Working as a nanny with my own baby?

[fairibell]

I was wondering if something like this would work?

I am a qualified primary school teacher with experience in both school and early years settings. I have just had my first baby in May and while looking at childcare options/nanny shares etc I wondered if it would be possible for me to work as a Nanny (probably for someone looking for some kind of nanny share) and bring my child with me? Obviously I would be paid less than if I wasn't bringing my daughter with me.

Just interested if this would even be possible, is it allowed?

Also no idea what a nanny would earn? any rough ideas?

Was looking at going back to work part time but obviously if could bring my daughter with me could consider fulltime, hopefully making the money I would if I went back to work part-time?

Any options greatly appreciated!! Am I just being idealistic?

Yes, you certainly can work as a nanny with your own child.

Nanny wages vary depending on area and your experience. Roughly £7 - £10 nett per hour. As a teacher you have qualifications but no actual nanny experience - though most employers would love to have an ex-teacher as a nanny. Some employers pay less if a nanny has their own child - some don't.

Full time nannying can mean 50 - 60hours a week, so I would suggest part-time as you have your own baby.

I'm sure there'll be some nannies along soon to offer advice on the practical aspects of working like this.

thanks! just wanted to know if it was possible really!!

What about Childminding? I used to be a Nanny, had my DS then became a Childminder from home. As long as you keep your vacancies filled, you would get almost the same wage as a nanny - of course depending on where in the country you are

Childminding is a good option - I did this when my 2 dc's were small. I also nannyed with 1 dd years back. I've just returned to nannying and I love the fact that I haven't got loads of paperwork to do in my evenings - I'm only dealing with one set of parents - I haven't got to make my home babyproof - I haven't got to tidy toys etc away at the end of the day - don't have to deal with tax and ni (all done for me now)---- I could go on for ages

Nannying is fairly easy with 1 of your own children, but once you have 2 (or more) the logistics make it easier to childmind from your own home.

I would childmind but our house is way too small for us let alone having any other children here!

Well I have babyproofed my flat but they keep getting back in

I live in a very small 2 bedroom maisonnette. It's teeny tiny. The only real time we spend indoors is naptime and mealtimes. I have two travel cots. One in DS's room and the other in our bedroom. Works very well

We also have 3 dogs! which in a very tiny house CM here jsut is not possible - also is a shared ownership property and in our contract we are not allowed to run a business from here!

I'm also not supposed to run a business from home, we're home owners but leaseholders. but it's my home and I'll do what I like. The only way we can afford to have our own home is if we both work. I can't afford to go out to work as I can't afford childcare so Childminding was the only option for me. I don't see it so much as a business, I'm a SAHM who makes a living doing what she loves most, looking after other people's kiddies That's my excuse anyway - Sorry, a bit of a highjack I'll get down off my high horse now

Oh, good luck with the Nannying! When DS was born I didnt think it would be an option but I've come across loads of Nannies with their own children

My friend has a nanny in your situation and it's worked out fantastically well for them.

a friend has just hired a nanny with her own baby - no one else wanted the role as it was 12-6 every day, but it suits her perfectly as she hs the mornings just with her baby and the afternoon working with her baby in tow.

Am pretty sure there was no reduction in rate for hvaing her baby with her....

good luck

can't find any info anywhere that says a teaching degree wouls qualify me as a nanny, even called a few agencies and they didn't know either!!

My nanny came back to work for us after she had had her first baby, and it worked out very well for us.

My boys were older so didn't need her with them every minute of the day, but the did need someone to make sure they got home from school and had something to eat, did their homework, etc

You may find that it will work better with a family like ours, who have older children. Most nannies want to work with little ones, and it can be really hard to get decent childcare.

And being a teacher would be an even better bonus with that age group.

You will need to be very up front about arrangements in the event of sickness, and also bear in mind that if you're being employed, your child may have to take second place to those of your employer. I know that the end of the day for my nanny wasn't always easy - the baby was often ready to go to sleep, but had to travel home for around 40 minutes - often falling asleep in the car and then having to be woken up once they arrived home.

But it's very definitely doable.

We had a nanny with her own child when DS was a baby. The advantage was that they were very very close in age, so the same things suited them, and they grew very close. It was great to have a little friend. DS was with her from 8 months to 3.

She charged us less because she was in effect providing her own childcare as well as doing her job - about 25% less than the going rate, I think.

Once they were weaning, she fed her child from my fridge, but paid for her child when they went to activities or out. We each provided our own nappies. She used her car, we had to make sure it would fit two car seats. Her child used our travel cot for naps, I bought a second hand double buggy from an NCT sale - where I later re-sold it.

In principle, we had the agreement that if she was ill we would pay her, but if she had to have time off to look after her child it would come off her holiday - but in fact this was never really an issue.

I feel you need to think very carefully about this. As a teacher, your earning potential is much higher than working as a nanny. As a teacher you have a career path.
Long term, I don't think a change from QTS to nannying is a good one... once you leave teaching you may find it hard to get back into it again. Could you not look for part-time teaching work?
Try to think about 5 years time... what will you be doing then?
Also consider the maternity package you are currently on... as a teacher you may have quite good terms, perhaps more than statutory. Make sure that you won't owe anything to your employer, if you don't return to work.
Discuss with your employer your return to work options, you may not need to return full-time, you may be able to job-share.

