5 Key Advantages of a Nanny Share

May 19, 2025 | GTM Blog, Hiring an Employee

advantages-of-nanny-share

For families seeking dedicated, in-home childcare without the full nanny price tag, a nanny share often emerges as the perfect solution. This arrangement brings two (or sometimes more) families together to hire a nanny, who typically cares for all the children in one of the families’ homes.

Thinking about diving into the world of nanny shares? Let’s explore some advantages a nanny share can offer:

1. More Budget-Friendly In-Home Care

Hiring a nanny on your own can put a strain on the family budget. The national hourly pay for solo nannies in the US is $22.50/hr. This rate varies depending on experience, education, and location. Center-based daycare costs continue their upward climb, and can cost up to $25,000 annually in some states.

A nanny share helps bridge the gap between these two options, offering a more affordable path to personalized care. Instead of carrying the full hourly rate for a solo nanny yourself, each family in the nanny share contributes a portion of wages. Imagine a local nanny rate of $20 per hour. In a typical share, each family might pay around two-thirds of that.

Now you’re looking at roughly $13-$14 per hour, and the other family pays the same. Over a 40-hour work week, the yearly savings can be substantial. And importantly, your nanny benefits too. Managing the needs of multiple families involves extra coordination, and their compensation should reflect that. In this scenario, a full-time nanny in a share could see an increase of around $300 per week in gross wages.

It’s crucial to remember that each family must pay at least the highest applicable minimum wage (federal, state, or local). Nannies are also entitled to time-and-a-half for any hours exceeding 40 in a week.

2. Enjoy More Tailored Attention

A key draw of having a nanny, compared to a daycare center, is the individualized care your child receives. You can instruct your nanny on everything from meal preferences and screen time limits to nap routines, activities, discipline approaches, and learning styles. This level of personalized attention extends seamlessly into a nanny share.

To ensure a smoother experience for everyone, it’s wise to seek out a nanny share family whose child-rearing philosophies align with your own, as the nanny will care for both families’ children simultaneously.

3. Fewer Sick Days for Your Little One

One common drawback of daycare centers is the higher frequency of illnesses shared among the children. This naturally increases your child’s exposure and likelihood of getting sick, which often means missed workdays for you.

In a nanny share, your child interacts with a much smaller group of children, significantly reducing the chances of catching a bug from another child.

4. Valuable Socialization Opportunities

Daycare centers excel at providing socialization, allowing children to learn vital skills like playing together, sharing, communicating with peers, and forming early friendships. A solo nanny arrangement might mean your child misses out on these interactions. However, a nanny share offers the best of both worlds. Your child gains a regular playmate from the other family, fostering social development and the potential for lasting friendships.

For a successful social dynamic, it’s often beneficial for the children in the nanny share to be of similar ages, allowing them to develop alongside each other.

5. Greater Flexibility for Your Family

Daycare centers typically operate with fixed hours, holiday schedules, policies on sick days, food provisions, nap times, and more. A nanny share offers a more adaptable framework, as you and the other family can collectively establish your own rules. The key is open communication and ensuring you’re both on the same page when discussing expectations with your nanny. You can collaboratively decide on the nanny’s work hours, paid holidays, and vacation time. When your nanny takes a day off, having multiple parents involved can mean the responsibility of backup care can be shared, rather than always falling on one family.

While choosing to create a nanny share does involve communication, flexibility, and some teamwork to succeed, many great benefits come with this option.

Call GTM today at (800) 929-9213 or book a complimentary, no-obligation consultation with a household employment expert who can answer all your questions about payroll, employer responsibilities, and workplace insurance for a nanny share.