4 Challenging Scenarios to Find Nannies For and What to Do Instead
Are you a parent currently looking for a nanny to cover any of the following scenarios?
Split shifts
Rotating shifts
Before/after school care
Nanny-housekeeper
Maybe you’re at your wits’ end trying to figure out how to solve these childcare situations?
We have some not-great news. 😬
It's extremely challenging to find nannies for these situations. This was true before the pandemic and it's even more so now.
Why is it SO HARD to find nannies for these types of scenarios?
Nannies are in VERY high demand right now. After years of going without proper childcare due to the pandemic, parents are literally scrambling to find nannies. Many are being put in a position of having to hire a nanny as an alternative to unreliable or unavailable daycare. There are more childcare positions than ever before. It's a Nanny's market!
There are fewer nannies currently working with families due to the pandemic.
In general, even Nannies looking for part-time hours prefer to work full days, 2 to 4 days a week, instead of half-days. This includes nannies who only babysit occasionally. Since they may be working during the day until 5 pm or so, they are not typically available to do after-school care shifts unless they start after 6 pm.
It's a lot harder to make a living & organize life around work that takes place in bits (i.e. a few hours in the mornings or afternoons, very short shifts, shift work coverage, or split shifts).
More nannies will choose to work one job with longer hours over several jobs with shorter hours.
A Nanny and a housekeeper (or cleaner) are 2 very different job roles!
For most people, split shifts and rotating schedules ARE NOT attractive job scenarios.
So what can families do INSTEAD?
Depending on your situation, you can:
Offer more/longer consecutive work hours.
Hire a full-time Nanny/Household Manager - someone who can provide the childcare you need, plus some home organization tasks. Think grocery shopping, paying bills, organizing the children’s rooms and closets, light meal prep, the kids’ laundry, etc. (but no household cleaning duties)
Hire a live-in nanny
If you need childcare AND housekeeping, hire 2 different people for those 2 job roles
Consider hiring a student enrolled in a Faculty of Education or Early Childhood Education program. Students sometimes have more flexible schedules that may allow them to work short shifts during the day. Plus, you know that they have at least some experience working with children and have undergone a preliminary background check to be admitted into their education program.
Tap into your community! Make friends with your neighbours who also have kids to see what childcare solutions they use. Many families are opting to share nannies between close neighbours and this solution may work provided the nanny’s job responsibilities are balanced and they are compensated accordingly.
Parents, we know finding a professional Nanny is a tough, time-consuming task. Our sister company, The Nanny Solution, can help you hire a regular nanny on a part-time or full-time basis in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto or Ottawa.
If you need only occasional childcare, book your next Mary Poppins for an in-home babysitting appointment today. Get started here!
Nannies: Are you looking for a rewarding career as a professional Nanny in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto or Ottawa? Join our pool of extraordinary, professional Nannies for our in-home Babysitting service! Get started here.
We can also help you find permanent nanny positions via our sister site dedicated to full and part-time Nanny placements, The Nanny Solution.