Hi, I havent read all the replies as got lots to do but just thought I would say that I have been working doing temp/occasionaly nannying since my DD was 2 weeks old. She is now 6 months. It has worked really well for us and she now really enjoying it! I am waiting for my childmindinding registration to come through though so will then change to doing that!

nannynick - always the voice of reason

Some very good points.

hi just wanted to say are looking in to all the options! I had planned to go back to work 4 dyss a week, but my husbands payrise means we do not qualify for any help with childcare - so by working 4 days i would earn just under £1100 per month and childcare would cost me a minimum of £700 a month (based on £4 an hour, most CM locally are £4.50-£5ph) - leaving us with £400 a month - i need to be bringing home £700 for us to survive!

to cut long story short have shared ownership house that costs us £1400 in rent and mortgage combined - we also have lots of debts trying to pay off (partly due to my being on sick leave alot over last 2 years on low pay as not worked at my job long - was in anf out of cardiac care with heart condition that came out of the blue from may 06 - feb 07 when had a successful surgery. Fell pregnant in feb 07 (unplanned) and lost our little girl Madi at 26 weeks due to severe rapid-onset pre-eclampsia in July 2007. fell pregnant 6 weeks later (planned, but as a way to cope with the grief i suppose) never ever expected to be bringing a baby home and now here we are with a 4 week old perfect little girl (only 5 weeks early - due to pre-eclampsia).

The last 2 years has put a lot into perspective for me and I want to work to live not live to work (which happens with teaching!! It is not just a job but a lifestyle - i realise nannying is too, but if could have my daughter with me it would be very different!), plus no childcare costs so should be able to bring home the amount of money we need to live each month... well so i have worked out!

I know teaching is a career i can go back to and to be honest i havent even considered anything in 5 years time - would love more chn and my husband and i ahve seriously considered moving to wales, where i would not have to work. even if this didnt happen teachers are in great demand in this area and it is only going to get more so as 50% of teaching in our authority are due to retire in the next 4 years! Could also do a return to teaching course if needbe.

If anyone has any other ideas of things i could do it, or any comments would be greatly appreicated, my mind is not yet made up, just looking at my options so opinions are great at the moment, whatever they maybe!!

sorry if this is a bit garbled, got my dd on my lap!!

ooo and maternity - i have 4 weeks full pay, 2 weeks of 90% pay and then 12 weeks half pay plus SMP then SMP (£117 a week) for another 20i think weeks- if i do not go back i have to pay back the 12 weeks half pay (i have not yet been paid this - so trying to make decision before get any of it - if they cant stop it at short notice I can then put in high interest savings account and pay it back if i don't go back.

basically w cannot afford to live on just the SMP we would be nearly £400 short a month! so looked at going back to work when the 12 weeks half pay +smp ended but after dedcting childcare costs from my take home pay we would still be £400 short a month! so yes if i left my job i would need to find a job to start asap really... thankfully due to family we should be able to hold out a couple more months and if i left my job wouldnt need to look for another until around september/october...

my employer has been great and said i can return part time, but after childcare comes out whatever hours i do i will always be short of what we need to live!

As a nanny you could certainly earn the sort of money you are looking for - and as you say in the future you could do a back to teaching course.

I bring in over £1,000 net per month for a 3 day nanny job.

Demand for nannies and nannies pay varies around the country. Where are you located?
My current nanny job takes home (after tax) less than £1000 a month. With a child of your own, you could lose 20%-30% (possibly more) off the salary, as parents will consider it to be a nanny share.

I don't find your figures helpful as they are not complete - eg. your partners earnings, your expenditures etc. Don't put those all on here... will assume you have sat down and worked though all the costs you have and have tried to cut down on non-essential expenses.
Having a child is costly, especially in the first five years. Some parents will go into debt, so that they can continue in their career - as childcare costs can be similar to their take-home pay.

The nanny market at the moment is not that great in my view... many people are seeking work. In the current economic climate, leaving a job to go into a job which you don't have yet, to me seems the wrong move. But of course it is your decision and you have to take numerous things into consideration - your health, your child's happiness, finance, to name just a few.

Keep options open for as long as you can. Start looking at local nanny jobs and see if you can get any interviews. As you are on maternity leave, it is an ideal time to test the water... see what your local nanny market is like. Then once you get a job offer, you can decide if you really want it, or if you are better staying in teaching for a while.

Looks like you may be in my general area (East Berkshire), so I agree with you that Childminder costs can typically be £4.50-£5.50 per hour.
However, some childminders will do term-time only, while others will accept a lower retainer during school holidays. So if you stayed in teaching, then you may find that your childcare costs per month would vary - in August it may be nil.

Parents in this area can be quite picky about who they have working for them as their nanny. Not all parents can afford the nanny salaries offered inside the M25.
You have no nanny experience so you would be starting out at the bottom of the rung... I would expect that to be around £13,000 a year gross annual salary. From that, as it would be a nanny share, parents may want to reduce you by 20-30%, so you may find that you earn only £10,000 gross. You may find families who are prepared to pay more... but you may not. It's a bit pot luck really.
Have a look around at nanny jobs - try searching on www.nannyjob.co.uk as a starting place. See what is being offered to someone who does not have prior experience and who wants to bring their own child. Your previous experience in school/other setting, may help... but it is different to nannying, so parents (and agencies) may not count it as much.

Hi
thanks for your reply! As you say testing the water is exactly what I am doing at the moment, I have not made any decisions yet just investigating my options.
I spoke to a few agencies yesterday who seemed to think my experience was good and they would be able to find me work (although sure they say that to everyone!).

Will keep researching and report back!!

thanks again for all your help, it really is greatly apprecited!!