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Smart Mom's Baby-sitting Co-op Handbook: How We Solved the Baby-Sitter Puzzle

A Review by Kendeyl Johansen

By Gary Myers Review by Kendeyl Johansen

You deserve a break today! What would life be like if you had trustworthy baby sitters available anytime without monetary cost? That's the theory behind "Smart Mom's Baby-sitting Co-op Handbook: How We Solved the Baby-Sitter Puzzle," by Gary Myers.

"I decided to write the book after seeing how much relief a co-op gave to my wife and I when we had three preschoolers," says Myers. His book creates a blueprint for the simplest co-op possible without sacrificing key functionality. Following Myers' easy, step-by-step instructions, three or more moms can get together and start a baby-sitting group in only three hours.

"Smart Mom's Baby-sitting Co-op Handbook" is comprehensive and easy to read. It's full of helpful tips like: Start gradually; request a sitter that you know and make it a short sit for only a couple of hours. Other tips help moms find reliable, trustworthy participants and provide secrets for co-op success.

Myers' baby-sitting co-op uses a simple point system where moms trade free baby-sitting time with each other. When a co-op member baby-sits for a friend she gains points, and when she schedules a sit for her kids she spends points. Myers has simplified leadership tasks, making the co-op easy to run, and he suggests leadership positions rotate to minimalize time commitments.

Myers includes several worksheets that ease keeping track of points and maintaining the co-op for long lasting success. Indeed, the Washington baby-sitting co-op that Myers modeled the book after has assisted moms for almost 20 years. The book also contains a helpful flowchart detailing startup procedures, hints for enrolling new moms into the co-op, a sample meeting agenda and more.