30 Days 30 Ways to Save: Local babysitting co-ops growing in numbers

All parents know a night out on the town isn't cheap.

After paying for dinner, a movie, or both, then you have to pay the babysitter. That's one reason babysitting co-ops are appealing to more moms and dads these days.

The Nordonia Hills Babysitting Co-Op has been in existence for several years. Once so large, it split into two groups.

President Kris Putz joined the co-op several years ago, when her first daughter was just 9 months old.

"The babysitting co-op has been great for me because I don't have family in the area," Putz says. "So when I knew I was going to have a daughter, I was talking to a friend of my husband's in Texas and they have babysitting co-op's there. And I thought they must have something here."

Now the mother of two, Putz says she often uses the co-op for sitting when she has doctors' appointments or to allow her one-on-one time with one daughter.

Tim Ferree says he and his wife have never paid for a babysitter. Their older daughter is 6 years old and their younger daughter just 6 months.

"We were new parents," he said. "We didn't know any teenagers to hire as a babysitter and let's face it, you need babysitters from time to time so you can go out and run errands or have a doctor's appointment or go out to dinner. And this was a great solution for us."

Another benefit to a co-op is the ease in securing someone to watch your child.

"We typically have about a dozen family members and we've always been able to find a babysitter," says Ferree.

Typically, babysitting co-ops work in a points system. You earn points by watching other parents' children. It can be two points an hour per child. Those earned points you "bank" and use when someone else watches your children. Monthly meetings update members point balances, address any co-op issues and allow parents time to socialize.

The Nordonia Hills Babysitting Co-Op covers four townships and they advertise in local newspapers, on their website and in flyers.

Members offer some of the following advice for parents interested in starting their own co-op.

1. Look to church groups, your pre-school or daycare, neighbors or PTA for families interested in joining.

2. Include a regular meeting for people to get to know each other which is important to build trust.

3. Babysitting co-ops can have just a few members or a few dozen.

Members can use either a point system, or card system.

There is a book on how to start a babysitting co-op. It's called the "Smart Mom's Baby-sitting Co-Op Handbook: How We Solved The Baby-Sitter Puzzle" by author Gary Myers.

Currently the Nordonia Hills Babysitting Co-Op is looking for a few more families to join its ranks.