10 Tips to Find A Summertime Nanny

Hi everyone!

Summertime will be here before we know it and I’m already seeing both nannies and families start to schedule child care for the summer.

For many families, finding summertime child care can be a STRUGGLE because there is so much competition for available nannies. Check out my top 10 tips for how to find a summertime nanny!

Click Here To Watch The Video

In today’s video, “Top 10 Tips to Find A Summertime Nanny”, I discuss my top suggestions to find a summertime nanny to ensure you and your family aren’t left scrambling as summer kicks off!

I go over:

– When to start your search

– Decide how much you can afford

– Consider working with a college student

– Why a nanny share might be the best solution

…. and six other great tips that will help you find that dream summertime nanny!

The MOST important tip that I can share with you is to start your search now (late April/early May) if you plan to hire a nanny in June.

A transcript of the video can be found below: 

Hi everyone, Laura from Nanny Parent Connection here.

Summertime will be here before you know it, and I have already seen both nannies and families having conversations about summertime care.

For some families finding summertime care can be a struggle as many families are seeking the same type of care at the same time, which means that things are going to be really competitive.

So, here are my top 10 tips to find a summertime nanny.

#1: Start now

I know it’s only April, but I have already been seeing early bird nannies and families looking for these types of summertime care opportunities since February. So many people get started really early, you’re still getting a good head start on things if you’re starting your search in April. Into May and definitely by June things get crazy, everybody is looking for a summertime nanny.

If you start your search early, best-case scenario, you find someone fantastic early on. Worst case scenario, you don’t get many bites on your nanny advertisement at first, but maybe several weeks into advertising your position you will start to see more candidates. It’s never a bad idea to start early, so just start as early as possible and give yourself plenty of time for your search.

#2: Decide what you can afford

Make sure you do some research on what the pay norms are in your area. Every year Nanny Parent Connection asks our community to take a Pay Rate Survey, so if you’re in the greater Seattle area or any major metropolitan area for that matter, check out the results of our most recent Pay Rate Survey where you can find that information.

And remember, it’s not just about the hourly rate for your nanny, at a bare minimum nannies should be getting not only their hourly rate but also benefits like guaranteed hours, paid time off, accrued paid sick time, and also mileage reimbursement. And some summertime nannies are even getting paid holidays, all of that is the norm.

Families, just be sure that whatever you are offering is competitive, and if you’re having some trouble attracting applicants for your position, take a look at your compensation package and see if it’s really competitive with what nannies are looking for.

For more information on the true cost of working with a nanny, please watch this video where I go over all of the costs you need to consider!

#3: Network

Talk to your friends, your neighbors, your family, parents at your child’s school….talk to everyone! You never know who will know someone who is looking to be a summertime nanny. It could be somebody’s college student coming back for the summertime, it could be the neighbor of someone, you just never know. So make sure that you put the information out there to people in conversation, you never know what will come out of networking.

#4: Advertise that you’re looking for a summertime nanny

On online forums, local care websites, such as Nanny Parent Connection if you’re in the greater Puget sound region, you could even use other social media platforms such as Facebook, or Nextdoor, any of those means anything you can do to get the word out there, the more eyes you get your advertisement in front of the more likely you are going to connect with the summertime care that you’re looking for.

#5: Consider working with a college student

College students have a schedule that lines up almost perfectly with when many younger children are out of school for the summer. If you’re in the Seattle area, make sure to check out nannyparentconnection.com, we have had so many college students signing up looking for summertime care opportunities lately.

Many college students have child care experience this could include previous babysitting experience, maybe they were a swim coach or a lifeguard, some sort of sports coach, or even a camp counselor.

Many college students are also older siblings who have been caring for and have been around their younger siblings their whole lives, and maybe they’re looking to draw upon that experience and take it to the next level by becoming a nanny.

#6: Consider a newer nanny

This could be someone who has previous babysitting experience, maybe it’s an older sibling or some sort of sports coach, someone who has skills that are translatable and relevant to working with children in a child care setting.

If you’re open to working with a newer nanny, this can be a great opportunity to get more applicants by advertising that you’re willing to be someone’s first nanny family. And if this is the case where you’re working with a newer nanny, or maybe someone who hasn’t nannied before, make sure you spend some time working with them to discuss expectations, job duties, and things like that. So that they have an understanding of what you’re looking for out of the position.

#7: Consider a nanny share

Nanny shares can be a fantastic childcare option, not only will you as a family save about a third on your childcare bill, you never know your child might come out of it with not only some great socialization and memories from the summertime but maybe even a new best friend.

Nanny shares are attractive to nannies because it’s an opportunity for them to make a higher hourly rate than they could with single-family care. And of course, if you’re looking for a share family this is where networking becomes really important, so make sure to check with parents from your child’s school on online community forums, Nextdoor, any of those social media platforms, get the word out that you are looking for a share family to partner with.

#8: Incentivize

Because so many families are looking for summertime nannies at the same time, you’ll want to make yourself stand out from the pack a little bit. You could do this by offering a retention bonus at the end of the contract term, you could also do something creative like offer maybe a $50 Starbucks gift card every month, or maybe an Amazon card, or make up your own bonus. The key here is to do something to make your family’s ad stand out from everyone else’s.

#9: Make sure to have a contract

Even if you’re only employing your nanny for six weeks, two months, or three months, it’s still a good idea to outline all of the details about the position, so that everybody’s on the same page. Nanny Parent Connection has some great contracts on our website, please click here to check out our contracts, and even if you don’t use a professional contract, make sure you draft up something that outlines the parameters of the position.

This would include important things such as pay, schedule, when pay happens, any vacations that the family is taking, and any of the job duty expectations for the nanny.

Whatever style of contract you end up with, make sure all parties are in agreement, and both parties sign the contract.

#10: Don’t skip the background check

Background checks are very important to ensure that your nanny candidate has a clear background. In addition to looking into any past potential criminal activity, it will also give some insight into your nanny’s driving record, which is really important if your nanny’s going to be doing any driving during the summertime care they provide.

And if you missed my previous video about why you should never ever skip a background check, please click here where you can hear one parent’s story about why she is so thankful, she did not skip the background check.

Alright everyone, that’s it for today, I’ve discussed my 10 tips for finding summertime care. I hope this is helpful in your journey for finding summertime care this year.

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