Two and a half years ago I found myself facing the childcare conundrum.
I was headed back to work after maternity leave and I was having a hard time finding a part-time nanny. I wasn’t having luck on Care or Sittercity and I didn’t want to go through the expense of working with an agency in Seattle.
When my genius idea of joining a local nanny group on Facebook was shot down (alas, I couldn’t join because I wasn’t a nanny), I decided to create my own group for nannies and parents to connect. (I wish this option was available years ago when I was putting myself through college as a nanny!)
The Nanny Parent Connection was born
I never could have imagined the group would grow to the nearly 19,000 members we have today! It has been truly amazing to watch this dynamic community evolve.
As with any group that grows tremendously it’s been an interesting experience to figure out how to handle the challenging situations that have arisen. People started turning to me as a source of information since I ran the group, so I had to educate myself quickly!
I actually had a group member recognize me in the Costco food court, while I was pregnant-hangry and inhaling a slice of pizza…probably not my finest moment ever!
The Nanny Parent Connection group on Facebook has grown into this incredible resource
Not only is it utilized by the community here in the Seattle area, but by people in other states and countries. I get messages weekly from people in other states who want to create a similar group for their own communities.
Because this group uses Facebook as the platform, posts finding childcare work or finding childcare can reach thousands of people very quickly. As useful as this all is, I have many ideas for making the group even better. Unfortunately, there are many limitations with having this group on Facebook.
As a result, my husband and I have created this website!
To help both care providers and families navigate the nanny world, I have built an extensive resources section. Even as a parent who has employed nannies and sitters before, I was surprised at how much I learned while putting this together!
If I ever have the need to employ a nanny again (and I’m sure I will with four kids!) I feel more confident doing so based on the information I have put together in the resources section. It literally walks you through every aspect of finding/hiring/paying your nanny, with many more topics as well!
Speaking of navigating the process of employing a care provider, we have created a Payroll Calculator.
I have always found the topic of payroll and taxes to be daunting. This helps to make things really easy! You can email paycheck summaries to both you and your nanny and use the information to easily complete year-end taxes.
There is step by step information for doing this in the FAQ/Guides section so you (and even I!) can handle payroll confidently without having to pay a bunch of money to a service or consultant.
I appreciate everyone who has journeyed along with me at any point during the past two and a half years
It’s a little (ok, a lot) cliche to say- it really does take a village to raise a child.
If I can help to take even a little of the stress out of finding childcare for parents, I’m happy to be able to do so- I’ve been there. If I am able to connect care providers with people in need of childcare, I’m delighted because I have been there too.
Stay tuned for more exciting options to come and thank you for all of your support of our local, family-owned business!
P.S. Stay tuned for random musings, in depth discussions, tips from a variety of experts, freebies and much more. You can follow this blog on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.