talking face to face helps your Expert to understand how their guidance resonates with you. Your sessions should be done in a quiet place where you feel comfortable discussing your family & where you can give the session your full attention.

No two children are the same and there is no “one size fits all” solution to the challenges of childcare. Village is unique in offering the expertise of a childcare book, the convenience of an online forum, and the interactive relationship of friends & family all in a single resource - your Expert. By building on the successes & improvement opportunities with your Expert, you can work to find the solution that is right for your family.

The time between follow-ups varies depending on the challenge. This allows sufficient time to test the strategy, accounting for the way children respond to new ideas ^[?]. Depending on the complexity of the challenge, multiple sessions may be required to discuss all the associated behaviors, but not an unlimited number.

We do expect that you will be able to find a solution to a particular challenge and that the process will not be indefinite. We know childcare is expensive and we want to help you make the best use of your money. Based on your challenge, we recommend a package with the appropriate number of sessions. Village does not offer a subscription because we do not want to bill you for time that you do not use. As your child grows, new challenges will arise and we will be right here to help you when they do.