The costs of a nanny share depends on your nanny share set up. How you share the cost a nanny can depend on the number of hours, children, and even who is hosting the nanny share. Additional expenses for nanny shares can include over-time, vacation time, and holiday bonuses.

Once you start connecting with prospective families, the next step is to interview. To make things a bit easier, here’s a list of some questions to ask the other family in a nanny share:

What is your discipline style (or what do you plan for it to be?)
If our nanny is late regularly, how would you want to handle it?
How would you describe your child(ren)?
How would you describe your parenting style?

Beyond these questions, try to create a job posting together by creating rules for your nanny share. In doing this, specific areas to focus on include discipline, over-time, and vacation time.

In setting up a nanny share, there are lots of different ways to do it: finding a family with a nanny, hire a nanny and then find a family, or start by finding a family then hiring a nanny together.

When finding a family for a nanny share, you want to assess compatibility in terms of logistics, personalities, and parenting philosophies. It’s also important to be mindful that nanny shares can work with the kids of different ages whether it’s two infants or an older child with an infant, there are lots of different ways to set up a nanny share.

Before beginning the search for a nanny share, you should think through what responsibilities you expect your nanny to handle. With that information, you can create a profile so that nannies can reach out to you. You can do this with the other family or alone. The boundaries for nannies duties vary from family to family. However, in general, a nanny is responsible for making sure your kids’ needs are met, including things like ensuring they have opportunities to play and be active. When tasks go beyond child care, for example, housekeeping or meal preparation, it’s good practice to communicate these expectations with your nanny before hiring them. Along with the different duties that you ask for, experience and location can impact how much you should pay your nanny.

Once you start connecting with prospective nannies, the next step is a nanny interview. There are questions for hiring a nanny in a nanny share and testing different scenarios. To make things a bit easier, here’s a list of some nanny interview questions to consider asking:

Do you have experience being a nanny?
How do you handle tantrums? Can you share an experience disciplining children?
What sort of household tasks are you open to doing?
Are you open to a live in arrangement in Minnesota? Do you have experience being a live in nanny?
Are you open to being a nanny in a nanny share?
Do you have any references? If yes, here are some questions to ask the nanny’s references.
Are you trained in First Aid or CPR in Minnesota?
Do you have a driver’s license in Minnesota? Do you own a car?
What salary are you seeking? Are you open to being paid through direct-deposit, pay stubs?
What are your expectations around over-time pay and vacation time?

During the hiring process, it’s essential to ask for references, and by asking their references questions you gain a better understanding of they will fit in your family. As you get closer to hiring a nanny, be sure to run a background check to ensure your kids are in good hands. When evaluating a prospective nanny, make sure you’re setting the foundation for a good relationship with your nanny. You can do this by being clear about your expectations around nanny responsibilities and compensation, and of course, by being friendly and welcoming! And of course, as you learn how to hire a nanny, Nanny Lane's nanny services are here to help you along the way.