What is a babysitting co-op?
A babysitting co-op is a group of moms who agree to trade baby-sitting hours on a credit basis. You can use your credit as much as you want, or as little as you want. It’s always a fair trade. You get out of it what you put into it. When you request a sitter, you use credits. When you sit for another mom, you earn credits. You start with 40 credits, and each credit equals 15 minutes of babysitting time per child.
Who keeps track of the credits/hours?
We use an online service called Babysitter Exchange to keep track of hours and to handle babysitting requests.
You request hours through the website and then an email is sent out to the other co-op members. Other group members respond if they can babysit. You choose which babysitter you want to watch your kids. Likewise, you only agree to babysit the children with whom you feel comfortable.
I'd like to join. What do I do next?
Please review the babysitting co-op rules to see if our group will work for you and your family.
New moms and their children are required to meet with at least two other moms in the co-op for a playdate. It can be one of the group playdates or you can also set up an individual playdate if the time and dates of the group playdates don't work for you.
