part time childcare with weird hours - what is the best way to handle this?

[Anonymous]

Due to some changes in our work schedules, I am in need of PT childcare (about 15-20 hours per week, definitely no more than that). The problem is that the hours are so odd because my daughter is in preschool and we work weird hours. I need two very early mornings, two to three evenings (dinner + put to bed), and one block of time during the day - could be really any time between 8-1 AM or 3-5 PM, and I have a lot of flexibility on which days of the week would go with which time slots.

We can't afford to pay for a FT nanny with her in preschool, and I want to keep her in preschool because she loves it and loves her friends there. What kind of person do I even look for with a job like this? I just don't know who would take a PT job with such sporadic hours. Is it worth trying to find someone to live in? Would that make it more appealing (maybe for a student)? If so, would I be able to pay less because I am partially compensating in the form of housing? We have an in-law suite that is separate from the rest of the house.

[Anonymous]

Have you considered an au pair? They can work up to 45 hours a week, so you could do the 20 you need plus a weekly date night and still be way under. Alternatively, if you could keep it to 15 or so, a room exchange might work.

[Anonymous]

Thank you! The 20 hours per week includes a weekly date night (that was one of the 3 nights mentioned. we could cut that out if necessary to get it to 15 hours).

I have thought (seriously) about an au pair but am hesitant for a few reasons: #1, I am reluctant to pay so much when I know I will not be using anywhere close to the amount of hours. We really can't afford to do that and keep our daughter in preschool. I also can't afford for the au pair to have a car, which I think would be really critical in our area (Fairfax County). Essentially, we would be stretching our budget to the absolute max - really going overboard - to just pay for the agency fee and weekly salary. When you add in the extra food costs, transportation costs, that kind of thing, I just don't think we can comfortably afford it, and I'm not really willing to stretch to make it happen when considering that we will not use anywhere near the full amount of hours. If we had two kids or needed more care, an au pair would be perfect. Or if I could somehow get around paying the agency fee but I don't think that is possible. And then #2, on a whole different level, I am nervous about having someone live in my home who I have never had the opportunity to meet in person, with potentially dubious references, etc. I think that it could go really well, but also really not well - have seen it go both ways with friends - and it is hard to justify taking that chance when it would stretch our budget so much.

How would a room exchange work? Just the room in exchange for the child care? Where would I even advertise for this?

[Anonymous]

Would a nanny share work? That way you are paying for full time care for half the price!! Could work out to cost about the same then you are covered on winter break, spring break and summer break when preschool is closed!

[Anonymous]

I would certainly be interested in a nanny share (how much do you think this would run?) but I just assumed that this would not work out due to my non-standard hours?

[Anonymous]

I would say it would be really appealing to the other family you are sharing with..
Can you clairfy the hours? 8-1AM? or 8am-1pm or 3-5pm? i would find a nanny share with someone who needed a nanny from 8-5 = 45 hours a week.. You would probably have to pay the same amount as the other family.. but that would be something you guys could work out. or if one of your friends has a nanny maybe you could do a share together? just an option?

[Anonymous]

"I would say it would be really appealing to the other family you are sharing with..
Can you clairfy the hours? 8-1AM? or 8am-1pm or 3-5pm? i would find a nanny share with someone who needed a nanny from 8-5 = 45 hours a week.. You would probably have to pay the same amount as the other family.. but that would be something you guys could work out. or if one of your friends has a nanny maybe you could do a share together? just an option? "

+1 this is your best bet. You will need to contribute enough to the share to make it worth the family's while and the nanny's while. So for instance the other family may be able to pay a bit less each week while the nanny still makes more on the whole. I would not see any benefit in it otherwise (from the share family's perspective) unless you are lucky enough to find someone who is simply struggling to afford a raise for the nanny or cutting her hours when the host family's kids went to preschool so they are looking for a way to make nanny's weekly take-home whole.

[Anonymous]

OP, I'm sure you already know that childcare is expensive. I hope you're able to find a share situation that will work but given what you said about needing some very early mornings as well as some bedtime coverage, I have a hard time picturing the nanny who wants to take on your extended/varied hours plus another FT charge during every day. Perhaps I'm reading your post incorrectly, but I'm imagining that your potential share nanny would have to work 6am-6pm some days, to cover your early morning and the other family's normal day, 8am-9pm some days, to cover the other family's normal morning and your late bedtime? It isn't impossible to find someone to work such a varied schedule, but it will be difficult. Also it comes back to where the kids will be - if your share nanny has to be at your house from 6am until 9am, does that mean the other family has to bring their kid to you at 8am and the nanny will cart him/her around until dropping your daughter off at preschool? And if you need evening coverage starting at 5pm, where does the other kid go until his/her parents get home at 6pm? As you can see, this gets VERY complicated.

All of which is to say that you need an AP. I know it feels like paying for childcare you don't "need," but in fact what you need is someone who is on-call the way an AP is, to work unusual hours, and you will always pay more for that. Consider the stability of having the same, FT caregiver in your home. Consider the benefits of hiring an AP who loves to cook, or who can use those extra hours to do some light housekeeping or grocery shopping for you, and just the comfort of knowing if your schedule shifts one week you don't have to coordinate with anyone else, just talk to your AP about adjusting her hours. I really think the more you dive into this, the more that will seem like the only logical choice.

[nannydebsays]

As the PP's said, a share might work depending on the specific hours you need, but re-reading your first post OP, it sounds like you might need hours outside of the normal "nanny hours", like 6 am - 8 am 2x a week, 5 pm - 8 pm 2 times a week, then one daytime slot of 4 - 5 hours. Can you clarify that please, OP?

So I'm going to suggest you try to find an active retiree or empty-nester who wants to supplement their income a bit, but doesn't want FT work, and is willing to be flexible with you as long as you return the favor. A "Granny-Nanny" of sorts.

[Anonymous]

Yes, the hours are outside of normal nanny hours. 6-9am (could potentially make this 7-9am) 2x/wk, 5-8pm 3x/wk, and the daytime slot - that could even be like 2-3 hours once per week.

I truly do not think that a share would work based on the above.

I love the granny nanny idea! Where would I even find someone like that? Man, I wish we were churchgoers!

As for the AP- I agree that this would make our life easier in a lot of ways. But so would lots of other things that are prohibitively expensive. I think that there must be some other kind of solution here that does not involve paying $2500 per month.

[Anonymous]

OP, you are planning on paying premium with these hours, presumably. Highly unlikely there will be a line forming to your house.

[Anonymous]

Sure, if you are willing to open up your home to another person, a live-in might work out, but that person would still need to be able to work around your schedule. So maybe someone who works part-time in another job w/flexible hours or a student taking online courses, perhaps??

Or you could peruse Care.com and/or Sittercity.com and advertise your job and it's hours, etc. See how many responses you get.

Maybe a stay-at-home mother looking to make some extra spending money or a retired woman or even someone on SSI/Disability may be a good candidate.

You need to put the word out there and see what you can find.

Good Luck.