How much do you spend on childcare?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:About 50,000/yr for a nanny for 3 kids 5 and under

Be especially nice to her because you have a bargain.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About 50,000/yr for a nanny for 3 kids 5 and under

Be especially nice to her because you have a bargain.

Oh please. Said the entitled nanny. When I moved to DC for a salaried job with a degree I started making 27K. The nanny posters on here somehow think that they are entitled to professional level wages but their profession has no standards. Sure, there are nannies worth 50-70K. But plenty are not. Daycare workers make far, far less and work a lot harder

[Anonymous]

We peaked with an infant and a toddler in a Bright Horizons at the same time - $4300/mo.

Then went to in-home, $450 per kid, per week.

Full day preschool, cheaper because it’s church based - $1800 for younger kids, $1450/mo for pre-K, $150 per kid, per month for 4:30-5:30pm.

Arlington schools extended day - $300-500/mo per kid depending on whether you need morning and afternoon. 9 weeks of camp at $500/week (average of some $300 and some $600 camps). Not yet old enough for sleep away camp, but I’ve heard it’s $$$$$

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$4500/mo for FT nanny for one infant. Plus taxes and payroll fees quarterly. It is insane. Daycares in inner burbs and DC seem to be about half that cost.

Although with a nanny it’s her salary, right? At least you’re paying a fair wage. Not all the nanny quotes on here are.

Oh GTFO. Nannies on here are doing just fine. Most Make anywhere from 18-30 an hour with no required background, education or training. Some hardly can speak English. Many are paid under the table, which saves them a boatload of money. Many of these women would not make the same amount working in a daycare or home day care as a teacher and those employers pay people on the books, they would have to care for far more children, could not be constantly on their phones, often have to have a CDA or be working toward one, would not get a 2-3 hour break each day while the kids nap, have to have basic certifications and do training and professional development, and probably make like 16/hr taxed. Day care teachers have it much harder than Nannie’s making 40-50K/year for a relatively easy job.

This is pretty offensive. Some can barely speak English so they don't deserve a fair wage? You're gross.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Budget $2000 per kid per month until age 21 (child care, preschool, camp, lessons, sports, college). Frankly it probably averages out higher than that if you live in a high SES area and people do expensive schools, camps, and colleges.

Your privilege is showing. Many do not even make that much per month!

OK, well then if you choose to have kids, you’d better have a plan for childcare, regardless of your income.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:About 50,000/yr for a nanny for 3 kids 5 and under

Be especially nice to her because you have a bargain.

Oh please. Said the entitled nanny. When I moved to DC for a salaried job with a degree I started making 27K. The nanny posters on here somehow think that they are entitled to professional level wages but their profession has no standards. Sure, there are nannies worth 50-70K. But plenty are not. Daycare workers make far, far less and work a lot harder

Neat. You sound like a daycare mom, not a nanny mom. Different strokes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$4500/mo for FT nanny for one infant. Plus taxes and payroll fees quarterly. It is insane. Daycares in inner burbs and DC seem to be about half that cost.

Although with a nanny it’s her salary, right? At least you’re paying a fair wage. Not all the nanny quotes on here are.

Oh GTFO. Nannies on here are doing just fine. Most Make anywhere from 18-30 an hour with no required background, education or training. Some hardly can speak English. Many are paid under the table, which saves them a boatload of money. Many of these women would not make the same amount working in a daycare or home day care as a teacher and those employers pay people on the books, they would have to care for far more children, could not be constantly on their phones, often have to have a CDA or be working toward one, would not get a 2-3 hour break each day while the kids nap, have to have basic certifications and do training and professional development, and probably make like 16/hr taxed. Day care teachers have it much harder than Nannie’s making 40-50K/year for a relatively easy job.

This is pretty offensive. Some can barely speak English so they don't deserve a fair wage? You're gross.

No, not at all. But people with limited English have limited employment prospects and that’s not gross, that is a fact. Plenty of people who don’t speak English well work incredibly difficult, physical. and low wage work - meat packing, house keeping, home health aide, fruit picking, laundromats, nail salons, etc. - that often have occupational hazards. Working as a nanny, comparatively, pays much better and is a relatively easier job. I have had children in preschools, nanny shares, home day care, center care, and with a nanny and also worked in child care centers so I have seen it all. Day care teachers arguably have far more difficult jobs than the average nanny and typically make less, but have many more standards to meet professionally and a more demanding job. If you don’t believe me, just look at the nanny threads of the Nannie’s ardently defending the child’s 2-3 hour nap time as their “free time.” Not all Nannie’s deserve high salaries - just like any industry, salaries are a range and I roll my eyes at women saying that making 20-30 bucks an hour is them being exploited. Really? Because I’m pretty sure Amazon and most fast food restaurants start at like 15 an hour, taxed, and no one is screaming that those employers are being exploitive.

[Anonymous]

To answer the OP's actual question: About $20k/year for daycare, $3k/year for other babysitting (date nights, etc.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$4500/mo for FT nanny for one infant. Plus taxes and payroll fees quarterly. It is insane. Daycares in inner burbs and DC seem to be about half that cost.

Although with a nanny it’s her salary, right? At least you’re paying a fair wage. Not all the nanny quotes on here are.

