Considering sharing a nanny? 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.
So, you’ve decided to set up a nanny share. You found a family to partner with and a qualified nanny for all the children. Now it’s time to plan ahead for every possible scenario, including sick days, because kids will inevitably get sick. Have you thought about what you would do? This is where nanny shares can get tricky. You want to keep everyone healthy, but does that mean you have to miss work every time your kid catches a cold?
We asked several parents who’ve participating in nanny shares what worked for them in order to help you navigate the sometimes-complicated scenario of creating a sick day plan.
The daycare approach: Adopt a daycare sickness policy
Interacting with new children inherently means more exposure to germs, so determine early on how sick is too sick. Viewpoints often differ, so many nanny share arrangements rely on traditional daycare sick policies.
Stephanie, a San Francisco mom, says she has been in three nanny shares with the general rule of “vomit-, diarrhea- and fever-free for 24 hours.” She explains, “Families keep a sick kid home if it is on the more severe side, including high fever over 102 or unresponsive to Tylenol or Motrin, rash that is likely contagious or just generally really unhappy.”
You’re splitting the cost of a nanny, so expect there to be trade-offs. That can mean missing work at times, according to one Tennessee mom. She says, “When it comes to sickness, a nanny share is not really any better or worse than daycare.”
The sibling approach: View kids as siblings who will share germs
Rather than relying on strict daycare rules, families can instead take the more flexible “sibling approach.” This means missing less work to stay home with your child because both families acknowledge that sharing illness is part of the deal they entered into.
“If they were siblings, you wouldn’t send them to a different house,” said Dr. Kathryn Meier, a San Francisco-based pediatrician and former nanny share mom. “They’re going to be exposed to a little bit more than staying home — and that’s OK.”
“We stuck to a fever-free for 24 hours rule, but we still shared every single sickness,” explains the Tennessee mom. “Kids are just going to be contagious before they show signs.”
Ask the right health questions
No matter the approach, be clear about expectations and include an illness policy in your nanny share contract. Choosing the right family and the right nanny are equally important, so be prepared to cover a lot up front, including:
Discuss views on illness and healthcare
- Would you consider yourself a “germophobe,” or are you more relaxed about germs?
- What are your views on traditional healthcare versus alternative medicine practices?
- Are both families and the nanny up to date on vaccines?
Agree on stay-home symptoms
- Will your share follow daycare rules or treat kids more like siblings?
- How will you handle symptoms like vomit, diarrhea, fever, rash, cough or runny nose? What if pink eye, lice or cold sores are present in a family?
- What’s the approach if symptoms develop during the day?
- What’s the nanny’s comfort level and experience caring for a sick child?
- How long does a child have to be symptom-free?
Plan for nanny pay and other sick day logistics
Once you’ve aligned on the health decisions, make a game plan for how you’ll handle nanny pay when it comes to sick days.
- Who gets the nanny if a child is sick? Does the nanny care for the healthy child while the sick child stays home with a parent? Are you OK switching homes if the host family’s child is sick?
- How will the nanny be compensated if a child gets sick? Will they still receive full pay from both families? Will the healthy kid’s family pay a single-child rate?
- Will you offer free sick days to both families and paid sick time to the nanny?
- What’s the backup child care plan if the nanny gets sick? Do you have another nanny lined up? Do families alternate staying home with the kids?
Keep communication going and be flexible to change
There are many factors to consider in a nanny share, but there are no rules until you set them. Meier recommends all parties come up with a combined family strategy to avoid surprises later on. But surprises do happen, so it’s important to stay in constant communication along the way.
“One of the best things about a nanny share is you have the flexibility to have those discussions,” Meier says. “Be a good partner and support one another since the bigger picture is to keep both families healthy.”
Need more help? Visit The Complete Guide to Nanny Shares.
