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Tip Store: Babies: Groups, Clubs & Associations
Babysitting Club Can Give You Back a Life!
Approximate $ Savings: $15 per hour
My friends and I all had children at around the same time, so decided to set up a babysitting club. We take turns babysitting each other's children (one partner stays home with our kid, the other one goes and babysits). We work it out on a points system (we all started with 10 points, and it's 1 point per hour before midnight, 2 points per hour after midnight) and the points and club 'rules' are on a Google docs online spreadsheet. It's fantastic and means we go out heaps more than we would otherwise. It's particularly helpful for people who don't have family to help with babysitting. If you don't have a group of friends to start a club with, you could set one up with your local mothers group.
Contributed by Emma Maslen, 2nd August 2012
Approximate $ Savings: $15 per hour
My friends and I all had children at around the same time, so decided to set up a babysitting club. We take turns babysitting each other's children (one partner stays home with our kid, the other one goes and babysits). We work it out on a points system (we all started with 10 points, and it's 1 point per hour before midnight, 2 points per hour after midnight) and the points and club 'rules' are on a Google docs online spreadsheet. It's fantastic and means we go out heaps more than we would otherwise. It's particularly helpful for people who don't have family to help with babysitting. If you don't have a group of friends to start a club with, you could set one up with your local mothers group.
Contributed by Emma Maslen, 2nd August 2012
The Nappy Pin Babysitting Club
When our kids were babies, we joined a babysitting club. We paid $20 to the organiser and received a nappy pin with 20 metal washers on it. Each washer represented one hour of babysitting. We were given a list of members from which to choose if you needed a sitter. After midnight was calculated at double time. At the end of the night, we gave however many "tokens" our babysitter earned. A plate of supper was also provided for the babysitter. If our nappy pin became low on tokens, then we had some babysitting to do to catch up. We did not have the option to buy another nappy pin of tokens.
Contributed by Irene, Kingston, 22nd May 2010
When our kids were babies, we joined a babysitting club. We paid $20 to the organiser and received a nappy pin with 20 metal washers on it. Each washer represented one hour of babysitting. We were given a list of members from which to choose if you needed a sitter. After midnight was calculated at double time. At the end of the night, we gave however many "tokens" our babysitter earned. A plate of supper was also provided for the babysitter. If our nappy pin became low on tokens, then we had some babysitting to do to catch up. We did not have the option to buy another nappy pin of tokens.
Contributed by Irene, Kingston, 22nd May 2010
AMBA
I have twin girls aged 7months and have found it can be very expensive and time consuming buying goods and preparing for them. A great organization (AMBA)-Australian Multiple Births Association - has been really wonderful in that they often have clothes and a lot of cheap accessories for babies that you can buy or borrow. For example, my pram had to go in for repairs and I was able to borrow their twin pram, which was a godsend! You also get discounts on things such as clothes or nappies at participating companies, which saves us a lot of money!
Contributed by Shereen, Point Cook, April 26th 2005
www.amba.org.au
I have twin girls aged 7months and have found it can be very expensive and time consuming buying goods and preparing for them. A great organization (AMBA)-Australian Multiple Births Association - has been really wonderful in that they often have clothes and a lot of cheap accessories for babies that you can buy or borrow. For example, my pram had to go in for repairs and I was able to borrow their twin pram, which was a godsend! You also get discounts on things such as clothes or nappies at participating companies, which saves us a lot of money!
Contributed by Shereen, Point Cook, April 26th 2005
www.amba.org.au