ideal part-time nanny schedule

[Anonymous]

I am thinking of working 20ish hours per week. Probably closer to 15 hours. I have a three year old in preschool 5 days a week 3 hours each morning. Then a younger baby and no preschool. I have a lot of flexibility in achieving my hours so I am trying to figure out how to make a schedule that would work best for hiring and retaining a nanny. one of my concerns is that I have been told that if I hire a nanny with part-time hours, often the nanny will continue looking for full-time employment while working for me. I want to avoid a revolving door.

So I have two possible schedules. One I have a nanny come five mornings a week and mainly only watches the baby. Might do drop off and pick up at the pre-school for the three year old though. The second option would be to have the nanny for 2-3 full days per week so do drop off, pick up at pre-school, naps and have both kids in the afternoon. What is more cost effective for me and more desirable schedule for a nanny? Is there a possibility for a nanny share type arrangement?

Thanks for your help.

[Anonymous]

The best way to avoid a revolving door with part time people is to find someone with a stable need for part time work. It's not perfect, but its a much better bet than someone who can not demonstrate that they really prefer the part time schedule.

To this end, can you wait to decide? You will have the most success if you can offer the job with flexible hours and then tailor them to the person. Maybe you will find a person who is doing after school care. Mornings would be perfect for them. Someone who is already working 2-3 days a week might like the other option.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The best way to avoid a revolving door with part time people is to find someone with a stable need for part time work. It's not perfect, but its a much better bet than someone who can not demonstrate that they really prefer the part time schedule.

To this end, can you wait to decide? You will have the most success if you can offer the job with flexible hours and then tailor them to the person. Maybe you will find a person who is doing after school care. Mornings would be perfect for them. Someone who is already working 2-3 days a week might like the other option.

Agreed. Write up your ad to the effect of "Looking for PT Nanny for 20 hrs/week. Will have a set weekly schedule, but I am flexible with days/hours." Then interview the candidates and set the schedule from there.

[Anonymous]

I strongly disagree about the flexible hours ad. I had almost no good candidates when I did it that way, but many when I posted a schedule. You could post the two alternatives that would work best for you.

I think the "flexible hours" ad was too vague for most prospective nannies; they wanted a better idea of what I was looking for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I strongly disagree about the flexible hours ad. I had almost no good candidates when I did it that way, but many when I posted a schedule. You could post the two alternatives that would work best for you.

I think the "flexible hours" ad was too vague for most prospective nannies; they wanted a better idea of what I was looking for.

I agree - I'm a nanny and I am reluctant to spend time emailing for jobs like that, because I assume the parents have SOME idea what they need but I have NO idea if I can meet even their minimum scheduling requirements. If you include a few options it will really help a lot.

As far as ideal schedules, I would think that 2-3 full days a week rather than a few hours every day, would be best, but you could just as easily find someone who's an after-school nanny for another family and wants a few morning hours each day. There is a lot of variation

[Anonymous]

You can just say in the ad "Open to splitting the hours over 5 half days or 2-3 full days, whichever works best for your schedule"

[Anonymous]

Op here. Thank you, this is very helpful. From a cost standpoint which option is better? I assume the schedule where the nanny would only have to watch one child the majority of the time? Or is it not that much of a difference?

[Anonymous]

OP, I like you a lot. You sound like a parent who cares about her children. To me, that means more than anything. If I were available, I would want to explore working with your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thank you, this is very helpful. From a cost standpoint which option is better? I assume the schedule where the nanny would only have to watch one child the majority of the time? Or is it not that much of a difference?

If there's even any chance the nanny will have to watch both children, then you need to pay her an appropriate 2-child rate. Keep in mind pre-school closures and sick days. Do you plan on having the nanny watch your older child on those days? If so, then she is in charge of the older child and should be paid appropriately. (FYI the difference between one and two children isn't terribly steep. $1-$2 more/hr is standard)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Op here. Thank you, this is very helpful. From a cost standpoint which option is better? I assume the schedule where the nanny would only have to watch one child the majority of the time? Or is it not that much of a difference?

If there's even any chance the nanny will have to watch both children, then you need to pay her an appropriate 2-child rate. Keep in mind pre-school closures and sick days. Do you plan on having the nanny watch your older child on those days? If so, then she is in charge of the older child and should be paid appropriately. (FYI the difference between one and two children isn't terribly steep. $1-$2 more/hr is standard)

Nannies are paid per family, not per child (although a lot of people here seem to disagree with me - but traditionally there were not raises when new children were added to the family and I do not operate this way myself) so you hire her at an appropriate rate for HER SKILLS, not the number of children. I know I am the minority on this, but then, I grew up around English nannies and I guess I internalized their systems a bit.

It is unlikely any experienced nanny would agree to be paid different rates on different days, regardless. If you're afraid she won't have enough to do while the little one naps, she can do both children's laundry, wash bottles, sanitize toys, and any other child-related tasks/chores.

[Anonymous]

As a professional nanny, I personally prefer to have flat hourly rates. They are considerably higher than your "average" nanny pay scale, of course. It's just what my time is worth, to the few parents who can afford me.

Every nanny can have her own way of pricing her services.

[Anonymous]

MB here. You're being very kind and thinking about the nannies, but it's also important that you hire someone who fulfills you needs. Otherwise, you're quickly going to be dissatisfied and then you'll replace her anyway.

Offer a wage that you can afford for two kids, and pick the schedule that will allow you to get the most use out of your nanny time. If you're driving back and forth to preschool everyday, there's an hour a day getting DC ready, driving, picking up, unpacking, etc., that you're paying a nanny for but that you can't use for errands, appointments, work, whatever. If you're talking about 20 hours a week ... that's a lot of time! Pay her for two kids instead, and let her do either pick up or drop off on at least some days if you do the 5-day thing, or choose the longer days.

I loved 5 mornings a weeks because I am not a little kid person and it made me a better mom not to do 10-12 hours straight with them, BUT the schedule that turned out to be ideal was three half days and 1 full day (25 hours/wk). It was harder than you might think to schedule doctor, hair, work appointments all only in the first half of the day -- you have to be certain you'll be finished in time to let the nanny go home. I also like having that one full day a week for mommy-kid adventures.