Many families would love the luxury of hiring a nanny but dismiss the idea because they need only part-time care or they think the costs will be too high. One nanny can care for children from two families. Nanny Sharing is a solution that is working really well for families across the country and DIAL-AN-ANGEL can help to make it work for you.

Nanny Sharing is a variation on the typical nanny care arrangement, typically a live-out or daily nanny (who lives in her own home) travels each day to one household or alternates between residences if the families take turns hosting the children. Sometimes a nanny lives with one family and cares for the children of two families in that home.

Who could benefit from a nanny share?

This arrangement is ideal for children under the age of one. Childcare options for infants are limited with some centres not taking children under two years of age.

If you want or need a more flexible arrangement than childcare centres can offer, then a nanny share may work well for you. With a childcare centre, you must drop your child off and pick them up by a certain time (usually 8am to 6pm), and you cannot leave them if they are sick. Using a shared nanny means you can build in flexibility from the beginning. You may have an easier time arranging pickups and drop-offs, or at least changing your schedule if you need to (providing your nanny agrees).

What are its advantages?

A nanny share is a happy medium between nanny care and a childcare centre. With fewer children around than at a centre, your child is more likely to get some periods of one-to-one attention that you may consider a priority.

A toddler will benefit from the interaction with other children if they are sharing a carer with others. They will also make new friends. Having a nanny share can be a good introduction to a school or pre-school setting, as children become acclimatised to mixing with others and learn about sharing and taking turns.

If the nanny comes to your house, your child can spend the day in a familiar environment. While there is bound to be some transfer of coughs and colds between the families, they may not get sick as often as they might at a centre.

A nanny share helps parents build an extended family network. This is a useful benefit if your carer is ill - parents can negotiate who will stay at home and look after the children.

Families can enjoy the benefits of excellent in-home, full, or part-time childcare at a much lower cost than employing nannies by themselves. Often the cost can be even less than placing children in busy day-care centres that often have ratios of too many children per carer.

For nannies, this setup can offer a flexible schedule and an increase in pay. In the event that one family decides to end the nanny share relationship, the Nanny can work with the second family to find a new partner family.

What are its disadvantages?

If you have ever been part of a group project, you will understand the drawbacks to a nanny share. Making decisions with others can be frustrating, tiring and time-consuming. Before you even start looking for a nanny, you will need to be sure that you and the other parents share similar views on discipline, food and eating habits, how much (if any) television the children can watch, and which activities they take part in during the day.

Some do's and don'ts

• Do agree to a routine of where the children will be and when.
• Do check the type of nanny you both want: A young little thing full of life or a not so young but full-of-experience mother figure?
• Do think about who is going to take responsibility for sorting out tax and insurance. Will you pay separately or does one family pay the other?
• Don't share with a family living too far away;
• Do be punctual: it is easy to mess up the whole arrangement if the nanny is late from one family to another;
• Do interview the nanny yourself, do not rely entirely on the other family's judgment.
• Do sit down, take notes of what you both want, and WRITE IT DOWN IN VERY PRECISE TERMS. To prevent misunderstandings, sign a detailed contract with the nanny. It sets your arrangement down clearly and concisely, protects you if problems crop up and you can refer to it if you need to resolve a dispute. The contract should include how many hours each family agrees to pay for, how taxes will be divided and handled, the rate of pay, and agreed approaches to child rearing.
• Do set up a regular time to meet with the other parents so you can discuss any problems you may have with the arrangement. Ask the nanny to join in as much as possible. Pick one family to be the main contact should anyone need to make changes to the agreed arrangements.

How much does it cost?

It's a negotiable wage between the nanny and the Client(s) based on the number of kids and any special needs etc. Rate of pay is from $20 - $30 per hour negotiable and DIAL-AN-ANGEL has a ‘one off ‘ placement fee per Nanny placed, which is currently 9% of Gross Annual Salary fee (min charge of $2200). For this fee DIAL-AN-ANGEL does the search and recruitment of the nanny, including undertaking personal interviews and reference checks, scrutinising police screening and making sure they meet the most exacting requirements of the clients.

If you have a friend or know someone who has a nanny, why not look at sharing? You can have your cake and eat it too!