Save Money & Make Friends
by Sharing a Nanny

Nanny sharing is an idea that is coming to the rescue of many working mothers. For parents struggling to place their children in a suitable day care centre and unable to afford the cost of a nanny by themselves or needing a flexible childcare solution, sharing a nanny with another family can be the answer to their prayers.

Perhaps one of the most surprising aspects to come out of the concept of nanny sharing has been how women have enjoyed the feeling of community that linking up with another local mother has given them.

Rachel Willets of Nannyshare.co.uk says ”We often hear back from our 'matches' that they have made new friends and found a whole new network simply by linking up with another mother. Perhaps nanny sharing is giving people an opportunity to go back to the days when local women all knew and helped each other out. It would be nice to think so!”

Architect Jodi Chen from Notting Hill agrees. When her daughter Julietta was born in August last year, Jodi used Nannyshare.co.uk to link up with another mum, Louise French, who had a little girl Bea, almost the same age as Julietta.

“Sharing a nanny has opened up a whole new network of friends and child centred facilities for both of us,” explains Jodi. “Julietta has made a lot of new friends and goes to many more new places than she would have done if she had simply had one to one nanny care. And of course she simply adores her best friend Bea!”

Jodi was amazed at how well nanny sharing worked for her and Louise. ”Louise had a really wonderful Norland trained nanny, Jen Spooner, who looked after Bea for five days a week, but when she was hired it had always been agreed that she would look after another baby as well. This was partly to help out with the financial cost, but also because Louise felt strongly that Bea would really benefit from having another little one around as a friend.”

”Although Louise and I don't get together very often because of work commitments, we do chat on the telephone and our nanny acts as a conduit between us. I will tell Jen about new children's activities I have found out about and Louise will do the same.So all that information is pooled and our daughters get the benefit.”

In addition to all these benefits, Jodi knows that she has a safety net of flexibility that is not often available with other types of child care. ”If I suddenly need to work a few more hours at the office I know I can simply ring Louise and we will always work something out. It may be that I have more hours this week but less next. Because we are both in the same boat we try and help each other out as much as we can. It gives me a great feeling of reassurance.”

”The point about using nanny sharing is that it puts you in touch with people who are near you and who have the same needs. It is just a great form of networking and it really helped me to solve the very tricky problem of getting the right type of child care for my precious daughter.”

Nannyshare is supported and promoted by a significant number of NHS Trusts across the country. You can visit their website at www.Nannyshare.co.uk.

The Good Nanny Guide
Nanny Sharing Helps Working Mother
Child Trust Funds
Motivating Your Child