Nanny Sharing Can Help Families Save on Childcare

Every July, South Africa observes National Savings Month, an initiative started by the South African Savings Institute back in 2001 to get households thinking honestly about their finances. Most of the conversation tends to focus on budgets, debt and emergency funds. But for parents, one of the biggest monthly expenses rarely makes it into these conversations: childcare.

If you’re a parent who employs (or is planning to employ) a nanny, this is the perfect month to look at your childcare costs the same way you’d look at any other line item in your budget. One option that could make a real difference, but that very few South African families have considered, is nanny sharing.

So, let’s start with the basics.

What Is Nanny Sharing?

Nanny sharing is exactly what it sounds like. Two (sometimes three) families employ one nanny together and split the cost of her salary and related expenses.

Depending on what works best for the families involved, this can look different in practice:

• The nanny cares for the children together in one home, on a fixed or rotating basis
• The families split their days or weeks between two households
• Some families combine nanny care with school, daycare, or part-time activities

The outcome is the same either way. Each family pays a fraction of what a full-time, dedicated nanny would usually cost, while the nanny earns more than she would from a single household, often with more stability and structure too.

A Story That Made Me Want to Write This

My younger sister had her first baby, a daughter, in February this year. Like most first-time moms, she spent a large part of her pregnancy worrying about the things none of us can fully prepare for. Who is going to look after my baby? Can I trust them? What if something goes wrong while I’m at work?

Earlier this year, our family made a decision that has turned out to be one of the best childcare choices we’ve made. My sister and I are now sharing a nanny.

This is a nanny who has been part of our extended family for years. She knows our routines, our values, and how we like things done. So, when my sister needed care for her newborn, it made sense to bring her into the arrangement rather than start a search from scratch during such a tender season.

This week, my sister returned to work after maternity leave. I won’t pretend that wasn’t an emotional milestone on its own. What stayed with me was something small that happened on her first day back.

During her lunch break, she did a video call home to check on her daughter. There she was, completely settled, content, being held by someone she already knows and trusts.

My sister told me afterwards how much that moment meant to her. Not just because her daughter wasn’t crying (although that helped), but because she could see, in real time, that her little girl was safe, familiar, and genuinely loved by the person caring for her. For a first-time mom navigating the strange new rhythm of being back at work, that kind of peace is priceless.

Here’s what makes this particular arrangement work so well for everyone involved:

• For my sister: she gets reliable, trusted, in-home care for her daughter, without carrying the full cost of a nanny on her own during a season when finances are already stretched.
• For our family, the cost of employing our nanny is now shared between two households, which makes sense for both of us financially.
• For our nanny, she now earns additional income from two families instead of one, with more security and more consistent hours.

Nobody loses in this arrangement. Everybody gains something.

Why This Matters in Today’s Economic Climate

I’m sharing this story because I think it captures something many South African parents are quietly struggling with. Childcare is becoming more expensive, and the pressure to “just figure it out” alone is real, especially in that first year.

At the same time, the domestic work sector, which so many nannies are part of, has been under serious strain. Recent Stats SA Quarterly Labour Force Survey data show that employment in domestic work remains well below pre-pandemic levels, with significantly fewer domestic worker jobs than there were before 2020.

These two realities, rising childcare costs and shrinking job security for domestic workers, are usually discussed as separate problems. But nanny sharing sits at the intersection of both, easing financial pressure on families while creating more stable, better-paid work for the women who care for our children.

This is exactly the kind of decision National Savings Month encourages us to make: one that protects your finances without sacrificing what actually matters to your family.

How to Practically Set Up a Nanny Share

If this is something you’d like to explore, here’s where I’d suggest starting:

1. Find a family whose values align with yours. 

This matters more than proximity or convenience. You are essentially co-employing someone and co-creating a shared caregiving environment, even if only for a few hours a day. Conversations about discipline, screen time, food, and routines need to happen early, not after something has already gone wrong.

2. Agree on the logistics before you agree on a nanny. 

Where will care take place? Whose home, and on which days? What happens during school holidays, public holidays, or sick days? Settle these questions between the families first, so you can present a clear picture to the nanny.

3. Put it in writing. 

A simple shared agreement covering hours, the pay split, responsibilities, and what happens if one family needs to pause or exit the arrangement protects everyone involved, including the nanny.

4. Be transparent with your nanny from the start. 

She should understand exactly how the arrangement works, what is expected of her in each home, and how and when she will be paid by each family.

5. Build in regular check-ins.

Like any working relationship, a nanny share benefits from a monthly conversation between both families, and ideally with the nanny too, to flag anything that isn’t working before it becomes a bigger issue.

Things to Ponder This Savings Month

National Savings Month is usually framed around cutting back: smaller grocery bills, fewer takeaways, trimmed subscriptions. Those things matter, but for parents, some of the biggest savings sit in bigger, more emotional decisions, like how we structure childcare.

So, this month, I’d encourage you to sit with a few honest questions:

1. What am I currently spending on childcare, and is it sustainable for the next six to twelve months?
2. Is there a family in my circle, at work, in my neighbourhood, at my child’s school, who might be a good fit for a nanny share?
3. If I could free up a portion of my childcare budget without compromising on quality or trust, what would that money be better spent on? Savings, debt repayment, or simply breathing room?
4. Have I ever asked my nanny how she would feel about a shared arrangement, and what it could mean for her income and stability?

Nanny sharing won’t be the right fit for every family, and that’s okay. But if you’ve never even considered it, this National Savings Month is as good a time as any to have the conversation. You might find that the arrangement that eases your budget is the same one that gives your child consistency, gives another family relief, and gives your nanny the income security she deserves.

That’s the kind of saving worth talking about.

Sources

1. South African Government, “Saving to Secure Our Future” (National Savings Month / SASI): https://www.gov.za/blog/saving-secure-our-future
2. Statistics South Africa, “Domestic Workers Face Slow Post-Pandemic Recovery” (Quarterly Labour Force Survey, Q3 2024): https://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=17820