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The idea of a babysitting co-op is simple: a group of parents take turns babysitting each other's kids. In practice, co-ops can be more complicated because they require accounting and scheduling. The upside to this extra work, though, is that your babysitting bill is zero and you can leave your child with caregivers you know and trust.

To start a co-op, ask friends and neighbors or advertise for interested parents. It's best if families in the co-op live nearby, and it's ideal if they have kids the same age as your own.

Once you've chosen the families, come up with an agreement about how the co-op will work. Here are a few examples of things you'll want to discuss.

• Ground Rules. What are the co-op's "hours"? How many children should a parent babysit at once? (Keep in mind that infants require extra care. William and Martha Sears' "The Baby Book" recommends that each caregiver be responsible for only two babies under 1 year old.)
• Scheduling. How will you assign who babysits when? Also, how will you field babysitting requests from your group? Via email? A blog?
• Accounting. How will you keep track of your time? Who keeps track? This is the lifeblood of your co-op, so some co-ops elect a secretary for this responsibility.
• Membership. How do you want to handle adding new members? What happens if someone drops out?

You'll also need to create a list with everyone's contact information, including emergency numbers, to distribute to all the members.