| Would it be too annoying to switch houses daily? Mon here, Tues there, etc? Same neighborhood so not a catastrophe if someone makes a mistake or forgets something. Thoughts? (We have always switched on a weekly basis, but this would be more convenient for me due to my older child's activities.) |
| That would be crazy. No nanny in her right mind would agree to that, nor should you. Please reconsider your priorities. |
Can you clarify why? My biggest concern was forgetting what day it is. The double stroller gets dropped off with the child, so that's more trips with the stroller. What else? We drop off lunch with the kids so that wouldn't actually change, each house keeps diapers etc for the other baby. |
Lack of stability... which includes the environment/space. |
| Ok. Anyone else? |
| I'm a nanny with LOTS of share experience and I definitely prefer to stay in one place more than switching around. My favorite shares are when one family wants to host and the other doesn't so we're always in the same place. It's so much easier to get into a routine. If you guys are truly close to each other and have similarly set up houses and one family isn't an OCD neat freak or have a weird dad or frequent out of town guests, annoying dogs etc then it could probably work for a nanny with the the right personality. As evidenced above not all nannies would be the right match for that. It needs to be a nanny with an open and flexible personality (perhaps screen for someone who has lived in different locations and likes to travel?) I would be open to this as I'm pretty flexible, but I would not be open to it if there were issues such as annoying dogs, frequent visits from overbearing relatives etc. it's not impossible, OP. |
Why not try it yourself just for a week? That's the only way to know how it might work. Or not. |
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Nanny here with experience in shares.
Assuming there are no major hurdles at either residence as mentioned above (such as a meddling WAHP, disobedient dog, unsafe working conditions, etc), then my two cents is this: *IF* you can agree on a set schedule that WILL NOT change frequently, and especially not at the last minute, then this can work. What I mean is, decide now between both families: will you do Mon, Wed, Fri at Family A's home, and Tues, Thurs at Family B's home? Something like that. That could definitely work. However, if you can't agree on a set schedule, then that will just throw things into chaos, and will frustrate even the most flexible, accommodating nanny. Nanny share nannies have enough things to deal with (two sets of parent bosses who have different preferences for how to handle things, kids with different temperaments, etc), that adding on uncertainty about where she needs to be on what day will just be too much of a pain. I know you said the main reason for this is so as not to conflict with your older child's activities, OP, but sometimes when you're in a nanny share you have to change things around on your end to accommodate the share and ensure the happiness of nanny and your other share parents. Hopefully it will be relatively simple and easy for everyone to just pick which days will be at who's home and stick to it. But if something comes up on your end and suddenly big siblings art class got switched to Tuesday because Monday was Columbus Day but Tuesday is the day that nanny is at your home then YOU might need to be the one to accommodate the normal share routine in that situation and come up with an alternate solution. Good luck. |
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why can't you just ask the other family to host all the time if you need to prioritize your older child's activities?
I'm a nanny and have been in 3 shares thus far and have always declined to work with families that ask to rotate. in addition to a lack of stability as another PP said, it's just plain annoying. I (and the children) like to be in the same place every day where we have all the toys and all the food and know where everything is. I know you say it's no big deal if something gets forgotten but that will get increasingly annoying. I would never consider switching the share every single day, it is way too complicated and unnecessarily so |
Exactly. |
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16:53 again with two more cents. I disagree with the pps who are saying that the kids like to be in the same place every day. In my experience, having a change of scenery is really to everyone's benefit. I have been in situations where we are very limited in where we can spend our time and it is very clear that they get bored being in the same place every day.
Presumably, there are different toys and play things at the different houses, which also can be nice instead of having the exact same toys every day. "Today is Tuesday so we can play with the rocking horse and play kitchen at Suzy's house!... Oh today is Friday so we can play with the slide and sandbox at Aaron's house!" Etc. It can be argued that this will be a pain for the nanny but if you are compensating her well you should definitely be able to find a qualified nanny willing to switch share locations with a set schedule. |
How many years have you actually done a share evenly split between two houses? What was the schedule for each of your jobs like that? How old were the children? I'm sorry, but so far, you sound like a bimbo. |
do you even know what a bimbo is?? Obviously not. Just because YOU are unable or unwilling to do something doesn't mean everyone is. I'm not able to hike mt Everest, does that mean no one can? I'm not willing or able to drive a bus, therefore no one is, right? |
| How would it work with gear - extra PNP, high chair, diapers, clothing at each house? That sounds like a nightmare. |
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We share and switch off every day - Mon-Fri and Tues/Thurs and every other Wed.
Both houses have all the supplies (and we can always borrow if we forget something). Houses are 2 blocks apart. Never been a problem and nanny is happy. |