When my daughter was a baby, my mommy group started trading babysitting through a babysitting cooperative. It got us out more, built stronger ties with our community, and saved money.
A babysitting cooperative, or co-op, is a group of parents who swap childcare with one another. Instead of exchanging cash, members simply exchange sitting for sitting. Co-ops make sure everything nets out equitably by tracking points.
Our group created a co-op on Sitting Around. This tool makes it easy to create a co-op and track points to earn and use across a group of families, so you increase your odds of finding times to lend and get help that works for your schedule. Because you are part of a group, you never have to worry about reciprocating directly with those sitting for you – eventually, it all gets around.
When my daughter was a baby, it was pretty perfect because we were all new parents with no existing babysitting networks, we got help from other parents we trusted, and most of us were just looking for a few hours after baby was asleep so the investment in other families was easy.
Check out Sitting Around to find a co-op near you or start one!
One of my favorite neighborhood gems is the two Little Free Libraries that I have found nearby. A Little Free Library is a “take a book, return a book” free book exchange where anyone may take a book or bring a book to share. My daughter loves them as a way to get a new book that she wouldn’t otherwise get; I love them as a little view into what books my neighbors are reading, and a great home for books we’re ready to pass on.