Nanny shares vs. day care: cost and how far in advance?
Hello,
I am a new mom trying to figure out what childcare we can afford for our daughter and also logistics. She won't need care until May 2017, and all of the "nanny available" postings on here are for nannies who are available immediately or a month from now. On the other hand, it seems that day cares are filling up for next spring already. If we decide to go the nanny share route, is there any way to "reserve" a spot with a nanny now, or should I wait until a month before I go back to work, and hope that I can find the right nanny? Then if we can't, would it be too late to get into a good day care?
Also, has anyone done research recently into what a typical hourly rate is for nannies and nanny shares? I am currently visiting a lot of day cares which seem to range between $1100-$1800. I'm assuming nannies are more expensive.
Any thoughts are much appreciated.
Katie
Parent Replies
I can't answer your question for nanny costs but if I were you I would search for a good daycare and reserve your spot. You can always cancel it a month or so out if need be. Daycares almost always have waiting lists so there will be a child that would fill your spot pretty quickly if you do back out. That would at least give you an option to fall back on if you can't find a nanny you like for your budget.
I almost joined a nanny share with two other families last month before we got a spot in a day care, and the nanny was asking $15/hour per child. I don't know how typical that is though. From looking around on BPN, most advertisements for families to join a nanny share don't say what the nanny charges, but I do think I saw one post where the nanny charged $12/hour per child. Hope that helps!
Hi! Currently doing some research on this and interviewing nannies and it looks like nanny shares to run anywhere between $24-$30/hour (for two babies), so about $12-$15/hour per family. From what I've found, they typically start becoming available a month or two in advance, so it's probably too early to look for May 2017 at this point. Though you might be able to find a current share situation where someone knows they are leaving a bit farther in advance??
Hope that's helpful!
If you are looking for a daycare, you should get on a wait list now for when you need it in may. As for nannies you should look around now but keep in mind they won't necessarily be waiting for May to take the post.
Typical nanny rates are between $20-$24 per hour. I am doing a nanny share and we are shooting for $22/hr, so $11/hr per family. It will end up being comparable to daycare. I would recommend looking for a nanny 1-3 months before you go back to work, but if you decide to go with a nanny share, you can always try to find the other family now and then start searching for the nanny closer to the time you will need her. If you are worried about not having your ducks in a row, you can always get on the wait list for a daycare (some will charge a fee) and then if you end up using a nanny, you don't need to move forward with it. It is an additional cost, but you have to keep in mind that unless the daycare has some sort of "barrier to entry" to be on the waitlist, anyone could just put their name on there and it would be that much harder to get a place. I wouldn't send, for example, $250 to reserve a place, but $50 or so is a small price to pay to keep your options open. I hope this helps!