Parents of twins/multiples how did you find childcare?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some au pairs are a bit older (doesn’t the program go up to 25?)-why can’t you look for an older au pair?

They are rare right now plus there are still travel bans for a lot of countries. Until travel opens up it’s almost impossible.

They're rare because Trump put in a ban in-place during Covid limiting all kinds of visas. I don't think Biden rescinded the ban.

[Anonymous]

Op, you can find a nanny for $25 per hour, but you will have to compromise in terms of experience. The nannies who have been with families for years likely gotten regularl pay raises, so $25 would be a pay cut for them. However, if you are open to one who is younger, or transitioning to nannying after doing other kids of work, you can find someone for $25 per hour.

The other thing we had a hard time with is that once we found a nanny, we also offered 2 weeks vacation and 5 sick days plus federa
Holidays, and they started getting grumpy about vacation once they found out that other nannies had more. The vacation was not guaranteed, but their families often did multiple vacations each year, and we really only did 2 weeks - one in the summer and around the holidays. This became an issue with 2 different nannies, but I don’t know how we could have solved it, as we really didn’t get much more vacation time from work.

[Anonymous]

Nanny from the beginning. Still have her full-time even though they're in early elementary school. Found her on care.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have twin 9 month olds and a kindergartener and are struggling to find quality childcare (just like many others,yes). We have been ghosted the day before the job started when we thought we found the perfect nanny with great references. Right now we are managing with a part time college student babysitter who has been just decent, grandparents who live out of town visits and tag teaming while working from home. The twins are sleep trained and on a schedule so not extraordinarily difficult anymore.

I’ve interviewed and spoken with so many people from neighborhood groups, FB and friend referrals. Many are not interested /experienced with multiples, some only were interested in talking about salary and avoided actual care related discussions, only want cash and many were former au pairs that overstayed. Tried the au pair route but quickly realized that it wouldn’t be appropriate for babies.

I’m not willing to do daycare until age 2. The local daycare centers that we have checked out are not allowing parents inside and do not have cameras therefore it’s a nonstarter for our family.

The kindergartener is in camp full time and will be going to school in the fall but we need full time help with the twins. Any suggestions or tips on finding full time care? We are an AA family living in NOVA. We can afford max $25/hr and 2 weeks PTO. Thanks

I think $25/hour starting out is a good rate for 9-month-old twins, especially since they're on a good schedule. But, are you looking for only up to 40 or 40+ hours? Anything over 40 is OT, which is time and a half, and many nannies are able to find 40+ hour work weeks and the OT is a big bonus.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$32/hr for the twins at a maximum of 35 hours a week, $35/hr for overtime, full-healthcare paid by you every month, 3 weeks PTO (2 your choice, 1 theirs), and 8 days of sick leave.

Plus access to your car for twin appointments, mommy & me classes, park trips etc

Overtime is 1.5 times the normal rate. It's not negotiable. You obviously don't know what you're talking about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$32/hr for the twins at a maximum of 35 hours a week, $35/hr for overtime, full-healthcare paid by you every month, 3 weeks PTO (2 your choice, 1 theirs), and 8 days of sick leave.

Plus access to your car for twin appointments, mommy & me classes, park trips etc

Overtime is 1.5 times the normal rate. It's not negotiable. You obviously don't know what you're talking about.

Anything is negotiable when its a self-contract. I'd personally start with a higher base pay + lower hours than how for a few crumbs of OT.

[Anonymous]

I didn't read all the responses but as a mother of 3, and one set of twins .. I would use an agency to place or narrow down the candidates. They will also guide you with costs and taxes and healthcare etc. We went through 2 before finding our beloved nanny who has been with us now for 8 years. It costs a FORTUNE but is a life saver as we both work out of the house full time.

[Anonymous]

Hi OP, I'm not a parent but a nanny. Please ignore all the vitriol. I don't think it's completely impossible for you to find a nanny for the twins for $25/hour with 2 weeks PTO, (3 would definitely get you more bites though) 5 paid sick days and a health care stipend. I found my last two positions on Care.com. Have you checked there?

Are you going to give paid holidays off? Compensate 52 weeks a year whether or not the nanny would be needed? Pay on the books? Thesw details were huge for me and gave me lots of peace of mind. I'm not college educated or bilingual but do have 15 years of paid experience, clear criminal and drug background check, am a non-smoker, have my own transportation with full coverage insurance, CPR certified and fully vaccinated. I haven't had an issue finding work so if you can make a few compromises as mentioned by a few pps, you'll hopefully get some appropriate candidates to check out. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why isn’t an au pair appropriate for babies OP?! I think an au pair would be a great solution in your case.

We have used au pairs to care for our elementary school kids and loved the experience, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with having an au pair watch twin infants. Also it is very hard to find au pairs right now, and you would be hard pressed to find someone willing to watch 3 kids, two of whom are infants in the best of times. This just isn't a gig that most au pairs want.

[Anonymous]

We got an au pair (rather, hosted three over a 6 year period) and it worked out great.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why isn’t an au pair appropriate for babies OP?! I think an au pair would be a great solution in your case.

We have used au pairs to care for our elementary school kids and loved the experience, but I wouldn't feel comfortable with having an au pair watch twin infants. Also it is very hard to find au pairs right now, and you would be hard pressed to find someone willing to watch 3 kids, two of whom are infants in the best of times. This just isn't a gig that most au pairs want.

We had an au pair for our 6 month old twins. She was amazing & had a degree in early childhood care (from Germany). She knew more about babies than I did. When she went home, she got a job as the director of a creche in Germany. You have to choose carefully, but there are really good au pairs who love babies (especially the the childcare professionals and pediatric nurses). Offer more money than the base rate of pay for experience and offer perks like a car, phone, etc to make your family more competitive.

[Anonymous]

Why don't you price out all the suggestions here (care + health + sick and vacay benefits etc. etc.) and see how it compares to your own salary? Might be worth it to quit your current work and be a stay at home mom. And, you could babysit a child or 2 and make extra money while you get to be with your own kids. I know lots of women who have done just that. I would do it just to save the headache.

[Anonymous]

Or just bite the bullet and be a smarter consumer/shopper. I don't buy food I don't absolutely need. Ex: avocados were $$$ last week. So no. I buy family clothes at the consignment shop. I buy household stuff on marketplace and ebay. Stay-cations for the next 2-3 years. Shop on double-coupon days or switch to Aldi. You already know all this. You can save thousands. Then you can offer goodies to the nanny.

[Anonymous]

our daycare center recently started allowing parents in. no cameras though, but there never were. maybe some centers in your area are starting to allow people in?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:$32/hr for the twins at a maximum of 35 hours a week, $35/hr for overtime, full-healthcare paid by you every month, 3 weeks PTO (2 your choice, 1 theirs), and 8 days of sick leave.

Plus access to your car for twin appointments, mommy & me classes, park trips etc

This is nuts!

OP, try to post on care.com as well. As others have helpfully suggested - try to also include a rate you would pay if the third child is there. Guarantee 40 hours/week + time and half for overtime.