If your neighbor or friend who lives close-by instead of a hiring a baby-sitter [and they are getting to be less trustworthy] you could help each other out. A reciprocal babysitting arrangement would not only save you money but you wouldn't have to worry because you know your kid is in safe hands. Ever tried something like this?
Oh, I think it's a brilliant idea! For a while many mothers in the UK would do this to save money as childcare can be crazy expensive there. But the government brought in a law to put it to a stop, stipulating that anyone given the responsibility of looking after children had to have the right Child Care qualifications. My sister-in-law actually had to work part time and ultimately quit altogether to be a stay at home mum because it worked out cheaper that way, even though it meant they had to survive on one salary. It's madness!
Of course I would totally do something like that if I could. Much better because it's more convenient to get there quicker as well. And it would most likely save you more money since you know the person. I'd love to do this if I had the opportunity, but I don't know anyone that lives close to me and I have a really hard time trusting people with my kids.
When I was young my aunt would leave her kid to our house and just fetch him when she goes back home, so that is like the method that you have said, although from our end we don't neeed a babysitter anymore because my mom is already a stay at home mom when I was born.
I think it's a good decision as long as you are sure you can trust the neighbors and the child is old enough. Growing up we've always had good neighbors thankfully so even if it was never necessary I know I could have easily stayed with them for a few hours with no problems at all. It's not common here to hire sitters though since all families are so close together that it's almost never necessary to venture out but on choice occasions it's good to know there are neighbors to depend on as backup.
It's such a great idea. Friends of mine do this all the time. They made good friends with their neighbours who have kids the same age as theirs.Neither of them have family in town so rather than hire a babysitter they have an agreement with their neighbour. It works out great. The kids are in great hands and play with their friends and the parents can have a night out. Then they switch up the following week.
