It seems the only focus of some of the responders is money. You should also consider the transitions and change for your child and how your child will adjust to having multiple caregivers in a day.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that OP never came in the conversation. Maybe it was a troll.

Go away.

Yes, clearly some nefarious Internet troll has posted this legitimate and reasonable question in an attempt to foment solid advice and valid information. What trickery!

Anonymous wrote:Interesting that OP never came in the conversation. Maybe it was a troll.

Go away.

What are the hours? I think a lot depends on the age of the child, what the hours are, etc. for a young child, having one nanny might be worth it because that one person has a chance to really bond with your child in a very intimate, special way. With two, your child has 4 different caregivers to bond with (nanny A, nanny B, mom, dad). That's a lot for a very little one, but not so much for a school-aged child.

Interesting that OP never came in the conversation. Maybe it was a troll.

Maybe tow.

First off, many many nannies expect to work 50+ hour weeks. As long as you don't expect nanny to never sit down and stay constantly busy with housework, a 60 hour week is NOT guaranteed to burn nanny out.

Your answer depends on a few things:

1) Your childcare budget - if you hire one nanny to work 60 hours, you'll be looking at a lot of OT hours. For example, if you found a nanny who earns $15/hour, a 60 hour week (with 20 hours paid at $22.50) means a GROSS weekly paycheck of $1050, plus an additional $150 or so for your share of taxes and the cost of a nanny tax service. On the other hand, hiring 2 nannies to split the hours and avoid OT means a total gross weekly payout of $900 plus that $150 in employer costs. So your yearly cost differential is $7800.

2) Whether you can find 2 nannies whose childcare philosophies are compatible with yours, and whether they can effectively work together and split the shifts. Yes, even if they work different days, they have to be able to work together. If nanny A does the laundry but doesn't get it put away on her day, Nanny B needs to be willing to put the clean stuff away without grousing. You'll be managing a childcare TEAM, and that has a full set of possible issues.

3) Whether you can find the 2 nannies above who are willing and able to manage on a lower "salary" than is normal for a nanny to earn. Let's say they split the days 3/2. $15 x 36 = $540 and $15 x 24 = $360. If you also expect them to be able to cover for each other, even last minute, you have just limited their ability to find other work for the days they are not scheduled for you. If you don't expect that, they may find other work that forces them to ask you to adjust your hour expectation. If nanny A works 3 days for you, she needs a 2 day job that slots into her available time perfectly. If she can't find that, she may come to you to ask if she can, instead, work 5 short days in order to take an after school job elsewhere. If the other nanny isn't willing to then shift HER schedule, you have chaos.

Good luck in your decision!

I'd do two. Morning and evening or 3 full days for 1 nanny and 2 for the other. Overtime adds up FAST!

Anonymous wrote:Let's think about your child for a minute. How old is your child and what was the care been so far?

*has

Let's think about your child for a minute. How old is your child and what was the care been so far?

You could do either one nanny or two. I use one full time during the day and a second part time in the early evenings. It works well, and is much less expensive than paying 10 to 20 hours a week in OT at time and a half.

You'd definitely be able to find one however, you'd have to be very legal about it with overtime, etc. In my current position, I work 50 hours a week MINIMUM as both parents travel a lot for work, etc. It's very doable.

We need a nanny any who can work 50 to 60 hours a week. We are debating between hiring one Nanny who can cover all of those hours or two nannies - one for 40 hours a week and the other for the rest. Does anybody have experience Setting up an arrangement with two nannies? Any advice for doing so?

I see a lot of benefit in hiring two nannies. Among the benefits would be that potentially one nanny could fill in for the other if they have vacation or get sick. My husband on the other hand thinks that it could get overly complicated.

Interested to hear from others who have had similar experiences.