Have you ever tried a babysitting co-op?

Question

Details if you have got any info. Thanks!

Answer 1

Yes, and it was an incredible help for all of us who participated. We kept it going for nearly 2 years until some of us returned to work part-time or older children entered kindergarten and it just sort of dissolved. I highly recommend it to anyone who's thought of starting one. We had about 8 families in our co-op which seemed to be about the right size for us. The mom who organized the co-op was the "president". She had each of us complete name/address/phone sheets with information about each child, likes/dislikes/allergies, etc. Then she copied them all and everyone received a folder with the compiled information in it. Each month one mom was the "secretary". She was the contact person if you needed a "sit" and would call the other members to see who could take the "sit". We used a point system to keep track of everyone's usage, it was requested that everyone used at least one sit per month as well as performing one sit a month. Some people used it more, but we kind of kept to the rule that you performed as many sits as you used just to keep it fair to everyone. Also, once a month we would have a co-op "tea" or playday at the park. As you can tell, some months we chose to have moms only and some months with the kiddos. It was a great way to get out and socialize, which most of us busy moms don't get a chance to do often.

Answer 2

No, but I wish I had. Go for it if given the chance (only with people you trust).