Would anyone want this job (live in nanny/house keeper)?

[Anonymous]

I posted this in the nanny forum, but did not get much reply so I am trying here.

We live in NW DC in a townhome. I would like to find a live in nanny/housekeeper. She would have our whole basements to herself/her family. It’s a separate 2 bedroom apartment with own bathroom and kitchen. I would like her to clean our house once a week and take care of my 3 kids from 3-6. She would have to drive to pick up the kids at school and take them to activities. I would also like for her to make dinner for the kids. I would not charge rent or utilities and pay her $20/hr. 15 hours of baby sitting per week and 4-5 hours of cleaning per week so 20 hours total.

Would someone be interested in this deal?

[Anonymous]

You are not paying enough for 3 young kids. It will be hard for this person to find a second job if you need them during 'prime' hours - there is a reason it is so difficult to find part time care during that time. Living in is meant to be for the convenience of the employer, not the nanny.

[Anonymous]

I think you need to offer more hours. She will need a full time job.

[Anonymous]

Nanny here. I think the issue you will run into is that most nannies balk at the “nanny/housekeeper” title bc it is so open to interpretation. Any experienced nanny will know that “clean the house” can mean anything from “give the bathrooms, a good scrub, sweep, vacuum, dust and change the bedsheets” to “polish the silver, reorganize Larla’s sock drawer, take the car in for service, bake 3 dozen brownies for the PTA and groom the labradoodle.”

So I would first create a more defined role. Living in can be a great perk if the space is nice but it’s also very vulnerable as the nanny bc if it’s a bad fit you need a new job AND a new place to live.

[Anonymous]

How will she have time to take care of 3 kids, pick them up at school, get them to activities, get them home, and make dinner? Doing all of that for 3 kids in 3 hours requires a time machine.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you. To the nanny PP. Yes, I would specify much more clearly what I mean, but basically just cleaning the house and perhaps doing laundry. There won’t be any other errands or projects/cooking.

Wouldn’t a nanny find it convenient also since she will have no commute and won’t have to pay for rent? What am I missing here?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How will she have time to take care of 3 kids, pick them up at school, get them to activities, get them home, and make dinner? Doing all of that for 3 kids in 3 hours requires a time machine.

Older kids are in same activities or activities at the same time nearby. Youngest will be at his activities with me (twice a week) or with nanny to older siblings activities.
This is what we are doing now. Kids are 10, 8 and 5

[Anonymous]

You need to pay way more for three kids and a live in that isn't full time hours.

[Anonymous]

You want her to pick up the kids, take them to activities, cook for them, clean, all in 15-20 hours a week. Sounds impossible. Cleaning the house is at least a full day alone. And, if you ar only paying for 15-20 hours, she'd need a second job so if you don't have set hours that that allow for another job that could be a huge issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you. To the nanny PP. Yes, I would specify much more clearly what I mean, but basically just cleaning the house and perhaps doing laundry. There won’t be any other errands or projects/cooking.

Wouldn’t a nanny find it convenient also since she will have no commute and won’t have to pay for rent? What am I missing here?

Generally, this means you're narrowing your applicant pool - no one with a spouse/kids of their own will want this. 3-6 for pickup, activities, and dinner is unrealistic. $20 × 20 = $400/week, $20K/year. That's not a lot of money to cover food, insurance, health care, etc. And if you lose your job, you lose your housing, so it's a bigger risk for an employee. Maybe a college student who can work their classes around it? Will you expect them to handle days off school, too? That makes it hard to manage classes or another job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You need to pay way more for three kids and a live in that isn't full time hours.

So I should pay her more if she lives with us? This makes no sense. I thought someone would be happy to have a free place to stay and would be able to find other work during the day. I am also happy to rent our basement and pay the nanny $30/hour.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thank you. To the nanny PP. Yes, I would specify much more clearly what I mean, but basically just cleaning the house and perhaps doing laundry. There won’t be any other errands or projects/cooking.

Wouldn’t a nanny find it convenient also since she will have no commute and won’t have to pay for rent? What am I missing here?

You're missing the fact that experienced nannies are older and have families and homes already. Our nanny had 2 college kids and a husband with a FT job. She did everything you described, plus grocery shopping, homework time, and small errands (i.e., take this to the post office, pick up dry cleaning, etc).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You want her to pick up the kids, take them to activities, cook for them, clean, all in 15-20 hours a week. Sounds impossible. Cleaning the house is at least a full day alone. And, if you ar only paying for 15-20 hours, she'd need a second job so if you don't have set hours that that allow for another job that could be a huge issue.

Look, we currently do this with someone that does not live with us. She is moving back to her country to live with family, but we are doing this. Kids schools are nearby, activities are as well. When activities for all kids are not doable, I take my youngest (this happens twice a week). Everyone is home by 5:30 and dinner is extremely simple. Nanny leaves every day at 6/6:15.

Nanny would have set hours. 3pm-6pm M-F and then 4-5 hours one set day to clean the house (ideally Friday morning).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You need to pay way more for three kids and a live in that isn't full time hours.

So I should pay her more if she lives with us? This makes no sense. I thought someone would be happy to have a free place to stay and would be able to find other work during the day. I am also happy to rent our basement and pay the nanny $30/hour.

Having a live-in is for your benefit. What job can someone get that is over before 3, that isn't some part-time retail or food service job (which are notorious for unpredictable hours)? And you'll never want her to cover days when one or more kids arent in school? Part-time nannies make more per hour than full-time, to make up for fewer hours.

[Anonymous]

You’re missing the fact that the nanny won’t actually have until 3 off each day bc one day/week she’ll need to clean. It’s going to be near impossible to find another job that can be done just in the am. You can get away w/ paying $20/hr for 3 kids w/ free housing if it’s a full time job. Without the housing I still think you’ll struggle at a higher rate bc it’s not enough hours to be full time but it’s too many hours to find a full time job to do concurrently or even a part time job that would fill all the other hours.