As a parent, there never seem to be enough hours in the day, but sometimes you really feel as if the world would spin on a better axis if you just had an extra hour or two to run some errands solo, squeeze in a work call, or get a pedicure.

My sister passed along a terrific idea from her best friend’s mother (who we’ll call Grandma P.). Grandma P. loves taking care of children but all of her grandkids live an airplane ride away. She’s an active retiree and thus didn't want to commit to a fixed babysitting schedule. Instead, she decided to post on Craigslist, offering on the fly childcare to parents in need of a few hours of relief.

Grandma P. has been inundated with calls; not surprisingly, there are plenty of parents out there hunting for short term babysitting solutions. So if you know of retirees or other flexibly scheduled folks who love looking after little ones, have them post in the childcare section on Craigslist; likewise, take a look in said section if you are in need of a last minute sitter or other childcare arrangements.