Before embarking on shared custody, the first thing to do is of course to find another family ready to follow us on the adventure. Many sites connect families wishing to move towards this type of childcare. When we agree, we will have to make sure that our childcare needs are the same, so that things don’t get complicated from the start … Because, the rule is to pay the nanny according to the hours of her presence at home. In general, families manage to do “half and half” : a week on call with one, a week on call with the other, to find oneself in a fair quota of hours at the end of the month. But afterwards, everyone does what they want! We do not hesitate to get information from the nurseries, which may be in contact with nannies, or other parents in the same situation as us.
A family that lives near us, it’s better ! And if possible, with a child who is the same age (or around) as ours. It will make our life easier! The ideal is of course for the family to already have a trusted nanny, so that we avoid multiple job interviews to find the rare pearl.
Note: shared custody is always negotiated between two families, never three.
Sophie, the mother of little Maxime (2 years old), tells us about her experience of shared custody:
“The family I decided to start shared custody with already had a nanny. She had been taking care of their little boy for over a year, so we decided to trust her and continue with her. It must be said that it spared us a lot of announcements and interviews with people in whom it is always difficult to identify the real skills. We had the same way of conceiving the type of childcare, all we had to do was agree on the conditions …
At the beginning, it’s true, I thought it was a shame that Maxime was not kept in the community. But since the nanny often takes the boys to the square, they are not alone and can play with the other children. Ultimately, it’s a good compromise: they have a social life while staying in their little cocoon. Shared custody is fine with us. It’s a practical and flexible solution… And it suits Maxime perfectly. “