Launched in January 2021, Munchkin Mailbox is here to make it easy for parents to apply to daycare and preschool! The company offers a seamless online platform where parents can find childcare listings in their area and apply to multiple facilities at once.
What’s better? It’s a FREE service for both parents and childcare providers. It currently lists 11,000 daycare centers nationally, with 300 in the D.C./Maryland/Virginia area.
The Answer for Working Parents
Munchkin Mailbox was founded by Anna Levin, a local working mom who knows firsthand just how stressful applying for daycares and preschools can be. She came to the realization that the process would be so much simpler if it could be carried out online, similar to the way high school students can apply online for college. Levin talked to other parents only to find that they were equally astounded at the difficulty of applying for daycares and preschools.
As a fellow working mom, I identify with this struggle. When I was just a couple of months pregnant with my first son, I quickly learned that I had to start thinking about childcare options. Would I get a nanny? Join a nanny share? Send my son to a daycare? Once I decided that daycare would work best for my family, I found there was no one place to locate providers. Rather, it was a hodgepodge of internet searches, word-of-mouth, and reading the archives of my neighborhood listserv. After many hours of research, I then had to contact each center to inquire about openings, applications, waitlists, and tours. It was tedious and time-consuming.
Levin describes a similar experience with her children:
My friends and I were encountering 9-18 month waitlists, unreturned phone calls and emails, and spending 20, 30, sometimes 40 hours on applications from start to finish,” says Levin. “It just seemed crazy that the most stressed people on the planet, working parents, were spending precious time and energy securing care for their children.
How it Works
You — the parent — can apply to multiple centers in one place using your personal profile. Payments and confirmations are sent electronically, creating a permanent record. The schools you choose will receive applications and payments. Childcare providers can also customize their online applications at Munchkin Mailbox.
As it stands, Munchkin Mailbox is the only website where parents can search and apply directly to preschools and daycares online. It gives parents a single portal where they can find child care, submit an application, and receive confirmation without writing various checks or making several phone calls.
COVID-19 Pandemic has Increased the Need for Childcare
One thing the COVID-19 global pandemic has taught us is how crucial childcare is to our economy. Women are leaving the workforce in record numbers due to their families’ need for care, including virtual school. Munchkin Mailbox is doing its part to help families all over the country.
Even worse, many childcare centers shuttered for a time at the beginning of the pandemic, and some have never reopened. This has only made the search for childcare even tougher. As a result, Levin says there is a heightened need for a centralized place to focus that search, and Munchkin Mailbox is it!
Check out Munchkin Mailbox to effortlessly search and apply to daycare and preschool.
