Thrifty Thinking: Nanny Lane

Nanny Lane is a nanny sharing platform that is reducing childcare costs for families by 30%! Childcare is one of the biggest financial burdens for American families and women are the ones who are taking the economic hit. Just as Airbnb and other companies in the sharing economy have reduced the cost of travel, Nanny Lane is doing the same for childcare, and on the same scale.

I had a chance to interview John Philip Green, Chief Executive Dad of Nanny Lane.

What are the benefits of nanny sharing?

There are several benefits to nanny sharing. The following are what we find the most impactful.

1. affordable quality childcare

If you’re sharing a nanny with another family, you should save 33% of a nannies full-time salary if the nanny was supporting your family alone. This option is often far less expensive than high-end daycares, especially for families with multiple children. It also allows a nanny to earn a slightly higher salary! Based on the INA's 2018 report of avg hourly wage of $19.14, nanny sharing saves American families over $13,000 per year.

2. Meaningful socializing and friends to grow up with

Nanny sharing can create valuable socialization time for children and also provide kids with someone to grow up with. Children can learn how to behave and react around others and receive some of the benefits of daycare, like a friend to grow up with, in a nanny share environment.

3. Flexible Schedules

Nanny sharing can provide additional flexibility for busy families, that traditional daycares centers cannot. Child care centers often have rigid policies on pick-up/ drop-off hours, statutory holidays, and sick days. With a nanny share, you can plan ahead, navigate around exceptions, and ensure that the unique needs of your families are met.

4. Active Support From An Adult

A nanny sharing environment can provide quality 1: 1-time with an adult. Daycare staff often have their attention spread between a large number of kids. With a nanny share, you are able to ensure each child receives regular support from an adult. You even have the ability to shape programming or request specific activities.

What could be some drawbacks?

Potential Nanny Share risks include...

1. Cleaning Duties

Many nannies support families by helping with housework, like house cleaning. However, when a nanny is being shared with two families, there is less time to reduce this burden for each family and is something that needs to be discussed prior to signing a nanny sharing agreement, so that expectations are clear from the begining.

2. Scheduling Difficulties

Although a nanny share can provide added flexibility, one of the challenges of maintaining a nanny share is that, as a families plan changes - it is not always easy to ensure the second family can accommodate the change in plans. This can lead to tension and undue pressure on the nanny.

Families need to ensure discussing schedules and how to handle pop-up's before the arrangement begins. Further, you should meet with the other family to discuss the process for making changes to the schedule - if need be.

3. High Commitment

Setting up nanny sharing requires that you make a commitment not just to a nanny, but also to another family. As a result, if things aren’t working out, it will be harder for you to end the agreement. Families should make it a priority to have a clear understanding of how long the agreement will last, as well as how regularly you’ll re-visit the arrangement. Planning a 3-month check-in is probably a good idea.

4. Parenting Styles

If a family limits time spent playing video games, or guarantees a certain number of hours of physical activity - but the other family doesn’t - this might cause tension. Like many of the potential problems associated with a nanny share, open dialogue and establishing shared rules from the start will help you overcome this potential hiccup.

How can families make sure that they are compatible with a potential family match?

• Open, honest and upfront communication is most important to have a good relationship with your share family.
• A better-paid nanny is more likely to make special exceptions for your families, and to remain with you for a long time, to ensure the two families agree on a compensation fit and amount that values the nannies hard work.

About Nanny Lane

Nanny Lane is a nanny sharing platform that is disrupting the child care industry. Nanny sharing, which is growing in popularity is when two families share the time of one nanny, each paying about ⅔ the cost of hiring a nanny solo. Families save on costs, nannies earn more, and more families can afford child care. CareGuide is the team behind Nanny Lane, is a 4 year old company that helps millions of families every month through their portfolio of care services, including Sitter.com, Housekeeper.com, PetSitter.com, ElderCare.com, HouseSitter.com, CanadianNanny.ca, and HeartPayroll.