How much to offer

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP: should I instead look for an au pair for this job?

Au pairs are not allowed to cook or shop for the family.

Honestly I’ve hired nannies/housekeepers/au pairs going on a decade now and I’ve never heard of one that did shopping and errands for the whole family.

Household manager

Household managers won’t do the level of childcare OP wants.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This post just reinforces that women are exploited and household labor for ones own family should be paid. All the single moms who are not benefiting from a second income should get UBI to get this stuff done.

Completely disagree. Doing stuff for myself/my family isn’t necessarily exploitative vs hiring it out. I won’t get explicit but I’m sure you can fill it in for yourself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This post just reinforces that women are exploited and household labor for ones own family should be paid. All the single moms who are not benefiting from a second income should get UBI to get this stuff done.

I do not consider running your own household to be exploitation. However, I will not do this type of work for anyone else and will not exploit another woman by hiring them for less than a living wage.

But apparently this job that is so niche it cannot be done or even contemplated is worth the $0 most women are currently being paid to do it.

[Anonymous]

I got a high school kid to do this, I think I paid $15 per hour. That was probably four years ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got a high school kid to do this, I think I paid $15 per hour. That was probably four years ago.

You had a high school kid drive and pick up your kids and drive him to activities and then home to help with homework?! Your high school sitter had her own car?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got a high school kid to do this, I think I paid $15 per hour. That was probably four years ago.

A lot of activities will only allow someone 18+ to pick up the kids. By March or April there are probably a lot of 18 year old seniors, but in the fall and early winter most high school seniors are still just 17.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I got a high school kid to do this, I think I paid $15 per hour. That was probably four years ago.

I would never let a high school kid drive my child around!!! Never.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starting a new job in the Research Triangle area and will need an after school helper to pick kid up from school, make sure kid does homework before dinner, and take to after school activities. Would like for this person to make dinner for the week and also do kid laundry, grocery shop when needed, and occasional errands. Will have a separate house cleaner. How much to offer and by the hour or by the week?

$22 an hour.

All of the above for $22/hr! Dream on. $30/hr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Wow! that is a lot. Is there a local NC group to ask? We paid $30/hr. here for pt dependable after-school care and did not include any of the following--

Would like for this person to make dinner for the week and also do kid laundry, grocery shop when needed, and occasional errands.

OP. I guess I am in for a rude awakening bc this doesn’t seem like a lot to me. It just seems like a job. It’s what SAHMs without help do.

Are you okay with the person dragging your kid(s) to the grocery store? Or putting them in front of a cartoon for a bit while they make dinner? Because that’s what I do as a mom. Also, our laundry has to happen at night or on weekends. We’re in an apartment with shared laundry so it’s a bit harder. Grocery shopping also happens nights or weekends. (Or a night we do takeout) I’m definitely not helping with homework AND managing activities AND grocery shopping AND making dinner AND doing laundry in the after school hours. (Kids are 4 and 8.) I used to babysit a lot and don’t think I’d take this job because I think I’d know I couldn’t do it all.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP and I am just flabbergasted by these responses. When did normal SAHM responsibilities, all of which can be done between 3-6pm with the possible exception of grocery shopping, become tantamount to being a slave driver? I am literally talking about hiring someone else to do the after school routine of pickup, homework supervision and dinner prep, with ECs to drive to on some days and throwing in a load of laundry here and there. It's exactly what I'd be dong myself after work if work ended at 3pm. How is this considered working someone SO HARD that it's too much to ask?

It’s not too much to ask, it’s that you are appalled at the COST of what you need. Let’s lay this out:

PT nannies/housekeepers are more expensive than FT on an hourly basis.

YOUR valuation of what the job is worth means virtually nothing. The value that the nearly mythical PT, “like a SAHM” employee assigns their time is what matters.

Paying peanuts will have you seeking a new employee every few months.

There is no shame in not being able to afford a nanny/housekeeper. If the pay is beyond your budget, after-school-care is a better choice for you.