Quality day care for free


Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

If you think you have an interesting "Today's Woman" topic, you can contact Candice at cmadsen@ksl.com. Moms across the country are finding ways to cut down on the high cost of child care.

With the going rate for baby-sitting $6 to $8 an hour, a night out with your spouse or even a break from the children during the day can get expensive.

Parents also say it's tough to find a good baby-sitter. That's why more and more moms are turning to baby-sitting co-ops.

The idea is simple: instead of money, moms exchange baby-sitting hours through a point system. The number of hours you baby-sit determines the number of free baby-sitting hours you get in return.

Quality day care for free

Groups can range in size from three to five children to as many as 25. Although the co-op centers on child care, moms say it also creates an important social network for them. "I hear a lot of moms, especially stay-at-home moms, say that they feel really secluded, or that they never see an adult. That is completely not the case with us," says Martha Cox, co-op president.

Quality day care for free

Most women in baby-sitting co-ops met through mother's groups, church or other social events. To keep the co-op safe, experts suggest mothers have a candidate system and a set of bylaws.

Also, don't think dads have to be excluded. One father I spoke with said he and his wife are in a group with three other couples. Each couple takes a turn baby-sitting all the children one Friday night a month.

For more information on baby-sitting co-ops, click on the related link.

Related links

Most recent Utah stories

Related topics

Utah
Candice Madsen

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
    Newsletter Signup

    KSL Weather Forecast

    KSL Weather Forecast
    Play button