WE Mag Publisher
Jun 12, 2008, 01:30 PM
I was part of an informal babysitting club in LA, and I wondered if starting something up here might work. Basically, Moms meet up once a month, and sign up on a schedule as to when (if ever) they want to babysit at their home, when they'd like to go to another's home and help babysit, and when they'd be able to be a backup babysitter (we all know with kids someone can throw up or throw a tantrum at the last minute...) When you babysit, you earn tickets that you can use to pay when you need a sitter from the same group. When you host at your home, you earn more tickets, when you volunteer to keep track of the schedules, you earn tickets, when you babysit with another mom (there always has to be two moms minimum to babysit, since usually they will have their own kids with them too!) To stay in the club you would have to babysit or host or schedule at least once a month. Since you would meet with the other moms in the group once a month at the park or somewhere, you could keep in mind moms with other similar philosophies and children with similar interests, and use your babysitting tickets with someone you really feel comfortable with. Hosting doesn't have to be at your home, you can host at the children's museum or Soccer tots or the park... This is for an Oakhurst or Bass Lake club, but people interested in other areas can call me to see how they can start one up. Basically, there will be a schedule at the monthly meetings where you can put yourself down for example, say Mon the 10th babysit at another's home from 8 - 3, Wed the 17th host and babysit from 5:30 - 9:00, and Sat the 22nd sit from 10- 2pm. You would earn one ticket per hour per child that you watch, minus a ticket or two for the scheduler and host that day, and you split the rest with the other babysitting mom. When you need to drive down to go shopping, want a date night, or just need to catch up on paperwork, look at the schedule to see what's available and use your tickets, not cash, to pay a sitter. You use your free time to earn tickets and free up cash that can add up if you use a lot of babysitting. It really is a great way to have playdates and save some cash at the same time. Feel free to pass the word- 641-2211