Looking into it as an option. Seems like it could be cheaper than our daycare and maybe more flexible? But also kind of nervous about the whole thing. You're basically hiring a random person to watch your kid in someone else's house. Would love to hear if anyone's done this - what should I be asking before we commit?
We did a nanny share for a year and loved it. The social aspect was good for our kid too, having another child around regularly. Just take your time finding the right family match.
Biggest thing is making sure you and the other family are on the same page about discipline, screen time, food all that stuff. It's essentially a business partnership with another family so you need to be explicit about everything.
The flexibility is real but there's a tradeoff. When the other family's kid gets sick you're scrambling. Daycare you can just plan for those closures. Just something to think about with your schedule.
Looked into care.com nanny shares and the whole vetting process stressed me out more than it was worth. We stuck with our daycare. That said plenty of people make it work so it probably depends on your situation.
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We've been doing nanny shares for about 8 months and honestly it's been great. Cheaper than daycare for us, and the kids actually get more individual attention. Just make sure you really vet the other family though because if things go south it gets messy fast.
Price comparison for us showed we'd save maybe $300 a month which seemed worth it until I thought about backup plans. What happens if the nanny gets the flu? What if the other family wants to pull out? Just make sure you have a real contingency plan.