Rent a (Grand)Kid

Think you'd like to have a baby, but a little nervous about whether you can handle those tempestuous toddler years? Just discovered that your children are about to present you with a new generation and you have to remember how this all works? Need a plausible cover for your urge to re-read Blueberries for Sal?

Try our new Rent-a-Kid program!

With Rent-a-Kid you can interact for a day in a safe environment with a live, fully equipped two year old. We use an all-natural, organically-grown toddler, letting the beautiful idiosyncrasies of the natural character shine through in each one-of-a-kind session. Though every Rent-a-Kid experience is unique, you can count on facing memorable highs and lows during even the shortest visit. Try your hand at toddler humor, or test your wits with a table manners battle. Increase your endurance for cloying picture books with a Little Engine That Could reading marathon. Pit your memory against a verse-perfect, two-year-old devotee of "Who Are the People in Your Neighborhood?" Our Rent-a-Kid toddler comes with all her own books, toys, clothes, and food. Professional handlers will be standing by at all times.

"Lecturing to undergraduates is one thing--reading to toddlers is another. If I can grab her attention, I know I can get a hall full of college students to stay awake for fifty minutes. Rent-a-Kid has been good for me personally and professionally."

See our customized packages below to determine which Rent-a-Kid experience is right for you.

Basic Playdate: 3-hour session, 9am-noon. Playtime, with one snack. Playground pass, tricycle and wagon access included. Diaper changes provided by staff. $55.

Practical Parenting Practice: 5-hour session, 9am-2pm. Playtime, with one snack and one lunch. Session ends with naptime bed-down routine. Playground pass, tricycle and wagon access. Carseat pass for one local errand. Two diaper changes, one wet and one poopy. All other diaper changes by staff. $75.

The Deluxe Toddler Experience: All-day session, 9am-8pm. Full access to all toddler parenting privileges. Lunch, dinner, and two snacks. All diaper changes. Naptime and bedtime routines. Playground pass, tricycle and wagon access, public library visit, and pool pass (swim diaper included). Unlimited carseat use for local errands. Visit to children's attractions in Philadelphia and one public tantrum available for additional fee. $135.

Intensive Skills Course: If your grandchildren are arriving next week or you find you are already pregnant and don't have time for a more moderately-paced program, our intensive skills course is the perfect choice. 4-hour session, 5-9pm. Includes cranky daycare pickup, foot-dragging walk home, playground altercation, one explosive diaper, one major spill of art supplies, dinner with food-throwing tantrum, and classic I'm-not-sleepy bedtime routine. $85.

"Nothing prepares you for explaining to a two year old why an innocent fly sometimes gets eaten by a frog--not even years spent writing about Woodrow Wilson's expulsion of black civil servants from the federal government. So at first I was a little tense."

"The Rent-a-Kid toddler was great. She worked with me through several readings of The Icky Sticky Frog, until I was confident that I could discuss the circle of life in terms she could understand. Rent-a-Kid training is invaluable for life's toughest moments."

"I was so sad when my daughter left home for college this week. Fortunately, I called Rent-a-Kid and was able to get a day's respite from Empty Nest Syndrome. One Basic Playdate, and I'm looking forward to grandchildren!"

Looking for a Rent-a-Kid opportunity close to home? Ask us about our Nationwide Partnership Program. Or call about opening a franchise in your city. Toddler temperaments vary by location.

100% of our proceeds go to impoverished graduate students