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Considering sharing a caregiver? Be sure to do your homework: Nanny shares and shared care arrangements may be subject to various licensing requirements or prohibited in certain states and jurisdictions. Research local laws and regulations.
With rising child care costs and lengthy day care waitlists, finding child care in the Windy City can be overwhelming. A nanny share arrangement might be the perfect solution for you, offsetting the cost of care by employing a nanny along with another family. At the same time, your kids get a high level of attention plus peer socialization. Sounds like a win-win, right?
Since many Chicagoans may be new to the world of nanny sharing, we asked some local parents how they got started.
Think family first: How to find the right partner family
Anne Colvin, a mom from Lakeview, started her search for a nanny share family during her final trimester. She paid an annual membership fee and posted on Neighborhood Parents Network’s child care classifieds. Once she found the perfect family and nanny, her share lasted two years, ending once her daughter started preschool.
“For us, it was important to find a family that lived nearby (which makes pickups/drop-offs less stressful), with a child close to the same age and with similar scheduling needs,” she says. “You don’t have to be best friends with the nanny share family, but it’s really important to share the same core values and have a similar outlook when it comes to parenting and being an employer.”
Securing care: How to find the right nanny
When Danielle Harris, another Lakeview-based mom, found out she would be having a baby around the same time as her friend, nanny share discussions soon followed. Their search for a nanny started one month before they needed the caregiver to start. Both families were involved in interviewing candidates they found on Care.com and local Facebook group Adina’s Nanny Network.
“The nanny we chose was a career nanny,” Harris says. “She had a good resume of families she had worked with and a good explanation of why she stopped working with them — for instance, the kids got older and went to school. We were her first share family, but she was on board. We just laid out the expectations up front.”
Know where to look in Chicago
Fortunately, Chicago has no shortage of young families that are perfect candidates for nanny sharing, so get the word out to your friends, relatives, and neighbors while exploring all the resources available online for connecting with families and nannies.
Community/child care networks
- Neighborhood Parents Network is a network of over 5,000 Chicago-based parents. It includes “child care classifieds” to find families and nannies.
- Care.com is the world’s largest online destination for care, with over 4,000 nannies listed in Chicago. Care.com also provides tools and resources for families, including The Complete Guide to Nanny Shares, the Cost of Care Calculator and a sample nanny contract.
- Nextdoor is a free social network for connecting with neighbors and is a good resource for finding a nearby partner family.
- Nanny search agencies offer a full-service model and are usually the most expensive option. There are several agencies in Chicago.
Facebook groups
- Your neighborhood’s Facebook group is a great place to start. Many Chicago neighborhoods have private groups for local families, so see if there’s one near you.
- MamaTribe Chicago is an invite-only group of over 40,000 Chicago-based moms and is a great network for finding a share family.
- Via the Village is a private nanny share Facebook group with nearly 14,000 followers.
- Adina’s Nanny Network is a private Facebook group for finding nannies, with over 36,000 followers.
When crafting a nanny share post, more is always better. Be clear if you’re seeking a family, nanny, or both, and include all details like location, hours, start date, pay and your child’s age — and then share it across networks for more eyes to see.
Think a nanny share is right for you?
Read more in The Complete Guide to Nanny Shares.
