Babysitting Co-op

I thought I would take a minute to create a resource on Babysitting Co-ops. Obviously, this isn't something I am currently participating in while storknesting in Germany. But, I received an email from a great online friend asking me to re-explain the different Co-ops I have participated in, and I wanted to make sure that my guide was up-to-date. I plan to put this link on the side of my blog with other important resources.

OPTION 1: Any ol' time Co-op. This was a Co-op I helped head up and participated in when I lived on Eglin AFB. Here is a link to the original post discussing what we did.

Summary: A group of moms (the number can be endless) each get a specific amount of "fake money." (We started with 9 hours worth of coins. You can debate whether someone gets more or less based on the number of children they have in their quiver.) Big fake coins from the dollar store work great. Someone who needs a sitter then sends an email to the group (or contacts another member individually) when they need a sitter. They then pay that sitter in fake money. A sitter is paid 1 coin per hour per child that that they watch. So if I watch two children for one hour, I make two coins. If I watch one child for an hour, I make 1one coin. You have to earn coins to use coins so you are forced to participate if you want to have a sitter. You can add your own "special terms" to this program. For instance, evenings and weekends can result in a higher charge.

Advantages: Participants can hopefully get a "free" babysitter for appointments or needs at any time. There is no time limit or requirements imposed on when the service is required.

Disadvantages: Coins don't compile as fast meaning that if you have a big thing you wan to do, you may have to watch numerous children a few times a week in order to make that money. This was what I didn't like about the program. Sometimes I felt like I was watching a different child every day of the week just to add up enough coins to go out with my husband on Friday night.

OPTION 2: Specific ol' time Co-op

Summary: This Co-op system operates more like a preschool. Two different mothers are "on the schedule" for a certain day of the week for a certain time period. Let's say that time period if Mondays from 9-12. This means that anyone else in the group can drop off their children from 9-12 on Mondays at the home of one of the assigned mothers. (Who hosts is decided on by assigned mothers.)

 

Advantages: Once you serve your assigned time, it is over. There is no watching one child on one day day and another pair of children another day. I loved that about this program. You have your set time, and then your babysitting of other people's children is over. In addition, you get to spend time hanging out with another mom which is nice, socially, if the co-op day isn't too crazy.

Disadvantages: This program has a lot of things working against it. Firstly, the number of moms who can participate is limited because you can't have too many children in one house at one time. We found that approximately 8 children was really the most two moms could handle. In addition, you are limited to a set-time that you can utilize the service. What if you have an appointment that can only be scheduled on a Tuesday?

Questions? Comments? Other ideas? Please share! I'd love to have other ideas included in this post.

Click here to read the post as it ran on my daily blog.