Nanny with own child

[MrsWeasleyWannaBe]

Does anyone here have any experience of employing a nanny who cared for their own child at the same time as caring for your DC? Did it work well and would you do it again? Many thanks!

Mrs, I do. I was the nanny with own child. It was with my first one, 10 years ago, DS was 5 months old, little girl was 2 days younger, they lived short walk through the park from us. From my point of view it was the best arrangement ever. Little Girl was on GF routine (oops!), from day one DS just followed her with sleeping and eating. Quite opposite to Little Girl's Mother, I was a bit nervous not to favor my DS. How little I knew I was actually more protective over her than him, it worked just great for us. But please do ask if you have any specific questions.

My current nanny has a child and tbh it's a nightmare! I don't think it's particularly the child but the way out nanny deals with it herself! She very much favours her own dc in activities & outings over my children & will winge & wine very very loudly over everyone as soon as they arrive if they can't get their own way to which our nanny can't deal with her dc.

I'm a nanny and take my little boy 2.5 yrs with me and I have 2 different jobs so 2 separate families and it works well. Both families are great with accommodating both of us and my DS loves being around the other children as I went back to work when he was 4 mths old so he has grown up with them. The closest in age is 1.5 yrs older but I like that as they are able to help if need be and don't demand as much attention - I think I would struggle if I had 4 kids under 5 or something like that.
I often have to ignore my son to do something with the older ones but that doesn't worry me as I'm happy that he doesn't think he gets my attention all the time.
He also gets picked up early by my mum or sister so he isn't around when it's homework bath and bed time.

I'm an NWOC, I love it and so does my son who has been coming to work with me since 12 weeks old. I do think there are compromises on both sides, my boss docked my pay by 20% after my maternity leave and tbh I think that was fair. You need to ask the nanny to provide/pay for any extra equipment eg double pram or car seat, and think about if she can pack away/take home any extra stuff like high chair etc when she's not there. Another consideration is the job might not last as long as if you or nanny gets pregnant then will it be practical to continue? My boss & I agreed we'd treat the kids like siblings re illness eg if one gets chicken pox just assume the other will too rather than not work. Ask the nanny if she has a back-up plan for her child being ill or having appointments etc like her partner or mum can be with the child while so she can still be there for you. I was lucky but I hear NWOC jobs are hard to get unless part time so most NWOC will bend over backwards to try to make the arrangement work.

It didn't really work for us, another 2 year old in the mix (so along with my 2 year old and 4 and 6 year olds), just made everything more difficult and after a couple of weeks the nanny in question asked her mother to have him whilst she worked.

I also found that even basic nursery duties took so much longer too.

I suppose that there wasn't any positives at all for me as an employer for her bringing along her child - but there were lots of negatives!

We have NWOC. It works brilliantly for us. DS aged 2.5 and her DD aged nearly 6 love each other to bits. They have so much fun together. The agreement is that they are treated like siblings in terms of balancing activities and their needs.
We win financially as we pay 25% less than we would a nanny without child for the hours that she brings her DD. DS has a playmate and enjoys the school run, sports days, school fete etc.

The downsides are having to compromise. We drop DS off at the nanny's house in the morning as her DD struggles to get up and ready. You also have to put up with another child's tantrums in your home. If either child is ill we do the same as Victoria - they are still looked after together, if one has chicken pox they would have to both risk it.

NWOC is a bit like a nanny share in that you do consider another family's needs as well as your own (and that other family is your employee). However what we get back in spades for being reasonable is flexibility and an amazing nanny.

I have a NWOC. Her DD is a few months younger than mine. They are in nursery and reception at the same school, so school runs/ links with teacher are easy. She has my DS (2) on his own some days, or with her DD on non-nursery days. I don't feel any child is prioritised particularly. They all get what they need.

I'm not bothered about whether her DD tantrums or whatever - it's all part of learning to be with different people. They all get on really well most of the time.

I drop off at their house some mornings as mine are easier to get up and it's en route to my work.

I had a NWOC when my DD was one. She stayed through the birth of DS until my DC were two and four. Her DD was a year older than my DD. At that age, it worked well. I think as they approach four / five, it gets trickier. It was great for those three years.

I would recommend it as long as you go in with your eyes open and recognise that it is more likely to change over time.

Didn't work for us. She was a brilliant nanny and her child was delightful but in terms of flexibility and practicality it made everything more complicated. She them announced she was expecting again and was due just three months after I would have my second. I wouldn't do it again.

Lots of great advice from Victoria there. It works brilliantly for us - nanny's son is same age as dd2 and she gets sad on the days he's with his auntie. Our nanny is very conscientious and we are both pretty fair and flexible, which I think helps a lot. Having a nwoc means we can afford a really experienced, capable nanny whereas we would have had to compromise on something else otherwise.