How can anyone afford a nanny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The answer to all of these "how does anyone afford" questions is always that other people make more money than you.

+1

Seems obvious. How does Bill Gates live in a mansion? Same answer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You aren’t missing anything. I don’t know any teachers with nannies precisely because a decent nanny for two kids costs about the same as the take-home pay of a teacher.

I would say you can’t afford a FT nanny. But you shouldn’t need one - if you are back in school FT, your elem kid will have somewhere to go part of the time. That will help. And a nanny share for elem kids could have four kids fairly easily since they don’t have nap schedules to coordinate and are pretty independent. That would keep costs down.

The hardest part will be: if every family needs a nanny in the fall, where are all the nannies going to come from? Even if 2-4 families share a nanny, I worry about supply.

40 million new unemployed. I think there will be plenty of non-professional nannies available at competitive rates. For a family that needs 2 elementary students supervised/exercised/fed 3 days a week, that's sufficient.

What about schoolwork?

A friend of mine did this. Instead of getting a "professional" nanny that goes for $20+/hr, they hired a person who was working retail for $12/hr, and paid them $14/hr. It was a bump up for them, and better working conditions too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:They do a nanny share.

Or, teachers don’t hire nannies. Teachers use day care.

I’m sorry for your predicament OP. Kids need to get back to school.

Depending on where you are, daycare can be almost as much as a teacher salary, too. Two daycare payments can definitely be more than a teacher salary. Teachers with young kids often drop of the workforce for this reason. Some return later when their kids are in school.

Or they pay out their whole take home pay (possibly dipping a little into savings) to make sure they have the years in they’ll need to retire and to keep their tenure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can you find an in-home daycare in your neighborhood? That's what we used and it was $250/week. Your older kid could potentially go there after school too. Now, I have no clue how a teacher who needs to be at school in person and a spouse who is essential and travels are supposed to make this work if kids are not at school full time. Could you connect with a friend in older kid's class who you could trade off days with?

Why do people act like in homes are this easy to find solution. Every reputable, decent in home that has stayed open is not accepting new kids because the restrictions on numbers that include the providers family. And good in homes typically don’t take older kids. The shady ones might but the good ones don’t.

That has not been my experience at all. You shouldn’t generalize.

I would never send my kid to an in home that mixed much older kids with little ones

What is the age difference? My in-home had a mix of kids ranging from 3 months to 3 years when they would typically leave for preschool.

m

They were talking about having elementary there too. Infant through toddler or even preschool is fine.

[Anonymous]

Nannies are for people making 500 K plus. Just hang out here for long enough and see how nannies hold their families hostage for insane rates, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nannies are for people making 500 K plus. Just hang out here for long enough and see how nannies hold their families hostage for insane rates, etc.

At 250K-300 you can comfortably afford one. $200K if expenses are low.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nannies are for people making 500 K plus. Just hang out here for long enough and see how nannies hold their families hostage for insane rates, etc.

At 250K-300 you can comfortably afford one. $200K if expenses are low.

I agree with this. I know quite a few full time nanny families in that range (200s). Most of them realize it's a considerable expense but it isn't forever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm also wondering why you don't take a break for couple of years since it pays so little. You can offer to watch somebody else's child for a bit.
I make a lot less than a teacher but work opposite of DH. The peace of mind that comes from not having to scramble for sitter, has been the best part of it.

This works if you can easily get back in. I would happily take a furlough for a year if I had a guaranteed job at the end. Since that's not possible in my field (not a teacher) we're stretching for a nanny so I will still have a job and benefits when the kids are older.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Nannies are for people making 500 K plus. Just hang out here for long enough and see how nannies hold their families hostage for insane rates, etc.

So qualified and educated women caring for and teaching your children shouldn’t be earning a living wage? And you aren’t being held “hostage”, PP, you simply don’t earn enough to afford more than daycare.

To OP, we don’t earn close to 500k but definitely sacrifice for our brilliant nanny. Even pre-covid, our nanny has always been worth it.

[Anonymous]

Nannies are holding families hostage???? AYFKM? Nannies are going to homes holding guns to the parent's heads and saying hire me or else??? How many nannies do you know that are living high off the hog? Taking expensive vacations and shopping all weekend long at NM? C'mon. I'm a nanny and I know I deserve a Rolls Royce but I'm not getting one because I can't afford it. Period. Wake up!

[Anonymous]

The only reason someone at your pay scale would get a nanny is because you want to maintain your career trajectory. You accept that your salary is 100% dedicated to the nanny and live off your spouse’s salary. Once the kids hit school age, you still have a job, hopefully had a few years of raises in there, and your quality of life improves.

[Anonymous]

The main reason I'm a nanny is because I really love children. I've never given much thought to my career trajectory because I know there is a definite ceiling to my salary no matter what my qualifications or experience or skill set might be. I don't have to wait for my quality of life to improve as I have been happy caring for children since the day I began.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The main reason I'm a nanny is because I really love children. I've never given much thought to my career trajectory because I know there is a definite ceiling to my salary no matter what my qualifications or experience or skill set might be. I don't have to wait for my quality of life to improve as I have been happy caring for children since the day I began.

That PP was talking about the mom maintaining her career trajectory, not the nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The main reason I'm a nanny is because I really love children. I've never given much thought to my career trajectory because I know there is a definite ceiling to my salary no matter what my qualifications or experience or skill set might be. I don't have to wait for my quality of life to improve as I have been happy caring for children since the day I began.

That PP was talking about the mom maintaining her career trajectory, not the nanny.

Exactly and maybe that's part of the problem in terms of childcare issues. If you are going to hire someone to care for your precious children wouldn't you care about both? Nannies and Moms and Dads are not adversaries. They should be a team working with the main goal being what is best for the children in a way that is most affordable for both parties

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The only reason someone at your pay scale would get a nanny is because you want to maintain your career trajectory. You accept that your salary is 100% dedicated to the nanny and live off your spouse’s salary. Once the kids hit school age, you still have a job, hopefully had a few years of raises in there, and your quality of life improves.

PS what's a spouse?