Brian and Stacey Frazier have lived in Stapleton for eight years, and have two children, Autumn (7) and Aiden (5). The family stays active taking advantage of everything that Stapleton and Denver have to offer. Brian and Stacey also like to get some time to themselves, or go out and spend time with friends. Unfortunately, for Brian and Stacey, neither has any family here to help babysit for them when they are out.
“It’s tough because it isn’t always easy to get a sitter you are comfortable with,” said Stacey. “Plus, it just starts to get expensive. So, we decided to start taking advantage of technology.” The Fraziers have recently begun to have family members outside of Colorado Skype with the kids, and essentially babysit them while they are out. “It works out pretty well,” says Brian. “We put computers with monitors in each of the rooms, and then whomever is watching them can watch them draw, play, or whatever. If the kids want to watch a movie, they even watch the movie with them, and tell them when to get into bed.”
The Skype babysitting does come with some challenges. “Well, obviously, you can’t physically grab them through Skype,” said Stacey. “Maybe someday, but right now you can’t. So, breaking up fights is hard, or sometimes getting them to bed. Also, you have to tell them how to make their own dinners, which can sometimes be a process.”
Overall, the Fraziers have been extremely happy with the new system. “It allows us more time out of the house, and obviously, we trust our family to watch the kids,” said Brian. “Our families also appreciate spending more time with the kids.” The Fraziers estimate they will save about $2000 on babysitting this year. “We are planning on the two of us taking a trip to Hawaii with that money,” said Stacey. “And of course, we will have our family Skype-watch our kids while we are gone.”]]>