creating a babysitting coop among friends?

[Rosebud1]

My friends and I have talked about babysitting trades to save money and leave our kids with like minded individuals we trust. We are mostly SAHM's who need an hour off or two to run errands, or have date nights with our partners. I am wondering how to organize this, or how to make it successful. For example, how might I keep track of hours? I think that people hesitate to ask others for favors, but if one has a "credit" towards babysitting, they are more likely to accept or ask for help when they need it.

Any organizational or practical tips from someone who has done this successfully?

[Rosebud1]

Ok, I am realizing this was a bit of a lazy post. A quick google search gave me lots of examples of poker chip methods, spreadsheets, etc. I guess I am asking more about how to make this successful, what people thought went well and what didn't when they gave it a go..... Hoping to avoid some common pratfalls before I begin.

I can see that selecting people with similar approaches to child management would be important, for example. I also don't know if babysitting more than one child should "cost" more than an only, and if sleeping time should cost less than awake time.

[philomom]

I was part of one of these. The main thing is that there will always be a couple of folks who always desperately need a sitter and then when you call them... they aren't available. So choose your members wisely.