Solo Nanny vs. Nanny Share

Many families ask themselves whether they should hire a nanny on their own, or share one with another family. There are also families who love their nanny dearly, but their kids are growing up and don't require her help as much. One factor to consider is the difference in price between employing a nanny on your own vs. sharing her help.

Cost is not the only factor that should be considered when deciding whether or not you should share your nanny. Here are some other considerations when deciding whether you should share a nanny with another family:

Benefits of Hiring a Nanny on Your Own

• Your kids are always being cared for in their own home
• Your kid's have 100% of the nanny's attention
• Your nanny can usually get some of your errands done during the day
• You can ask your nanny to cook a family meal and do the kids’ laundry

Benefits of Sharing a Nanny

• Your child has a playmate
• Your child can gain independence, developmental skills, and social skills from having a playmate so early
• You can ask for errands and help around the house on the weeks you host the care at your home
• The cost of a nanny is greatly reduced

How to Determine the Hourly Rate of a Nanny Share

When hiring a nanny for a nanny share, the parents don’t automatically split the cost 50/50, there’s a little more math involved. There are two families and more kids involved, so it would be unfair to pay your nanny the same rate you'd pay if they were working with only one family. They got two schedules, two personalities, and two households to manage. The industry standard is for both families to pay ⅔ of a nanny’s hourly rate, leaving them with a more substantial hourly amount, but still offering a significant savings of ⅓ for each family.

Of course, an important part of starting a nanny share is finding a compatible family. If the benefits of a nanny share work for you and seem advantageous for your family (and your finances!), finding a family is easier than you think and definitely worth a try.

There are also some resources to help you find the perfect family for a nanny share and interview questions for the other family