If you are a parent, or a future parent, and need childcare, plan early! Childcare is expensive, and especially so in Boston!

The following resources are generally available to postdocs at Harvard. Some services may be dependent on benefits eligibility. To determine whether you are benefits-eligible, check with your Department Administrator or the Benefits Office at 617-496-4001.

For a list of online resources to help to entertain your kids, see here.

Here are some additional links that hopefully will be of assistance:

Child Care @ Harvard
This site contains detailed information about child-care centers on or near Harvard's campuses, as well as resources for finding other types of child care. There is also information about the childcare scholarships, available to Harvard benefits-eligible postdocs, as well as back-up or emergency care, adoption resources, and more.

Child Care Harvard-affiliated Centers

There are 6 nonprofit, independent child-care centers located in University space. 5 are on the Cambridge campus and one is in Allston near the Harvard Business School Campus (see map). Please do not assume that these are the default option. While "Harvard affiliated," these centers are i) financially independent of Harvard, ii) particularly difficult to get in (acceptance rate lower than for Harvard College students), and ii) no cheaper than other, non-Harvard affiliated childcare centers.

Nanny Placement Services

For parents who would like the assistance of an agency-supported search and are seeking in-home care, Harvard has a preferred vendor agreement with the American Nanny Company to provide nanny-placement services for Harvard Benefits-eligible postdocs. American Nanny Company will interview your family to help craft a job description, conduct detailed searches, perform background checks and interviews, and provide families with applicant files until a match is made. For all Harvard affiliates, American Nanny will:

• Discount the $100 application fee to $50; if you hire a nanny through American Nanny, the $50 fee will be applied toward your placement fee.
• Provide full-time nanny placement at the discounted fee of $2,900 and part-time placement at the discounted fee of $2,600.
• Provide à la carte services for a candidate you identify yourself at a 15% discount, including services like criminal and DMV background checks, full interviews with detailed employment and education history, reference checks and verification services, and more.

Learn more by visiting American Nanny Company or calling 617-244-5154.

WATCH Portal
A service that connects parents with student babysitters within the Harvard community.

Schools and Afterschool programs

Parenting support in age of Covid:

From The New York Times: ‘I Have Given Up’: Parenting in Quarantine. Readers tell us how they’re managing the Parent-Employee-Teacher trifecta during the pandemic.