Part-time nannies?

[pinkhyena]

Just wondering if such a thing exists? Also I know every nanny is different but are there those who charge a flat fee even if there is more than 1 child?

Basically we're expecting DC2 and i'm at university. DS is at nursery 2 days a week which costs us £400 a month. The plan after I graduate is to get a job 3 days a week but my guess is I won't be earning enough to put both DC's in nursery so i'm looking at other childcare options. An ideal situation would be a part-time nanny who charges per day rather than per child but I don't really know anything about nannying so looking for some advice.
Thanks

A nannies salary is determined on a per-family basis, not per child. Nannies can look after several children from the same family, I've worked for families with 2, 3, 4 children.

In the past I've had a 3-day a week nanny job. I currently have a 4 day a week job. I quite like not working 5 days a week.

If you won't be earning enough to put both DC's in nursery, how would you earn enough to afford a nanny? Nannies I feel are usually more financially viable over other forms of childcare when a family has 3 or more children. With 2 children, there can sometimes not be much in it but I feel a nanny will often be a bit more than say 2 children at nursery. It does of course depend on the salary negotiated and the other costs involved and how much the nursery fees are locally.

A parent on twitter asked me recently to do a rough calculation for them for how much a nanny might cost for 2 days a week. Possibly worth a look at the calculation I did - How Much Would a Nanny Cost for 2 Days a Week?. The nannies Gross salary per hour figure will vary a bit based on location, where I am in the South East £10-£12 gross per hour is not that unusual I feel, for an experienced nanny. However those nannies just starting out in nannying may well accept a lower wage, so you can drop the costs quite a bit by negotiating a lower salary (it must be at least National Minimum Wage - £6.08 per hour I think for someone aged 21+ as of October this year).

It can be tricky to calculate the costs of things like activity budget, how much mileage your nanny might do, what the cost of them having lunch at your home would be. You may agree or disagree with my figures but do try to figure out what is probably in terms of those costs in your particular circumstances.

as nick said nannys charge either by the day or hour but per family regardless the number of children

im guessing roughly that at £400 a month - nursery is £50 a day - you def wont get a nanny for that

and tbh unlikely to get one for £100gross including the nannies ni/tax and your employers tax - or will be about on par with nursery fees

Ah fair enough, as I said I know nothing about nannying so wanted to find out. Any other childcare options that may be more viable?

Childminder perhaps, though possibly very similar cost to the nursery. Would certainly be an option looking longer term, as a local childminder would care for pre-school aged children and school aged. As long as your children went to a school from which the childminder could collect, then you could end up having that childcare arrangement for many years. However whilst you can state a preference for a school you might not get a place at your first choice.

Are you happy with the nursery? If so, stick with that. Then once your eldest child has a school place, look at finding a childminder who could take/collect from that school, plus care for your younger child during the day.

Some other factors may come into play later one... once you graduate and get a job, you may find your working hours (plus the commute to/from work) means that the nursery is not viable as nurseries usually (if not always) have a fixed opening and closing time. If you need childcare from 6.30am to 7.30pm, then that will limit your choices a lot. If that becomes the case then a nanny or a childminder who does not mind early starts and late finishes would be your options.

All this is by the by though if the job that you get once you graduate isn't enough to pay for the childcare, yet alone your families cost of living - food, housing, clothing etc.

So say "we're expecting" so is there a DP/DH? Are they contributing towards the cost of childcare? It isn't a cost that should come out of just your pay, they are not just your children. Your partner needs to be pulling their own weight, they need to help out... they could work part-time and care for the children part-time, you could work part-time and care for the children part-time... you may end up not needing any childcare at all. You may decide that you are all better off if you both work full-time and take long family holidays. Whatever the situation becomes, it's not just about your income paying for childcare but about the families income paying for all the families expenses. Some men don't see it that way alas... but if the children's father is still in their lives, then do aim to get them to contribute towards the cost of childcare.

DH does give me some money towards the childcare but at the moment I get a subsidy from student loans and he pays more in the way of bills etc.

I suppose it does all depend on the job I get but I was intending to work as a TA which pays naff all in a full time position which is why i'm anticipating not being able to have both children at the nursery. It's a real shame because I like it and DS loves it there. He's only going to be 18 months old when DC2 is born so it'll be a while before school etc.

We do have the option of the IL's taking care of them but I think the social aspect of 'outside' childcare is so important and I can probably count on one hand the times the IL's have taken DS out and even then its just to see DS's nan. I shouldn't complain because I know there are plenty of people who are unable to get family help, it just concerns me that they don't really do anything with him even though we suggest stuff.