• A Choice Nanny

  850 Seventh Ave., Ste. 706, 212-246-5437

  Working parents with small children know that if the phone rings before 7 a.m., it usually means one thing: no nanny. Whether your sitter calls in sick or she’s planning a two-week vacation, A Choice Nanny can come up with a rock-solid replacement on super-short notice. Husband-and-wife owners Alan and Joan Friedman conduct a CIA-worthy screening of sitters’ criminal records, DMV history, credit, Social Security, and educational background. (All of their sitters are also CPR-trained.) Unlike most services, which provide parents with a list of potential fill-ins and their phone numbers, this hands-on team lines up a sub for you. Book a favorite sitter months in advance, or, more often, phone in at 7:02 a.m. for same-day service. After a onetime registration fee of $350, rates run from $12 to $16 per hour.

From the 2006 Best of New York issue of New York Magazine