Does anyone participate in a nanny share?

[Anonymous]

I am due with my first child in lat August. My good friend is also due a few weeks later. We were thinking about sharing a nanny. Has anyone does this before? I would appreciate tips/thoughts/advice.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

OP again- I should be more clear. We are thinking that we would have a nanny come into one of our homes (preferably mine since I have a SFH and she has an apartment) 2-3 days per week. We would split the cost, and the nanny would watch both babies.

[nannydebsays]

First, you can search the forum to find all kinds of info about shares. Discount the parents who tell you a nanny in a share with 2 families should only make $12 hour/total, and discount the nannies who tell you a nanny in a share should make $40 per hour total.


That said, you are looking for a Part-Time nanny to do a share?

Are you looking for a share explicitly to save money on childcare costs, or are you hoping to have the babies "grow-up" together as friends?

Generally speaking, a PT nanny costs more per hour than a FT nanny, since the PT nanny usually has a hard time finding an additional job to make ends meet.

Also generally speaking, nannies in a share discount their rates by 65% - 75% per family. So a nanny who would usually charge $15/hour for a single family/single child position will likely charge $10 - $12/per hour per family for a share. I would expect the higher end for a PT nanny share, as explained above.

That means nanny would earn $20 - $24/hour for a 3 day (30 hour/week??) position, or $600 to $720/week. Not bad, but not great in a moderate to high COL area. And if saving money was your reasoning for trying a nanny share, you wouldn't be saving much.

Now, if saving money isn't the main goal, I would suggest hiring a FT nanny and splitting her time between you and your friend. You could even arrange to have a "shared day" each week, which would mean 2 days with nanny solo for each baby, and one day of shared nanny time. Of course, the "shared day" would be more per hour total, but less per hour per family.

IOW, each family could pay for 2 solo days (20 hours at $15/hour) + 1 share day (10 hours at $10/hour) and get 30 hours of childcare for $400/week.

And setting it up as a FT job would mean nanny could be financially more secure, and less likely to leave for better pay on short notice!

Not knowing your goals, I can't really give more ideas right now, but with more info you'll get a lot more help!

[Anonymous]

Op here- thank you for your response.
Yes, we are looking for a part-time nanny to do a share.

We are both looking to save on child care costs AND have our babies grow up together.

Your numbers make sense. We would have to gauge the costs of both sharing and splitting once we find the right person.

[Anonymous]

Depends where you are too though OP. Many nannies live in cheaper areas and may not want a super long commute. So if you live further out the available jobs are less so the premium for a share is not as high. I would get a feel for what your neighbors pay if any use a nanny.

I have shared for a long time and think it is a really good option for those needing infant care.

[nannydebsays]

Anonymous wrote:Depends where you are too though OP. Many nannies live in cheaper areas and may not want a super long commute. So if you live further out the available jobs are less so the premium for a share is not as high. I would get a feel for what your neighbors pay if any use a nanny.

I have shared for a long time and think it is a really good option for those needing infant care.

I think that for a PT share, a higher than normal premium will be needed regardless of location. Unless nanny is working purely to supplement a SO's adequate income, or for "additional money" beyond what she and her family need to live comfortably, nanny is generally going to turn down PT work in favor of FT work.

For example: In Podunk a Full Time 2 infant nanny share costs $20/hour for 40 hours/week. In Podunk, a PT nanny share costs $24/hour for 24 hours/week, because nanny may find it difficult to fill 2 days with work in Podunk.

However, in Cityville, a FT nanny share costs the same as in Podunk, but a PT nanny share only costs $22 for 24 hours/week because the nanny has more possible outlets to find additional work.