Nanny Share Information for Parents

What is a Nanny Share?   

A Nanny Share is when two families share one nanny. This means that two compatible families come together and hire a nanny to look after both families’ children at the same time. Depending on the situation both families could take turns hosting the share or one family could be the primary host.

Benefits of a Nanny Share

There are many benefits of a Nanny Share and it can work really well if all the factors are right.

The main benefit to a Nanny Share is that it helps families save money on childcare. The nanny’s total wage is divided between both families. This results in a big savings in childcare costs for both families.

There are other benefits to being a part of a Nanny Share, such as, providing companionship and playmates for your children, greater influence over the quality of care that your children receive, and greater flexibility in the scheduling of service, such as accommodating early morning and late evening assignments.

By being a part of a Nanny Share, your children will have the opportunity to have a playmate and peer their own age. This will assist in your child’s social development, learn how to play well with others and potentially develop lasting friendships.

Having more influence over the quality of care given to your children is also a huge benefit in a Nanny Share. You will be able to communicate directly with your nanny and discuss any issues that may arise and come up and then work together to find a solution.

Drawbacks of a Nanny Share

A few of the major drawbacks are conflicts which can include scheduling, childcare philosophy, personality and financial. Another potential drawback can stem from having to make compromises with the partnering family.

There are solutions to many of these drawbacks, but most of these are caused by a lack of communication between the partnering families, the nanny or a combination of all three members.  It is also good to know what you hope to gain or what benefits you are expecting from Nanny Share early on in the procurement process.

To help you compromise with the partnering family, you want to make a list of your wants and needs. This will help you when you are negotiating with the partner family so you are not conceding on things that are important to the care of your child.

Ways to Facilitate a Great Nanny Share

A Nanny Share can be a cost saving and quality childcare solution for your family.

Here are some ways you can make a Nanny Share is successful:

The first step to a positive connection between families is to simply meet and see if you can work together. From here, you want to make sure your schedules and logistics are going to be a good fit. For example, you would not want your nanny to travel great distances between the partnering families’ homes if the desired schedule does not provide for adequate travel time.  It is also good, but not necessary to have children of similar ages so they are both at the same developmental stage.  This will make it easier for your nanny to adjust styles between children.

After you have found a family that you can work with and all the other factors are in alignment, then you want to sit down and work out the details of your agreement. It is good practice to have everything in writing so there is no confusion later on.

There are some important topics that need to be included in a Nanny Share agreement. These topics include:  the wages and benefits that will be offered, which family will host the Nanny Share, the sick leave policy, the vacation policy, the responsibility of supplies, what is the shared parenting philosophy, what are the household rules, how and when will the families communicate, what happens when one family decides to leave the partnership.

In the end the most important factor to a successful Nanny Share is communication. It is extremely important to have regular communication between the families and nanny. Each member should feel comfortable with discussing issues with the other families without fear of inciting large arguments or disagreements. 

Hiring a Nanny

After you have found a family to work with and you have all the agreements drawn up and details worked out then both families need to work together to find a nanny. Both families should have an equal say throughout the entire process of interviewing and hiring a nanny. Both families should work together in crafting the job description, interviewing, checking references, backgrounds, creating offer letters and drafting the final contract(s).

A Nanny Share is a great alternative to hiring a full-time childcare professional and with the right partners, you can attain affordable service and your child will receive the care and attention that he or she needs.

Submitted by: Sharilee M. Stafford, Founder of Kids First Consultants, LLC.

With 15 years of Nanny/Household Manager experience and professional training from the Ashford Nanny Academy of Auckland, New Zealand, I have started a consulting agency specializing in establishing Nanny Shares.

Check out my website at www.kidsfirstconsultants.com .

Come back Thursday, to read the Nanny Share Information for Nannies inclusion to this article.