Hiring a nanny or babysitter for afternoons only- how hard is this?

[Anonymous]

Hope this is the right forum. We have had our FT nanny for the last 3 years. DS will be in school 9-3:30 next year and we will also have a baby (6 months) who I am considering putting in the same school (daycare) for the same hours and then hiring someone to pick them up every day rather than them both staying in aftercare until 6.
My question is how hard is it to find someone willing to work 3-6 five days a week? I've only had one full time nanny so I have always assumed its easier to get the really good talent if you are willing to pay someone a full time salary. Have others done the part time afternoon route? How hard was it to find someone?

[Anonymous]

Depends on your luck and yes, pay scale. Check at your nearest college.

[Anonymous]

Those are the most desired hours, so it can be difficult.
Do you know any SAHMs? If so, you could potentially work out a fantastic deal. SAHM gets the nanny for the mornings so she can run errands, work out, etc. Then you get the nanny for the time slot you want.

And, with that, there's the flexibility for snow days or sick days. Providing the SAHM is flexible on those things.

College students could work, but some are unreliable, and you run the risk of their class schedule changing from semester to semester.

[Anonymous]

If you look into hiring a college student you should have plenty of options. A professional nanny is not going to work 15 hours a week unless she has a morning position that would give her enough hours. You will most likely have to pay at the higher end of the pay scale if you want a qualified caregiver. Good luck

[Anonymous]

We have a fantastic after school only nanny-- graduate student in elementary education at the local college. We're paying $15/hour, which we think is an attractive salary. Posting on care.com got lots of responses.

[Anonymous]

Agree with the posts here that your best bet is going to be going through a local college. A lot of education departments have list serves for just this sort of thing. It's a good schedule and after-school job for a student, but not enough hours or money for a full-time, professional Nanny. You could also check graduate school departments if you want a (slightly) older sitter. This would be great for a grad student ...