Tell me about nanny share

[Anonymous]

I've only had my kid in a daycare, and now it is closing. I and another parent are considering nanny share, but I know nothing about this. I don't have any friends who have done this either.
We would have two children around 2 years old (a boy - he is nearly 2 and a girl - she is 2), who would be at my house. We live in 16th Street Heights/Brightwood area. The kids are used to a structured day with a lot of learning activities. We'd like to stick to that if possible, but understand if that's not the norm.

What do we need to know?
What is a good wage for 2 toddlers?
What would make us a desirable candidate for a nanny?
What concerns should I have?

Tell me everything, parents and nannies in shares! Humor me - I grew up in a place where everyone's grandparents watched the kids, so all of this is quite new to me.
Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Pls do a search on this forum.

[Anonymous]

ditto the need to run a search since this question is posted about every 2 weeks or so.

some highlights:
I think they are at a great age to get a lot out of a share. I'm biased since I've shared for 6 yrs but for under 3s I don't like the idea of outside the home group care so think it would be great for them to have the more individual attention from a share. That said, they do need socialization opportunities so you either need to pick a nanny that has a network for playdates (but not too big a one that all she wants is to be paid to hang out w/ her friends) or else do nannyshare plus a 2 AM a week preschool or some sort of class a couple times a week.

We pay $800/week outside the beltway, eastern MoCo area.

What would make you desirable? - competitive pay, GUARANTEED HOURS!!!! (this is critical in a share to make sure it works for all), paid holidays, 2 weeks vacation w/ 1 at nanny's choice and the other at the familys' choice for an overlapping week, a few sick days, treating her like a professional and a valued employee, giving her some guidelines for the day but not micromanaging how she spends the day

Concerns - the most important decision is in your interviewing and vetting of references. Really pry into the references - what did they not like, what did they like, what were some minor issues that the fmaily tolerated but a new employer should be aware of. Pay especial attention to refernces that are not the family she is just leaving since they might be more apt to gloss over any negatives in order to help her out. Shares need to have a clear sick kid policy. Families need to be on same page re: benefits for nanny & providing guaranteed hours. Families need to agree on some "parenting style issues" like discipline, amt of TV time, amt of playdates, etc.

now go scan the archives and come back once you read the 100 threads on this.