Oh GTFO. Nannies on here are doing just fine. Most Make anywhere from 18-30 an hour with no required background, education or training. Some hardly can speak English. Many are paid under the table, which saves them a boatload of money. Many of these women would not make the same amount working in a daycare or home day care as a teacher and those employers pay people on the books, they would have to care for far more children, could not be constantly on their phones, often have to have a CDA or be working toward one, would not get a 2-3 hour break each day while the kids nap, have to have basic certifications and do training and professional development, and probably make like 16/hr taxed. Day care teachers have it much harder than Nannie’s making 40-50K/year for a relatively easy job.

This is pretty offensive. Some can barely speak English so they don't deserve a fair wage? You're gross.

No, not at all. But people with limited English have limited employment prospects and that’s not gross, that is a fact. Plenty of people who don’t speak English well work incredibly difficult, physical. and low wage work - meat packing, house keeping, home health aide, fruit picking, laundromats, nail salons, etc. - that often have occupational hazards. Working as a nanny, comparatively, pays much better and is a relatively easier job. I have had children in preschools, nanny shares, home day care, center care, and with a nanny and also worked in child care centers so I have seen it all. Day care teachers arguably have far more difficult jobs than the average nanny and typically make less, but have many more standards to meet professionally and a more demanding job. If you don’t believe me, just look at the nanny threads of the Nannie’s ardently defending the child’s 2-3 hour nap time as their “free time.” Not all Nannie’s deserve high salaries - just like any industry, salaries are a range and I roll my eyes at women saying that making 20-30 bucks an hour is them being exploited. Really? Because I’m pretty sure Amazon and most fast food restaurants start at like 15 an hour, taxed, and no one is screaming that those employers are being exploitive.

I 1000% agree with everything written here

- from a parent with a nanny

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$4500/mo for FT nanny for one infant. Plus taxes and payroll fees quarterly. It is insane. Daycares in inner burbs and DC seem to be about half that cost.

Although with a nanny it’s her salary, right? At least you’re paying a fair wage. Not all the nanny quotes on here are.

Oh GTFO. Nannies on here are doing just fine. Most Make anywhere from 18-30 an hour with no required background, education or training. Some hardly can speak English. Many are paid under the table, which saves them a boatload of money. Many of these women would not make the same amount working in a daycare or home day care as a teacher and those employers pay people on the books, they would have to care for far more children, could not be constantly on their phones, often have to have a CDA or be working toward one, would not get a 2-3 hour break each day while the kids nap, have to have basic certifications and do training and professional development, and probably make like 16/hr taxed. Day care teachers have it much harder than Nannie’s making 40-50K/year for a relatively easy job.

This is pretty offensive. Some can barely speak English so they don't deserve a fair wage? You're gross.

No, not at all. But people with limited English have limited employment prospects and that’s not gross, that is a fact. Plenty of people who don’t speak English well work incredibly difficult, physical. and low wage work - meat packing, house keeping, home health aide, fruit picking, laundromats, nail salons, etc. - that often have occupational hazards. Working as a nanny, comparatively, pays much better and is a relatively easier job. I have had children in preschools, nanny shares, home day care, center care, and with a nanny and also worked in child care centers so I have seen it all. Day care teachers arguably have far more difficult jobs than the average nanny and typically make less, but have many more standards to meet professionally and a more demanding job. If you don’t believe me, just look at the nanny threads of the Nannie’s ardently defending the child’s 2-3 hour nap time as their “free time.” Not all Nannie’s deserve high salaries - just like any industry, salaries are a range and I roll my eyes at women saying that making 20-30 bucks an hour is them being exploited. Really? Because I’m pretty sure Amazon and most fast food restaurants start at like 15 an hour, taxed, and no one is screaming that those employers are being exploitive.

First of all, there's an implication here (more explicit in the comment above) that only white college educated nannies should make good money. It's certainly true that some nannies are undocumented and may therefore be happy to accept a lower wage under the table. There are also a lot of nannies who can work legally and whose employers should (but don't) pay them a decent wage, withhold taxes, and therefore secure for them the benefits and protections that come with being on the books.

Daycare teachers are also underpaid.

I think a 2-3 hour nap break is the exception, and anyway you only really see it for nannies who care for one child and therefore would make on the lower end of the range. I do think $50,000 for three kids under 5 is bonkers, unless perhaps that nanny is being employed part time. At 40 hours that would be $24/hr which is a decent rate for one kid. (Hourly wages would be more helpful IMO.)

Don't dismiss the aspects of nannying that are difficult -- too often I see parents asking for additional duties beyond childcare, offering extremely minimal increases in pay for additional children, trying to dictate the exact timing of the limited vacation days they offer, etc. Nannies have to deal with employers who don't necessarily know how to be employers and often seem to have unrealistic expectations of them. (COVID has made all of this worse with many parents expecting to dictate how their nanny should behave when not on the job.) Nannying for multiple children often means minimal or no break time. And given the evolving care needs of families with young children, there's little job security.

It has been my experience that a lot of the families out there who assume their nanny is happy don't realize she's grumbling about them to other nannies at the playground.

[Anonymous]

About $70k for a nanny for 2 kids, 45 hours per week (so 5 hours of OT). That includes, taxes, bonus, payroll company, mileage reimbursement, health insurance stipend, and workers comp policy.

[Anonymous]

We spend about $4800 monthly; we have a wonderful nanny for our DS(4 month old)and is paid on the books with all benefits including Health Insurance stipend.