Turning A Split Schedule Into A Full-Time Role

As children grow and begin attending school, before/after school and evening support often becomes most crucial as the children have different schedules, activities, and appointments that require extra coordination. Not to mention the quick turnaround that needs to happen between homework, dinner, and bedtime! 

In our experience, split shift roles are not attractive to top candidates, and having a break in the middle of the day is not typically seen as a benefit. For families who are seeking to create an attractive role, we typically recommend adding in additional family assisting and household management tasks during the day. This ensures that even at the busiest times of day, the family is set up for smooth sailing and the house!

Giving up a split-shift schedule often means the loss of support for either the morning or evening hours. Hiring an additional part-time and backup caregiver can be a great way to supplement these busy times, especially if it is not an option for a parent or other caregiver to step in. Many families shift to a 12pm-8pm role, or similar, and have the candidate arrive at their home ahead of school pickups to start on family assisting tasks, and take over with childcare from the time that the children finish school through dinner and bedtime routines. 

Below is a list of tasks that we often see families add in during the day: 

• Meal preparation
• Keeping the house stocked with groceries, supplies, etc.
• Arranging home and vehicle maintenance
• Managing the family calendar and scheduling appointments
• Doing research ie, researching destinations for an upcoming family vacation
• Professional development
• Help manage children’s belongings: donate toys that are no longer clothing that no longer fits, purchase any additional things the child may need, ie school supplies at the beginning of the year 
• Packing children’s snacks and lunches for the following day, ensuring school bags and any additional extracurricular items/gear are ready for the morning 
• Pet care 
• Keeping a daily diary of all pertinent information regarding the children and household
• Take on special projects including family errands, event planning, and organizational projects within the home

This is by no means a comprehensive list. From treehouse building to an internship at a parent’s start-up, we’ve seen families and candidates get creative with crafting a hybrid full-time role that meets both the needs of the family and the unique skill set of the candidate. We’re always excited to work with families to build out a full-time, continuous role to attract top candidates. If you’re interested in starting your nanny search, please fill out our family contact form and we’ll be in touch!