Babies at Babysitting Co-op

When you have your initial babysitting co-op start-up meeting, you'll discuss rules for your co-op about all kinds of things: discipline, snacks, tardiness, meals, and more. Another topic you should discuss among your co-op parents is babies. Babies are an integral part of babysitting co-op, but they require more time and attention than older children.

The way you handle infants in your co-op may depend largely on the make-up of your group. Does your group consist of mostly preschoolers? Babies? Elementary school-aged kids?

Generally, it's a good idea to limit the number of children at any one babysitting shift to six. Six is a good, manageable number, and this number should also include your own children. Therefore, if two of your children will be a part of the babysitting shift, you can care for four more kids. Babies under 12 months require more of your attention, so it's wise to limit babies to just one per shift. Of course, your group can decide otherwise, but remember that shifts with multiple babies can become stressful, especially if some of the babies are not accustomed to spending time with other caretakers besides their parents.

Being a part of a babysitting co-op is wonderful for new parents. You can leave your infant with friends you know and trust while you get some much needed sleep, get some work done, or run errands without lugging around a car seat.