How to Start a BabySitting Co-op

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Feb 24, 2009

As part of a babysitting co-op, you will always have reliable babysitters and playmates for your kids with values similar to your own.

Baby-sitting co-ops are becoming increasingly popular among groups of stay-at-home caregivers and advocates of attachment parenting, who, like any parents, sometimes need a break, but don't want to compromise the quality of care given to their children.

Choosing Your Members

To get started, you'll first need to decide who you'd like to invite to join your group. Try assessing the qualities that are most important to you in your own parenting and choosing other mums or dads that have similar parenting styles and values. If you don't know anyone with similar parenting techniques, try joining a Meetup or other Internet group for "stay-at-home moms" or "attachment parenting" or looking in local periodicals for Mom's groups you can visit. These are great ways to meet people and the perfect places to seek out possible co-op members. Later, you may even want to start a Google group for your co-op.

Deciding on Rules and a Point System

When you have chosen your members, you'll want to lay down some ground rules. It is a good idea to work out a point system or something similar just to keep track of how many hours each person puts in and uses. With a point or number system, each parent "earns" hours, by taking care of another's children, which he or she can then "spend" on childcare for his or her own kids.

This keeps things fair and ensures that no one person is taking advantage of the privileges without "working" and likewise, that no one person becomes a workhorse without reaping any benefits. Below is a short description of how this might work.

Example Group and Point Log

In the GreenTree Baby-sitting Co-op, there are 6 caregiver-toddler pairs. Each caregiver begins the 3 month session with 10 points. (Each point translates to an hour of baby-sitting time).

This particular group has chosen to elect a leader and secretary. Ellie, the mum who started the group, is the leader and Jeffrey, a stay-at-home-dad in the group, is the secretary or bookkeeper, who keeps track of the hours. Ellie is in charge of deciding group meeting times and addressing issues or problems within the group if they arise.

As you can see, half a month has gone by and already Anna has nearly doubled her points, while Thomas and Jaqueline are running out quickly. This is not a problem for the group, but it can be helpful to keep track and be aware, lest Anna begins to feel overworked. Likewise, Jaqueline and Thomas can be aware that, if they need more childcare during this session, they will need to earn more points by babysitting for another family in the group.

Keeping The Group Close and Informed

It can also be helpful to have weekly (or twice monthly) meetings, which can double as playdates, so that the kids and parents stay familiar with one another. This is also an opportunity to let everyone know of changes or issues in your household, such as allergies, potty-training breakthroughs (or backslides!), and the ever-changing habits of your kiddos.

Its also a great time to bond and socialize with people who can sympathize, because not only are they going through similar things with their own children, they know and care for your kids too! Chances are, you will soon find your co-op becoming, not only a source for trusted childcare, but also a group of close friends.

The copyright of the article How to Start a BabySitting Co-op in Stay-at-Home Parents is owned by Heidi Griffin. Permission to republish How to Start a BabySitting Co-op in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.