PTO Today

Do any of you have babysitting at your PTO events for the parents who volunteer?

We just sent out a survey a few weeks ago and got a huge response back. Many parents said they can't volunteer at events because they have the kids with them. We were planning on next year to get someone for our meetings so I was thinking maybe it would help get a few more volunteers at our events where we really need them.
I know it won't be a fix all parents will have another excuse, but at least it would be one less. What do you think?
In our high school the kids have to do community service hours and I was going to check there, set up tables with activities and keep the kids busy or maybe even a homework table for the older kids who come with the parents.

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Cindy

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"People have the right to be stupid, but some abuse the privelege."

We started offering age appropriate childcare services during our monthly meetings this year and the big area where this has helped is with the husbands of regulars. We actually increased our active male involvement by 500% (from just me) by doing this. This has also helped recently with the sports season starting up. Since many families have two kids, or more, they can still have dad go to practice while mom comes to the PTO meetings. In previous years our quantity at the meetings dropped off from 25 to 30 to less than 10. This year we started in the high 40's, and even now have been hitting in the mid-20's.

We first started the program using a local college outreach program, but found just paying a teenager was easier. We initially used our own sitter, so would pick them up and bring them home, but have started use an active members older sibling, who is happy to get the $20.

I found that my company had a volunteer Incentive Program and would pay any non-profit organization that an employyee volunteers for $100 a quarter. I used this to fund the sitting.

So I highly recommend it.

Regards,
PresidentJim

This year, we recruited our VP's wife to purchase some theme approprite crafts from like Oriental Trading Co. for each months meeting. We gave her a check at the beginning of the year to order what she needed for an estimated number of kids for each meeting. Then at each meeting she sat with the kids that had to attend the meeting with their parents and helped them with the crafts. I think we should have advertised it more, to get more attendence, but it went over very well with the parents and kids that did attend.

We have used our Girl Scout Troops for babysitting during conferences. They have been wonderful and come with their leaders. The leaders have CPR and first aid training and background checks done by Girl Scouts. We use one of the Kindergarten rooms which has been perfect.

We have at least one adult volunteer and we use the 7th and 8th grade NJHS students to babysit for the children of our members while we have meetings. It helps the parents who would like to participate and it also helps the NJHS students who need volunteer hours. sefms

We have used an older sibling for some of the sitter services and pay $10.00 perhour. You might also contact your local high school, most need community service hours for graduation,

We have contacted the National Honor Society for babysitting. We should really promote it more too...

Our group has found that when we offer adult-supervised free events for the kids during our PTO meeting nights, we have wonderful attendance. This has been successful for the past 2 years and we will continue the tradition again. With the schedule set up for the year, we appoint chairpeople to these events in advance and send out a questionnaire to our parents at the beginning of the year to see which event they want to volunteer at. If you would like a list of these events & descriptions I will be more than happy to post them here or email them to you! For events other than meetings, we have used early childhood education majors from local high schools & colleges to watch over the kids while their parents attend adult-only activities, such as our volunteer orientation dinner or during conferences. ~ Lori

We also have been using HS students who need community service hours. It's worked out great for the kids -- who like being with the big kids; the babysitters --who get a couple of easy volunteer hours logged; and the parents who are able to come to our meetings. But, I was just reading the details of our new insurance policy and it said that babysitting should only be provided by 2 adults over 18. We have a hard enough time getting parents to come to the meetings, I don't know how we'd recruit volunteers to babysit. We don't have the budget to pay babysitters each month. Is anyone else addressing this issue?
Thanks!

I see the reason for babysitters at events but I would not offer it. Couple of reasons - 1. Where would they watch the kids. 2. Ages - babies not so much. 3. how many is too many kids. 4. If there is an issue or something happens...well you get my point.

To continue with my #4 - I actually feel this way about events where your child is supervised by PTO volunteers. An example is the Roller Skating Events. So many parents don't come - the responsibility that the PTO's take on is huge. I know it all seems to work out and children haven't been lost but still.

Anyway - An alternative that we are going to try -form a babysitter list. High School students would give us there first name - number - experience - wage - and would allow the PTO to publish the list for parents to use at there own risk. Or reverse that - get the parents name - # - # of kids - and let the high school kids who want to babysit call them. It will be marketed much better than that. That way the PTO doesn't take on the risk.