| Show 14— The Herald JournalCache Sunday March 23 1986 Michael Kelrick drops off his daughter Beatrice with Carol O'Connor The en np ernes fim Ms bwe group of Cache Valley baby boomers who bcame parents in and around 1U2 has devised a creative approach to child care By interpreting the communal philosophy of the 1960s according to the business savvy of the 1980s and letting a project develop naturally they built themselves a unique child care service which has met their diverse needs Over a 2 period the p one part Logan Child Care g service one part A ar Co-o- baby-sittin- parental support group and another part social outlet has given its members both the safety of known child-car- e providers and an extended family which responds with love and concern to their needs "We’re really just a bunch of who hit 30 and decided to have kids" Harvey Neuber one of the group’s original members said “But we didn’t know much about it Originally the major feature was mutual support for couples just having baby-boome- rs babies’’ Using plans from various magazines and ideas shared by friends who were involved in child care s in other parts of the country the first members began formulating their own plans and casting about for friends and who might be interested co-op- The child care has developed from a casual agreement among friends to a more organized system using tokens worth an hour of child care each Not available for day care except in emergency cases the p is designed to give working couples an evening out without having to pay a babysitter co-o- p co-o- couple going out for the evening takes a child to another p couple exchanging tokens in g lieu of money The couple then uses the tokens in trade for care for their own child A co-o- baby-sittin- on some future evening If care involves more than one child per lf family the cost goes up by token per hour per child A couple just joining or adding another child is given 25 tokens to start off with At a gathering of members there is both unity and individuality Parents look after all the children as if they were their own The children know each other so well that they gather in informal one-ha- games almost immediately When one child laughs or cries all of the parents respond as one “There are real elements of an extended family in the Neuber said “The kids really feel like members too co-o- The babies original who are 2 years old now have known each other since they were infants They have learned to gatherings At first the co-o- worked p strictly on the honor system with members reporting the care given and received to the group’s secretary As the group eventually overwhelming parents have in common besides children is that most of them have either been students or have worked at Utah State University at one time Economically the group is very diverse but all members recognize the economic advantages of trading service for service They also appreciate the element of safety which comes with knowing their care-provide- rs weU “It has been a great help that we know we aren’t taking our children to strangers and the children know they aren’t just being left somewhere" said Isabel Wister “There pot-luc- and recordkwould eeping become The only thing Kelrick the In addition to child-car- e group is in the habit of getting together informally every four to six weeks In the beginning the gatherings were times to share information and experience Now that the original babies have reached the “terrible 2s" and most of the parents have become experts more or less the casual k dinners are more social book-wor- re- ally thrilled to visit each other’’ co-o- p it” grew though members learned k that entertain each other and are take one another’s children on as little as 10 minutes notice if it’s at all possible" said Clyde Milner “These people are friends and if you have the time to give you give aren’t many emotional scenes when we go out The kids really look forward to visiting with each other Trust is crucial in child care and if you want something like fids to work’’ ' “We have agreed that we can The token system evolved Members still keep careful track of their time and fir to be fair to each other even generous with tokens They are careful not to take advantage of one another and during emergencies tokens can go completely by the wayside When the first coop babies were just newborns and infants a first-ai- d course was required for membership in the group Parents also provided signed medical re- leases when they presented their children for care Though the first-ai- d class is not a requirement any more the parents are considering reinstating the medical release forms The group has formulated a number of rules since its inception more out of coincidence than actual need They warn each other f if any of their children are ill avoiding a flu or chicken-po- x Most plague throughout the p and parents are members have decided they like it that way They also try not to transport one another's children about without prior approval from the other parents “It seems like there is a lot of discipline in this but there really co-o- non-smoke- rs co-o- p isn’t” said Jim Dyer “Our discipline and the rules have come over the years very casually” Dyer also said that the group has become very aware of members who may have used up their token supply They have devised a chart which shows which families are in need of tokens Families in need of care will make a point of calling on them first so they can spread the tokens around a little What began as a university-centere- d throughout project has spread Co-othe valley p members can be found from Mendon and Wellsville to Hyde Park While members who live in Logan are convenient providers for parents going out to a movie or dinner the Logan members have found that those who live on the outskirts can be a big help on weekends “It's neat if you’re going on a hike in the Wellsvilles” said Shelley Dyer “You just call a p member in Wellsville and drop the baby off on your way out If their time is right and you have enough tokens you can leave them for up to eight hours It gives us more freedom and good quality co-o- p co-o- childcare" There are now 14 member families in the child care p and that seems to be just the right number for them They aren’t looking for new members nor do they try to give the organization any kind of a financial base “If others want to start one it can happen” Kelrick said “It takes trust and cooperation But it has really worked for us" co-o- |
