for mums...what are people's thoughts

Deals_2

i wonder if this idea would be of interest to anyone. i thought maybe setting up a system with a few mums who are in the same boat of looking after and swapping help/keeping them entertained whilst another mum can work in the same house with a computer or do their paperwork etc. It means that the children can be kept entertained and we could do useful things - such as prepare cakes/ teach another a foreign language / little kids exercise programme for some / a little dance programme for others.it means you have time with your kids whilst being able to swap some help. obviously this would have to be equal. what are people's thoughts on it? also i thought it would enable mums to get to meet more mums etc but also get the much needed help?

cathys1_2

good idea in theory, but for all of those things, you might want to think about space? Who would provide the equipment? Exercise programmes may need to be thought about, making sure the children warm up properly etc. Also - public liability insurance - every mum would need it that would care for the other children, and you would also need special house insurance to cover accidental damage to property. Who pays the increase in fuel bills for the electric etc being used while work being done on a computer, heating in winter etc? Also, children can be noisy - and mum that is trying to work might not be able to concentrate!

Not trying to put you off, because it is a good idea - but you need to have a really good think about it.

juliejim

Sounds like a good idea to me.

little_miss_thrifty

A friend and i do this (of sorts) already, and it works well. Once a week, for the morning she will come to mine, and play with her daughter and my daughter in my house (familiar surroundings to DD while she is being minded by someone) and i shall get on with housework, decorating, paperwork etc. Then the next week, my daughter and i go to her house and look after her child while she does housework etc. We limit it to a couple of hours a week so the children don't get bored/miss you (they are 18 months).

kal25

Hi, sounds like a good idea. However, I would have thought it would probably be better if the child being looked after went to the other persons house rather than staying in their own. Because if like me you tend to procrastinate then this would be a better option, as I would more than likely end up chatting with coffee than get jobs done. Saying that it would be easy in the summer as kids could go ouside in garden or to park. would probably be worthwhile asking at mother/ toddler groups in your area to see if other mums would be interested.

Bettyboop

I think it's a great idea but better if you can drop your kid off for 2-3 hours a week to free up sometime for yourself to whizz through the housework. I'm going to suggest this to my friend who has a little baby. Cheers

roversbabe

Smashing idea - if you set this up in Lancashire, let me know and I'll join in.

Deals_2

thanks for your input. so glad to see am not the only one in the same boat. if you get any ideas let me know. i am thinking of putting something like mumsswap.com together and put in under areas or something. then you can say what you can offer:
mum with big garden can offer on nice day 2 hours of playing in garden etc in exchange for 2 hours next week or later in week for...
what are your thoughts. i came accross something on book exchange the other day but i wonder if we did something along of video exchange too this might be of interest?

Lillibet_2

I like the idea but personally I wouldn't want my son to be going to another mums unless I knew her very very well, I'd be quite happy for another mum (or dad) to bring a simarly aged child to my house & take charge of them both here for a couple of hours though. Just because someone is a parent doesn't necessarily mean they are good with kids, or kind or honest so I wouldn't let just anyone babysit my son just because they were like-minded enough to join the same scheme as me. I think the original idea of the baby sitter going to the "working" parents house, then reversing the cycle for mutal benefit is a good one.