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We're in Clapham, one baby, both working full time. Nursery would be about the same as a mortgage payment. A family on our road has suggested a nanny share starting in spring.
Has anyone done one? What went wrong, what went right? I'm worried about the 'two families, one employee' bit, especially payroll and who's in charge.
Did one for 18 months. Things I'd insist on: a written agreement between the families (holidays, sickness, which house, who buys the food, what happens if one family pulls out), a proper payroll service, and one monthly catch-up between the parents without the nanny so niggles don't fester.
From the nanny side: please agree between you on rules before you start. Screen time, naps, snacks. The hardest shares I've done were where one family let their baby do anything and the other was very strict, and I was stuck in the middle.
That's really useful to hear from a nanny's point of view, thank you.
Ours fell apart when the other family had a second baby and wanted the nanny to take on a newborn too. Think about that scenario in advance.
We loved ours. The kids are still best friends at 6. Cost worked out roughly the same as nursery for us, slightly more, but no nursery bugs and no rush to pickup.
Remember you're both legally employers. Pension, holiday pay, the lot. Payroll services aren't expensive and save a lot of headaches.
Something we didn't think about: which house when one child is ill. Our agreement said the host house could say no if the other child had a temperature, which meant that family needed a backup. Worth writing in.
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