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“Rent-a-mom” and campus housekeeping services have emerged on American campuses. Operators provide assistance in laundry, cleaning, food delivery, etc. and charge up to 2,495 yuan per semester. Supporters believe it could reduce the pressure of studying away from home, while opponents worry about students’ freedom being weakened.
“Rent-a-mom” services have recently emerged among American college students. Even if parents are thousands of miles away, they can spend money to hire a “surrogate mother” to help them wash clothes, clean dorms, deliver meals, buy medicine, and even arrange birthday surprises for their children studying abroad. This type of service has gradually evolved from basic transportation and life advice into a business model that specifically caters to the living needs of college students. Some plans charge up to 2,495 yuan per semester.
According to the New York Post, Carrie Eckhart was a former Uber driver who frequently picked up and dropped off students. She found that many people were busy with school work and campus activities and did not have time to deal with daily life, so she started to provide related services in January 2026. This “surrogate mother” offers various charging plans. The basic “Peace of Mind” plan is 1,295 yuan per semester, which includes laundry service, monthly care visit, and comes with a gift box and a supply package during final exams. The most expensive “Mama’s Got You” plan costs NT$2,495 per semester. In addition to basic services, it also includes cleaning of three dorm rooms per month, bed cleaning once per semester, and collection and delivery of dry cleaning clothing.
In addition to regular services, parents can also purchase personalized services based on their needs, including delivering homemade chicken soup when students are sick, assisting with medication pickup, airport transportation, and arranging massages, beauty treatments, and more. Birthday surprises are one of the most popular items. The “surrogate mother” will arrange flowers, cupcakes and balloon decorations according to the parents’ budget, so that children living far away can feel the care of their family.
Eckhardt said she is not monitoring children for parents, nor will she willingly report on the daily lives of students. She will inform parents only when necessary, such as illness or emergency. He believes such services are similar to families hiring cleaning staff or using delivery services, and are intended to make life more convenient rather than replace students’ ability to care for themselves.
Apart from individual operations, such services are also beginning to become corporate. Mindy Horwitz founded a campus stewardship organization called Mindy Knows. Currently, the company’s business has expanded to eight universities, covering everything from helping college students solve various daily tasks, finding reliable local doctors and car mechanics, providing restaurant suggestions, and helping deal with unexpected minor troubles in daily life.
Horwitz calls this business “campus concierge service”, emphasizing that college students learning to live independently does not mean they should be isolated. She believes that students should still learn to wash clothes, cook and handle daily tasks, but it is equally important to have someone they can trust who can help them adapt to the new environment.
The “Rent-a-Mom” service has spawned a variety of ideas. Proponents believe that when children leave home for the first time to study and parents are unable to be with them all the time, having local people who can lend a helping hand if they become ill or encounter an emergency can ease family worries. However, some people question whether even basic household chores such as laundry and cleaning done by others will cause college students to become overly dependent on their parents and affect their independence.
The report notes that according to data released this year by UnitedHealthcare, 69% of college students said they have experienced mental or behavioral health difficulties in the past year. Industry players believe that studying away from home, adaptation to a new campus and academic pressure can increase the burden of living on students, hence it is necessary to provide a support network where they can seek help locally.
Summary FAQ
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Such services include laundry, cleaning dormitories, food delivery, purchasing medicines, airport pick-up and drop-off, as well as delivering chicken soup when you are sick, arranging birthday surprises, etc. Its objective is to provide immediate support in life to students when their parents are unable to accompany them.
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The basic plan, started by Carrie Eckhardt, is RMB 1,295 per semester, which includes laundry, care visits, and supply packages; The highest comprehensive care plan is RMB 2,495 per semester, which also includes dormitory cleaning, bed cleaning and dry cleaning delivery.
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Proponents believe it can provide support and relieve parental anxiety when students are ill or face emergencies; Skeptics worry that outsourcing even basic homework could make college students more dependent on others and impair their independence.
