childcare | SittingAround.com Blog

We opened SittingAround.com to the public less than a month ago, and already families using our site are saving over $100,000 a year.

There are over 500 families participating in over 100 coops on SittingAround.com today. Based on the use we’ve seen so far, families who are participating in coops will save between $100 and $500 per year, with an average savings of around $250 per year. Multiply $250 by 500 families and we get an annual savings of $125,000 per year!

While we’re very happy with the growth of coops so far, we’re just getting started. We want to bring coops to as many families across the globe as possible and change the way families think about childcare. Our goal is to have 100,000 families and 10,000 cooperatives by the end of 2012.

Coops save families money by eliminating the need for paid babysitters. Instead, families receive free babysitting from other parents in exchange for returning the favor. While coops have existed for many years, until recently they have been difficult to coordinate and manage. SittingAround makes coops easy and, in doing so, helps families across the world save on the cost of childcare.

Everyone knows childcare is expensive. But some may be shocked to learn just how expensive it is and the enormous threat it poses to the family finances.

According to a recent Washington University in St. Louis study, the cost of quality childcare is the greatest threat to families’ financial security. Childcare makes up the single greatest portion of the average family’s monthly expenses — families spend more each month on childcare than they do on housing!

“Childcare is so expensive that income needs for a one-parent family with two preschoolers are equivalent to those of a one-parent family with five teenagers,” states the report.

It’s no surprise that families are looking for ways to save on childcare costs without comprising the quality of care their kids receive. Savvy parents are seeking alternative arrangements, such as nanny shares during the week and babysitting coops at night and on the weekends.

What are your thoughts on the dramatic costs of childcare? Have these costs put your own finances at risk?

Tag Archives: childcare

Babysitting Coops Already Saving Families Over $100,000 Per Year

Biggest Threat to Family Finances? It’s Childcare.