How to ask Nanny if she'd be willing to go part time

[Anonymous]

The time has come in our family where, next school year, I will only need childcare in the afternoons, from about 1:30-4:30.

We adore our nanny who is currently full time with us. I am fully aware that she might not be able to stay with us part time, but is there a way I could frame it up to increase our chances? Should I offer to find her another family who only needs morning help?

The twist is we are expecting our third baby, but not til late in the fall, and then I will have five months of maternity leave. I can't justify the price of a full time nanny during that time, but I would love her to come back with us and work full time again when I go back to work next spring.

Is there anything I can do to make this happen (part time starting in august, then scale back up to full time in the spring)? I understand this is a selfish thought but I would love to make it work. The alternative, I know, would be to let her go, find an afternoon babysitter for this school year til the spring, then find a whole new nanny when I go back to work. I can't justify the cost or the hours of extra help I won't need when my kids are in school full time, and when I'm off work on maternity leave.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The time has come in our family where, next school year, I will only need childcare in the afternoons, from about 1:30-4:30.

We adore our nanny who is currently full time with us. I am fully aware that she might not be able to stay with us part time, but is there a way I could frame it up to increase our chances? Should I offer to find her another family who only needs morning help?

The twist is we are expecting our third baby, but not til late in the fall, and then I will have five months of maternity leave. I can't justify the price of a full time nanny during that time, but I would love her to come back with us and work full time again when I go back to work next spring.

Is there anything I can do to make this happen (part time starting in august, then scale back up to full time in the spring)? I understand this is a selfish thought but I would love to make it work. The alternative, I know, would be to let her go, find an afternoon babysitter for this school year til the spring, then find a whole new nanny when I go back to work. I can't justify the cost or the hours of extra help I won't need when my kids are in school full time, and when I'm off work on maternity leave.

an arrangement has to be beneficial to both parties OP. its unlikely the one you propose is beneficial to your nanny.

she likely cant justify the cost of having PT employment for 4-6 months...or longer.

cmon.

[Anonymous]

The only way it could work would be if you found comparable work for her for those exact time blocks for at least enough money to keep her whole until you could take her FT. But then you also risk her jumping ship. Up to you whether it's worth that.

[Anonymous]

It’s a money issue for her.

[Anonymous]

You could speak to her landlord and get the landlord to agree (in writing!) to reduce her rent by at least 50%.
Also, speak to local grocery stores, concert venues, airlines, and restaurants and get them agree to give her at least a 50% discount on everything she could possibly ever need or want.

Or did you just expect her to go without her own needs to accommodate what you can "justify?"

[Anonymous]

You can't save $ on your end and expect her to be able to afford life on her end.

Pay the extra $ to retain what sounds like a great nanny or take your chances when you need to find a new nanny next year.

[Anonymous]

The going rate for very part time people is very high so you will probably need to pay almost as much for that 1:30 to 4:30 spot. Is it really worth a very small savings to give up someone you know you trust for your newborn?

[Anonymous]

OP: For retention, give her full salary for the gestational time. I did it for an entire year once b/c I didn't want to lose nanny. It hurts, but messing with childcare is dangerous when you've got a good thing going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The going rate for very part time people is very high so you will probably need to pay almost as much for that 1:30 to 4:30 spot. Is it really worth a very small savings to give up someone you know you trust for your newborn?

This. I paid a set $35/hr. for a nanny for one kid for part-time after school care, years ago.

[Anonymous]

You might appreciate the extra child care when the new baby comes. Trying to wrangle preschool drop off and pickup with a newborn is no fun. It can certainly be done, people do it all the time, but you won't enjoy your maternity leave.

[Anonymous]

I’d keep the nanny full-time. Don’t be cheap.

[Anonymous]

Keep her full time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You might appreciate the extra child care when the new baby comes. Trying to wrangle preschool drop off and pickup with a newborn is no fun. It can certainly be done, people do it all the time, but you won't enjoy your maternity leave.

Is maternity leave for enjoyment? It’s not a vacation.

It's to heal and take care of the new baby. Harder to do either when you are stressed.

[Anonymous]

I don't think you're trying to be cheap as private care is very expensive, but this wouldn't be a good deal on the nanny's end. Also, 1:30-4:30 time frames aren't attractive.

[Anonymous]

I tried to do this. I offered to help find my nanny work to fill the extra time, and did in fact find several options. What killed the deal was that she would no longer make overtime, since she wasn’t in either job more than 40 hours a week. I guess I could have tried to offer money to make up the difference, but the whole thing got complicated and eventually we decided to make a clean break. However I knew I wasn’t having any more kids so my situation was different. In your case, I’d keep paying full time to keep her. Finding a new nanny you love is a huge deal.