I want to start a *Babysitters Club* where care is exchanged for credits for more care, not money. I’ve seen examples of this working but would really love any wisdom from rec leaguers who have done anything like this!

Question

Claire · Answer

Mt Airy/Chestnut Hill Babysitting Co-op: I’m not a member myself (wrong neighborhood, alas!), but this babysitting coop has existed in Philly for 50+ years, and I’m sure they’d be happy to share their model with you if you were to reach out! Linking to an article about it, but it looks like they have a Facebook page at Facebook.com/thebabysittingcoop

Sarah Beck · Answer

the baby sitting swap - 8pm framework: Here's my rec for free and fun (for everyone) baby sitting swaps. We switch off weekend nights with friends watching each other's kids, but the critical piece is no one does bedtime for other people's kids. The framework is this, generally:

if you've got kids that go to bed before 8pm (little kids!) you put your kids to bed. Then your friend comes over and watches a movie in your house! They get a break from their own kid's bedtime (ha!) and you go out for a nightcap.

If you've got kids that go to bed after 8pm (big kids!) you drop them off at your friends house to do a movie night with all the kids! You go to early dinner, pick them up at 9 or w/e, take them home.

This has worked really well for our friend/neighbor group. A bunch of us don't have family nearby to help, so it's a huge help, money saver, community builder.

Taryn · Answer

Timebanking: Some cities have a time bank that does just this! Sadly the one in my city isn’t very active, but it’s worth checking it out to see if yours is