Here's the
dilemma: You need to run several crucial errands, but you
dread taking your preschooler and toddler along.
Here's another one: You're working at home on a deadline,
but your preschooler wants to play and your toddler will
not take a nap.
What about this: The sitter just called in sick, and you
have a doctor's appointment in an hour.
Or even this: You and your spouse have not gone out alone
since you had the baby over a year ago!
If you only had a reliable sitter for just an hour or two!
Smart moms -- and dads! -- have found the answer to the
babysitting dilemma in a babysitting co-op. A co-op
provides a sitter at just the crucial time they need to
give them the room to work at home, to run an errand or to
go out at night.
A babysitting co-op consists of a number of families in a
community who decide to share free babysitting among
themselves. The co-op can be used for errands, doctor's
appointments or just some quiet time in a coffee shop.
Work-at-home parents can use their co-op for a few
precious hours of total concentration on work.
Stay-at-home parents use the co-op to get something done
or enjoy some free time without the hassle of finding a
sitter and the expense of paying for one. The parents feel
more comfortable knowing their children are watched by an
adult they know and by someone with whom the children feel
comfortable as well.
"Moms all over have discovered that best friends make
the best babysitters," says Gary Myers, author of The
Smart Mom's Baby-sitting Co-op Handbook (ISBN
0-9678748-0-7, $14.95). The book is based on the
University Place Babysitting Co-op near Seattle,
Washington, established in the early 1980s, and comes with
a companion kit that can be downloaded free from http://www.BabysittingCoop.com
.
A co-op requires little work to start or manage. In fact,
any mom can invite a few friends over and start a co-op in
one hour, according to Myers. For families new to an area,
placing a few flyers in the community will attract those
interested. Additional promotion and work are usually not
necessary. Myers recommends keeping things simple in the
co-op by establishing a rotating secretary position to
coordinate the sits.
"The secretary keeps track of points and calls the
mom with the biggest point deficit first to give her the
chance to babysit and earn back points," explains
Myers.
This eliminates the need for chips that some co-ops use
and prevents those in need of a sitter from having to make
several frustrating calls. To keep co-op duties balanced,
Myers recommends allotting extra points to the person
serving as secretary and having the secretary position
rotate monthly among members. With a membership of about
10 families, each member would have to serve as secretary
only about one month a year.
"Our co-op provides affordable, reliable and
available babysitters, as well as a way to connect with
others in the community," says Cheri Benz of Maroa,
Ill., who started her co-op in conjunction with her
playgroup. "My daughter enjoys playing with the other
kids whenever I do a sit, which actually relieves me from
having to be her exclusive playmate and
entertainment."
Best of all, work-at-home parents agree that a co-op
allows them to plan their day better. Knowing they will
have reliable sitters at a certain time lets them schedule
those important calls when the house will be quiet or lets
them focus on a crucial project without interruption.
However, even single parents or those who work traditional
weekday hours can benefit from participating in
babysitting co-ops. As a matter of fact, parents such as
these are the ones who founded BabysitterExchange.com,
an online service for parents who already know each other
to create groups that schedule and trade babysitting time.
Co-op groups come from the neighborhood, the children's
preschool, the local church, the soccer team or any other
established community group.
As with most co-ops, BabysitterExchange.com
uses a credit system. Although there is a small enrollment
fee of $10 and an annual fee of $24, BabysitterExchange.com
eliminates the need for a secretary because it manages all
the administration of the groups, such as member profiles,
credit accounting, and email communications, via the
Internet.
For parents who do not have time to serve as secretary or
to attend meetings, an online resource for babysitting has
been very helpful, almost as helpful as the co-op itself.
"As a parent, whether working outside the home or
not, you don't get a 'break.' There isn't any 'off time'
at all," says Danielle Lee, a working mother in
Mission Viejo, California. "Having a support system,
I think, is somewhat therapeutic for all."
A babysitting co-op provides that support system crucial
to any parent. Don't wait until the next time you need a
sitter -- try solving your babysitting dilemma with a
babysitting co-op today!
About the Author:
Carren W. Joye is the author of A Stay-at-Home Mom's
Complete Guide to Playgroups (ISBN 0-595-14684-8). A home schooling
mom of four children, she has founded five successful
playgroups and helped start countless other playgroups
around the world. Visit her web site at http://www.OnlinePlaygroup.com
for more information about playgroups.
