Has anyone spent hours trying to sort out long-term child care arrangements for their kids before? Have you checked out every daycare, home care or nursery school in your area? Maybe debated between Montessori, Waldorf, Public and Traditional programs? Did you wish your mother, aunt or (do I dare say it?) your Mother-in-Law lived closer because you know that they would be reliable and willing to help? Perhaps you considered trying to adjust your own work schedule for a more flexible solution?
Over seven years ago I experienced two major life events. One was the birth of our first child and the second was my introduction to "mommy groups" on Facebook. The arrival of our son changed life as we knew it and the "mommy group" helped me survive and navigate all of those changes, year after year. I did join (and leave) a few more parent groups over time and I quickly realized that no matter how varying the group demographics were, the big topics were constant - eating, sleeping, and childcare - and the solutions were never the same across all families! In my state of exhaustion and bliss, I was struggling to figure out what the best solution was for our family and I had to get it in place by the time my maternity leave was over. I turned to my own personal army of moms and fired one question after another at them. I asked them to help me think outside the box, tell me what they found to be the best solution and advise me on what to watch out for while interviewing and touring prospective providers. One option which never came up back then, but is used by four close friends and several moms in the "mommy group" now is a Nanny Share.
Sharing isn't exactly a new concept, in fact teaching a child to share is often considered an accomplishment with caregivers, and today society is sharing more and more. People share their homes through services like Airbnb and we share our cars with carpool programs or services like Lyft and Uber. The next logical thing in the shared market is the concept of the Nanny Share.
What exactly is a Nanny Share? The people over at Nanny Lane have explained it so easily - it is a mutually beneficial arrangement where two families hire one nanny to watch their children, usually at the same time, but some do work out where the nanny will watch the kids on an alternating schedule. This is a situation where all three parties benefit - the parents win financially by each paying a discounted rate (around 30% in Chicago) for their nanny, the children win because they receive consistent quality care and socialization with the other child(ren) in the share, and the nanny also ends up being paid slightly more for their time and work.
I spoke with four friends who are all currently using a Nanny Share and they all said the exactly same thing. The key to a successful Nanny Share arrangement is to find a family that is compatible to yours - not just compatible in schedule, but in communication and parenting style. Compatibility in those areas will make Nanny Sharing more enjoyable for parents, kids and nanny.
Now my friends were all able to find close friends, and in one case close family, who were perfect Nanny Share partners, but don’t worry! Nanny Lane understands the process of establishing a Nanny Share family and has created a simple way to help local parents and nannies find one another!
If you think a nanny, or a Nanny Share, is the right choice for your family, or if you have more questions, then please check out this helpful information.
