Before I became a stay-at-home mom, I had no idea how expensive babysitting would be, how difficult it would be to “get things done” during the day, or how critical new mom friends would be for my day-to-day survival. So, I created a group on Meetup for new moms to connect. Through this group, I met some wonderful moms and adorable babies.
After spending every day with these moms for almost a year and a half, I realized I needed to create a babysitting co-op. If you don’t know what that is, you MUST read this and consider organizing your own with your group of fabulous moms. It has changed my life in ways that only a mom can appreciate.
What is a Co-Op?
A co-op is a group of moms who get together and offer babysitting services to one another in exchange for some time off for themselves. When I first heard this, I found it a bit awkward. How do you approach your mom friends and say, “Hey, does anyone want to watch my kid so that I can get some laundry done in peace?”
So, I began thinking of ways this co-op could be interactive. The goal would be to allow the children to socialize, allow the moms who were babysitting to enjoy the company of other moms, and give a few moms some time off. Enter the play date co-op.
Set-Up
In my circle of eight mom friends, I approached each of them and asked if they would consider the idea of a co-op before I began to craft my evil plot to get more errands done during the day. Out of eight, there were seven resounding “YES!” responses and just one hesitation.
I now had a group of women willing to participate in my experiment! We decided on a few rules before creating a master schedule. Everyone was required to host, and there would be three moms on duty and three moms who would be “off” each week. There would be a set day and time each week, and there would be a two-hour limit on the co-op.
Once we established these rules, I got to work on creating a master schedule. The schedule took forever, I’m not going to lie. Because we began around the holidays, there were appointments, family visits, travels, and other events to work around. On the flip side, we had two full hours at least once before the holidays to shop, bake, clean, or run errands. AMAZING!
With this kind of co-op, all six toddlers would be at one location with three supervising adults. The children would have the opportunity to socialize and play with new toys and books while the moms on duty would be in the company of other moms. The benefits were endless.
Scheduling
To keep the scheduling fair, I created a hosting list alphabetically. Each person would host once, be on duty two more times, and have three mornings off. I used an Excel spreadsheet to track and monitor dates and locations and verified that each mom only had three working days and three days off.
Although we have been able to supervise six children with only two on duty, we felt that scheduling three moms on duty would allow for cancellations due to illness or other unforeseen circumstances. With only two moms on duty, should one of those moms need to cancel, the entire co-op must be rescheduled for that particular week.
After creating the spreadsheet, I emailed it to all participants for approval. Occasionally, someone would need to switch a hosting day or switch a day off, and it would be easy to exchange information between the moms. I also created a Facebook page for the moms participating in the co-op so that we could communicate regarding dates and changes in location or post pictures from the co-op dates.
Benefits of the Co-Op
One of the most obvious benefits for the children is the socialization. Each week, our children come together, and while most are still in the “parallel play” phase, they have learned to do some preliminary sharing and interaction with one another.
For those of us who had stage five clingers (myself included) during the dreaded separation anxiety phase, we were able to see some real improvements in independence. Since we have all known one another for almost two years, our babies are surrounded by moms who love and care for them like they would be at home.
A safe environment is the best way to tackle those fears. Moms who participate also have many benefits. Aside from having a scheduled day to get out of the house, our moms get to spend some time with two other moms during the play date. They can share ideas, vent, ask questions, and watch their own child play with others the same age.
Of course, I can’t forget to mention that our moms get three mornings off in a cycle. That is a whole SIX hours of free time a month! The best part is that our moms can spend that time however they want. We’ve done everything from shopping to napping, making phone calls to grabbing coffee, eyebrow waxing to pedicures, and everything in between.
