Hellobee Boards

I'm not in the DC area, but we've been in a nanny share for the last year in a large city. We do 10 hrs per day all week long, with every other Friday off. Each family pays $8.66/hr.

Making sure that you and the other family are on the same page is absolutely key to success - the nanny needs to be able to handle both children the same, so it's important that you and the other family are happy with the same thing. (Discipline, driving places, going to classes, what happens when 1 kid is sick, etc.) Also, you need to be comfortable leaving your kid with the other family or you watching both kids in case one family is running late for pick up.

Have a written contract that lines out the expectations for everyone. We decided to go with a weekly rate rather than an hourly rate and both families pay the whole rate rather than paying less if they skip a day or pick up the child early for a doctor appt. We also put provisions in for what happens when each family is on vacation - what the 1 child rate is, how many weeks per year, etc. The contract states what days the nanny gets for holidays/vacation, whether it's paid or not, what the nanny is allowed to do (like give medications, etc.)

We kept the nanny at one house rather than going back and forth, but occasionally would move it to the other house if someone was sick. (We ended up switching after 1 year because the other mom is working from home a few days a week now.) We split up the items that we needed to purchase, rather than split the cost so at the end there is no question of what belongs to who. I bought a used double stroller and a high chair, the other family provided a PnP. Each family provides their own diapers and food. (Some family split the cost, or one family provides food and diapers and pays a lower rate.)

If you are going to host at the other family's house, ask about their plans to child proof, do they have firearms and how are they stored, how they store their cleaning supplies/chemicals, pets and how to handle them, etc.