Babysitting Co-op Expands into Germantown

by Barbara Sheehan, for the Shuttle

September 5, 2025

The Mt. Airy Babysitting Co-op, which has been around almost as long as Weavers Way, recently opened their membership options. “The latest news is that we are expanding our geographic area to include Chestnut Hill, Mt. Airy, Wyndmoor and Germantown,” said Mt. Airy resident Liz Sytsma, chair of the co-op’s steering committee. 

Historically, the babysitting co-op has included families from Mt. Airy, Chestnut Hill and Wyndmoor (zip codes 19118, 19119 and 19038).  As of last month, membership has expanded to include residents of Germantown (zip code 19144) as well. 

“There are a lot of families interested from Germantown,” Systma said.  “Our kids become citizens of the Northwest and they know a lot of other kids from their school or afterschool. They (the families) are kind of swapping childcare anyway and this is a way to manage it.” 

The Mt. Airy Babysitting Co-op started in 1974 and celebrated its 50^th anniversary last year.  Like  many organizations, it slowed down during the COVID-19 pandemic, but has grown again in recent years. The group is now actively recruiting new families to enjoy the benefits of childcare that is trustworthy, local and affordable. 

Babysitting co-op members earn points by providing childcare for other members.  Points earnings vary depending on the number of children, number of hours spent, and whether the sit is in one’s own home or not.  

Families interested in joining must be recommended by a sponsoring member, and then seconded by two other members. The vetting process includes a social, offered monthly, at which the families can get to know each other. New families also exchange sits with a current member family at each other’s homes and can evaluate comfort and security based on those experiences.

Ops Beyond Babysitting

Members rotate duties such as new family recruiting, points recording and committee chairing so that the Co-op runs efficiently.  The position of secretary, a member who finds and records sits, rotates monthly. According to Systma, it’s expected that members will request and provide about one sit per month. 

The steering committee for the Co-op handles conflict resolution, finances and organizing responsibilities for two annual meetings for all the members. All families take a rotation of 12-18 months for the leadership roles. 

The chair orchestrates, organizes and generally keeps things moving. Sytsma, 42, is well suited for this role.  A mother of a seven- and a nine-year-old, Sytsma owns the Wild Hand yarn shop on Carpenter Lane and organizes several large-scale community events. She leads the steering committee for the popular Mt. Airy Village Fair, which takes place yearly on Carpenter Lane near Greene Street and adjacent blocks.  (This year’s fair is scheduled for Sept. 21).  She is also the organizer of the Greater Philadelphia Yarn Crawl, a four-day annual event featuring 18 yarn shops that attracted 2,250 registrants in March.

For families who don’t have relatives nearby to help, the Co-op can be a lifesaver. 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve paid a babysitter,” Systma admitted. “There is more reliability than with a paid babysitter. With the Co-op, from my experience, there is always a back-up if someone can’t make it.”  

While the cost of hiring a babysitter can run as high as  $15 to $25 an hour, the membership fee for the Co-op is just $10, payable twice per year.  

Mt. Airy resident Stef Arck-Baynes, who serves as the membership chair, said the babysitting co-op has many benefits, including saving money and building community.  In addition to having reliable sitters, she’s also happy about finding playmates for her seven-year-old daughter. 

The co-op’s work requirement does not appeal to everyone; some prospective members feel they are too busy to take care of other people’s kids.  Systma originally hesitated about  joining the co-op for that reason,  but then realized that the benefits really outweigh the costs. 

High on the list of benefits is that the Co-op provides a dependably high quality of care. Parents are used to the ups and downs of caring for young children and offer other parents the confidence that comes from that experience. 

 It also provides a sense of reciprocity. With the point system,  “you don’t have to feel like you are asking too much of other families,” Systma said.  Some other co-ops have simpler systems, she added, but the Mt. Airy Co-op has been around long enough to develop well thought-out guidelines that anticipate any issues that may arise. 

“The process is necessary,” because it is a serious thing to take care of each other’s children, Systma said.

Families interested in joining the Mt. Airy Babysitting Co-op can email  mtairysteering@gmail.com.