Chances are 350,000 moms traded at least 1.2 billion hours of babysitting and carpooling, too, because bartering isn't only profitable, it's pragmatic. The best barters, however, are win-win situations. Businesses barter to ease the squeeze on cash flow. Dentists do it to make use of un-booked hours. Travel agents do it to fill up cruise ships.
Parents do it to preserve their sanity.
Several years ago I became enamored with the unmitigated optimism of those who bartered through a column which ran in the classified section of our local newspaper. I saved the most amusing requests and can't help but wonder how the would-be barterers made out. Since no dictionary I own knows what a conure is, I wonder how much demand there is for a mated pair of them. Reading between the lines is especially fun. Try to imagine the relationship between the man who sent in the following entry and his wife.