Customer Reviews

Smart Mom's Baby-Sitting Co-Op Handbook: How We Solved the Baby-Sitter Puzzle

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I was interested in starting a coop, but didn't know how to iron out all the details. Fortunately, I found this book and it answered all my questions. It is very, very thorough and detailed. And it really has some excellent suggestions that one might not think of when starting a coop, like making sure each member has homeowners liability insurance and doing a safety check. If you buy the book, you also get access to a special web site with lots of useful forms to download. You really don't have to do much work at all. I am advertising my coop now, and am so glad I found this resource.

My only problem with the book is that I don't like the secretary method, where you call one person to book the babysitting, and this book really only describes that option. (The book seems to be written for stay-at-home moms, and I am starting a working mom's coop.) But it's thorough enough that I feel I can adapt it for my needs. I'd definitely recommend it highly to anyone interested in starting a coop.

Best book in catagory--I did my research! I did a Baby-sitting Co-op in one hour with three friends using this handbook. (it has everything you need already laid out). We have invited ten more moms to join us. We have time-out because a sitter will always be available--I can schedule a doctor's appointment on the spot. I only do sits in my home when it fits my schedule. We make one call to the secretary serving her turn--no hunting for a sitter. The book is well writen, easy to follow and provids everything I need. I serve as secretary one-month in rotation with 12 other moms. I started the co-op but I am never asked to do anything more. I cannot say enough about how the Co-op has helped--step-by-step. My kids have playmates and I have time out when I want it. I love my new friends. This is a great thing for any mother of preschoolers! It is a good thing to do for your neighborhood.

I found out about this book and the idea of a co-op when the author, Gary Myers, and his wife, Patty, came and spoke at our MOPS meeting. I was hooked on the idea of free time for me and appointments without my son. I was new to our area and had no baby-sitting options at that time. Two ladies from our MOPS group took control and had our co-op up and running within one month and we had 16 moms. Our co-op has been working great for 5 months and has grown to 19 moms, with many more interested.

I highly recommend using this book as a guideline, as it lays out rules you may not have thought of, plus, if there is ever a question or problem- you just refer to the book. There is a "business" side to running a large co-op and to keep things going smooth- that's where the book comes in. It is also filled with all of the paperwork and you get access to the Smart Mom's website for free downloads of the paperwork (you have to have the book which gives you the password to print the downloads). For more info I would recommend checking out their website at www.babysittingcoop.com. You can also order books from there for $15 or less- depending on how many you order- and call the 800 number. Hope this review helps you moms looking for a co-op!

One of the fundamental problems facing all parents is that of safe, reliable, competent child care. Now there is an effective, informative, "parent friendly" guide to developing and sustaining good babysitting resources and arrangements through the development of a "parents co-operative", a mutual arrangement of mothers of preschoolers to give each other a little time to themselves for getting out and about to do the things they need and want to accomplish, and can't take the kids along with them. In Smart Mom's Baby-Sitting Co-Op Handbook, Gary Myers shows how the reader how easy it is to start, maintain and operate a safe, "parent friendly" child-secure, babysitting co-op, anywhere, anytime, for any number of moms.

I am starting a babysitting cooperative and have found this book quite helpful. It contains many practical tips, rules and suggestions that have clearly resulted from years of experience with cooperatives. Using the book as a guide, I hope to avoid pitfalls and oversights I might otherwise have made.

I read this book cover to cover in two days, which to me means it earned 4 stars. However, we were looking for a book to help start a co-op for work moms of toddlers. This was definitely geared towards stay/work at home moms of preschoolers. That's why I give it 4, not 5 starts; it just didn't fit my situation.

I have been a Smart Moms Co-op member for over two years. WE LOVE the co-op. Extra playdates. Evening dates with trusted childcare. Guilt-free me-time. Connection with other moms. I can't immagine my life without the relationships I've formed through this great group of friends. My children beg for more playdates. "Mom, don't you want some time for yourself?"

This book gives you the directions for getting a co-op started. You could do it without the book -- but having the structures already created (point system etc) is VERY VALUABLE when you're a busy mom. Though most moms in the co-op are full-time at-home moms, that is not a requirement. Any mom can participate.

I highly recommend this book for those seriously interested in starting a co-op and exchanging sits.

Oh my. Where to start? Well, first off, this is called the Smart MOM'S handbook for a reason. If you aren't an apron-wearing stay-at-home mom, this book isn't for you. (God forbid a working mom or - gasp, dad - want to start a Co-Op.)

Once you get past the 1950s'-style talking down to women, you'll need to get past the writing. I am an Ivy-League grad with an English degree and there were some passages that I couldn't even understand. I swear, some of the sentences in this book are pure gibberish. AND, the font is comic sans or some derivative. Awful.

Finally, nothing in this book was helpful at all. Rather than discussing how to market or screen potential members, this book talks about how to make posters. I kid you not - there is a paragraph that talks about how to cut and paste papers on to your board to make a pamphlet holder.

Utter waste of money for anyone with an IQ above room temperature.