Co-operative kid-wrangling

When I was pregnant with Adam, several friends told me to take an Early Childhood Family Education (ECFE) class. This proved to be a terrific idea. Every Friday for an academic year, I toted my baby and my exhausted and often-overwhelmed self to a classroom at Randolph Heights Elementary, just a mile from our house. There, a patient and wise woman named Deb Eck, mother of three grown sons (the eldest is named Adam), taught me and a dozen other moms (and a few dads) about baby development, discipline, sleep, nutrition and play.

Not only did I learn about parenting, I met some delightful women. Some of us formed a regular play group, and two of the moms decided to start a babysitting co-operative. Brent and I joined, and it is working well for us so far.

Families earn points by babysitting and spend points when they need a sitter. All of the families have a child around Adam's age and a few are expecting a second baby, so each "sit" is also a play date for the children (unless it is after bedtime). Sits are organized and points are tracked at Babysitter Exchange. Every few months, we get the families together for a party.

My hope is the co-op survives until our children no longer need babysitters. We have sitters we can hire, but this gives us another option and a chance to get to know families with kids the same age as ours, as many of our friends had their children a long time ago.