TODD PLISS: "Whether people say it or not, there's definitely age discrimination. Companies can't officially say that. But I see it a lot because these women, a lot of them, are educated; they've got decades of experience -- not just in the nannying, child care world, but in the real world."

Women who want to apply to become a "Grandma" have to pay a twenty-five dollar processing and membership fee. The frequently asked questions on the company's website do not say anything about having to actually be a grandmother. The grandmas are advertised as age fifty-plus and English speaking, and many are shown with pictures on the site.

The service is available in Los Angeles County and a franchise operation recently started in Dallas, Texas. The company aims to expand nationally, and Mr. Pliss says parents as far away as Europe have contacted him.

Finding child care can be stressful for many parents. Anna Marie Caldwell rented one of the grandmas, Jane Mertes, to care for her three daughters when she was not home.

ANNA MARIE CALDWELL: "She was part of the family. She was helping out cooking, cleaning, helping with homework, playing with the kids."

JANE MERTES: "When you work with children you have a responsibility and an obligation to make a difference in their lives and maybe teach them something that their parents didn't know or just a different perspective."

Ms. Caldwell says hiring an older person is different from using a teenage babysitter.