Step One: Find parents in your neighborhood who are also interested in forming a babysitting co-op. Neighborhood-based parenting forums or meet-up groups are a great way to find these parents.  Parents who are home with their children full- or part-time tend to have the most desire and drive since they do not usually have other standing childcare arrangements, but working parents can take advantage of a childcare co-op as well. Decide if you want to have a group of people whose children are all around the same age, or if the group should be open to parents with children of all ages. Forming a group of children who are all close in age has some benefits--all the parents are experienced and comfortable with that age group, and the children will likely play well together. But there are benefits to mixed-age playgroups as well, and parents of younger children can get a lot out of watching older children (and vice versa).

Step Two: Decide how you want to keep track of hours. There are lots of different ways to do this from the low-tech exchange of tokens like poker chips to computerized spreadsheets and forms. Tokens are user-friendly for people of all technological backgrounds and conveniently mimic the exchange of money in other childcare arrangements. My co-op uses one poker chip to represent 1/2 hour of care.  The disadvantage is that tokens can get lost, and it is difficult to track who is using the group and how often. Such tracking may or may not matter to your group, depending on its membership requirements. Spreadsheets shared through google drive or other mechanisms allow more detailed tracking of usage, but are also more work.

Step Three: Decide on your membership requirements. Are members expected to use the group a certain number of hours a month? Will you have membership meetings, and if so how often? Is attendance required? Who is the group open to? There are no right answers to these questions, but the answers will determine the tenor of the group. Requiring or at least encouraging members to use the group a certain number of times per month will keep tokens circulating, and co-op meetings are a great way to get to know the other parents in your group. Most people are more comfortable leaving their children with people they know, so forming social connections with your group is important.

Step Four: Put everything above in writing for your members to sign. A liability waiver may not be legally binding if you don't get lawyers involved, but it can help make sure that all the members are on the same page about important health and safety concerns. Is your co-op babysitter authorized to take your child to the hospital in case of emergencies? What are the group's policies about the ownership and storage of firearms, cleaning supplies, medications, cigarettes, and other potentially hazardous substances? What is the policy regarding interactions between pets and children? Drafting such a document will probably spark spirited conversations between parents, but it is better to have those conversations ahead of time rather than waiting until someone's child gets a hold of some other parent's gun or gets scared by someone's dog. If members have the discretion to accept or deny any offers of care, there does not have to be 100% agreement on these issues, but full disclosure allows parents to make informed decisions.

Step Five: Document and share important information about the children in the co-op. My co-op uses a share Google document to keep track of children's ages, food and other allergies, emergency contacts, doctor's offices, and other important information about the house like pet ownership. This way if a kid is allergic to cats the parent can avoid leaving them in a furry household.

Step Six:  Plan some fun! Weekly playdates are a great way for kids and parents to get to know each other. These can be regular playdates with all the parents sticking around, or rotating care groups where one or two parents get to leave while the remaining adults watch the kids. Membership meetings can be weekend potlucks where the whole family comes, or evening get-togethers at a bar or ice cream shop so parents can discuss business and socialize without their children.