Starting your own babysitting co-op.. Anyone interested?

I have started and participated in two of them....Ages ago.. They are great and FREE (cash-wise).. If anyone wants the layout, I'll be happy to pass the info to you new Moms with young kids..

It was a godsend for me and my friends when our kids were little.. Takes very little time, and saves a ton of money too..

I was a stay-at-home, but it could work for others too.:)

reply to this thread if you are interested..:)

I actually ran across the old book a while back.. (My "baby" turns 26 next month:eyes:..)

My parents did that when I was little, too.

I have a good group of friends at my daughter's preschool. They might be interested. Thanks! :hi:

Get all the Moms together for the organizational meeting. It's an "assumed" that most of you already know each other and have similar principles of child-rearing..

Ours worked on a simple point system:

We used a simple notebook (pre computers)
Each month someone was the "secretary"
For being secretary , each menber gave her "1 hour"..

You could save or use your hours..

daytime hours in your own home cost you 1.5 hours for each hour used
nighttime hours were 2 hours for each hour used
taking your child to sitter's house cost 1 hr for each hour used

The secretary was the only one called for a sitter, and since she had "the book" she knew who "needed to earn hours" that month, and would be eager to pay back or earn back credits..

When you sat..you banked hours..when you had your kids watched, you spent them..

The points/hours/credits (whatever you call them) are PER CHILD..

I had 3 kids, so I was always eager to sit, so I could bank enough credits to "pay" for someone watching MY kids for an afetrnoon..

It was great fun for MY kids too, because when someone brought their kids over, it was like a playdate for them..

We set an upper limit of how many hours you could "owe" the co-op, so that people did not take advantage.

By rotating the secretary position each month, you always had a chance to pay back without sitting a lot..

We used a very simple set-up, but with computers and spreadsheets you could tweak it anyway you wanted..

Questions??

We had a secretary too, and part of his/her job was handing out a monthly balance sheet of everyone's hours. Then, instead of going through the secretary to find a sitter, each parent could choose his or her own sitter by looking at the balance sheet and seeing who needed to earn a few hours. Ater sitting, the sitter would call (in the pre-email days!) the secretary and report the hours so that the secretary could record them. It worked great.

We also had monthly meetings, just so co-op members could hang out and get to know each other better, and we had an annual family holiday party in December, an annual family camping trip in June, and family picnics every spring and fall. The kids loved it--we all did. Most of the co-op's members were transplants from out of town and had no extended family nearby, and we all became like each other's extended families. It was a wonderful time in my family's life, and we're still close with most of the friends we made through the co-op.

Our school doesn't offer a daycare for students (that is both practical and affordable - the only daycare they have is full-time). I researched stories of moms meeting on campus in various locations and watching each other's children while the other moms are in class and switching out, etc. Finally the school let them use a room to do this in and after a while it became a staple of the school (a regular co-op daycare center). I think this idea is GREAT for those moms who are in school or have part-time jobs and also for moms who have young children and need to get out (for dr. appointments, etc.).

Although my own child care situation is improving slightly, I'm still going to look over your outline! :hi:

so it was great to have the option of free babysitting.. If I had to pay cash for a sitter for 3 boys under 5, I could never have afforded lunch out every week or bridge once a week.. :)

I usually banked my credits by babysitting in their homes on a Saturday night, and then spent them on daytime shopping or fun excursions without dragging my kids along every time..

My husband traveled during the week, so Saturday night with the boys was a good time for him to hang out with them and not have me butting in all the time..

then I discovered "sleepovers". My son had 3 friends whose parents I knew and trusted. Whenever any one of us needed a night off, we called a friend. It worked wonders, the kids became really close friends and each of the parents knew that they could get a night out every once in a while. My son is now 14 and definitely doesn't need a babysitter. The challenge now is staying up and making sure the teens don't get into trouble on the occasional sleepover.