What's the interest rate on borrowing a baby?

Some time ago, I remember hearing a news story announcing what amounted to being a library of pets. Essentially, people could go and borrow a cat or a dog or, presumably, a boa constrictor for a couple of days. I think most people went for dogs.

While sitting around eating ice cream with a group of open-minded, exhausted, and presumably inebriated people during a friend's wedding weekend back in October, 2006, I took the concept a step further and discussed the idea of starting a business that would allow people to borrow children of all races and ages.

Our customers would be people who were interested in testing their parenting skills or who wanted to do kid-related things like go to the circus, watch Disney movies in the theater, or get first-row Hannah Montanna tickets without appearing too creepy. Borrowing heavily from the Netflix business model, I envisioned an operation where you could rank your preferences for the type of child that interested you, and as soon as that child became available he/she would be shipped to your house. When you were done, you simply had to stick the child back in the pre-stamped package and drop it off in the mail. If you opted for the more expensive option, you could have as many as three kids out at any one time. The idea met with positive reviews in this informal focus group, and my friends even helped create a name for what would surely be a lucrative business: Kidpix.

Obviously this idea is riddled with problems. While it may be easy to establish an efficient distribution system for lightweight objects such as DVDs, it's not so easy to ship children, particularly older ones due to the increased postage for heavier, bulkier items. In theory, there could be some liability issues if children got lost in the mail, but I imagine various standard waiver forms could address this.

But clearly, the most challenging aspect of Kidpix would be establishing inventory through legal means (i.e., no kidnapping). Where does one find parents that don't mend lending out their children for what could be weeks at a time? Confronted by this obstacle, I had to abandon Kidpix and move on to other ventures.

So imagine my surprise the other day when I saw a promo for a new NBC reality show called Bringing Up Baby. The premise? Loving, teenage couples are given adult responsibilities, including having to look after children of all ages.

http://www.nbc.com/Fall_Preview/Baby_Borrowers/

I demand some sort of compensation, preferrably in legal tender and not in children.