I had been very happy working for one family for three years and when the younger child started school I was delighted when they said they wanted to keep me on. Of course they were unable to pay a full-time salary, since I would only be doing "wrap-around" childcare. It seemed like amazingly good fortune when one of the mother's friends decided she would like to take me on on a part-time basis to look after her four-month old baby daughter.

The problems started almost right away when all the share arrangements were left up to me. Apart from getting together to discuss my salary, neither family discussed anything. The first issue to arise was regarding my salary. My original employers paid me as always by depositing the agreed net amount into my bank account, whilst the second family paid me in cash at the end of each week. Only when I applied for a loan about 6 months into the share did I realise that only my original employers had been deducting tax and NI.

But the pay issue was just one of many problems to come. Holiday plans also became problematic. My original employers wanted to take their holiday during school holidays, whereas my second employer preferred to take her holiday outside school holidays as it was more cost-effective.

The older children had many after-school activities and my second employer soon started to resent that her baby ended up spending several hours every week sitting in the car.

Despite the fact that the two families knew each other they were unwilling to discuss the share in any detail, and I often bore the brunt of the problems. Eventually the share broke down, and I am certain this was due to a complete lack of communication. Since then I have been in one other, very successful share. If it's done properly it can be a great solution, it's definitely more challenging and stimulating from my point of view, and I think it can be great for the children. But don't under-estimate the importance of communication.