Anonymous wrote:My nanny is great and oh thank goodness she is not asking for a raise after her first year. We pay more than $26 though. She seems happy where she is and I am not mentioning it. Maybe next year if she is still working for us. She is untouchable as far as nannying goes but maybe this is why she is not asking for a raise. Too nice.

she is waiting for you to tell her that you are increasing her pay a minimum of $1.00/hr. she may sait a month and if you have said nothing then she is looking for another job. Penny wise and pound foolish is pure stupidity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does your kid deserve high quality care, OP?

Don’t all kids “deserve” high quality care? Whether they’re born to a single mother on welfare or to a two physician family? I guess I don’t understand where you’re going with this…

high quality care deserves high pay.

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny makes $26/hr in Bethesda for one child. After one year she asked me for a raise ($2/hr plus a few hundred a month to her health insurance). Her justification was, inflation and the fact she had been with us for one year. I would never ask my boss for more pay with that justification. Not even when I worked an hourly rate in retail would that request have gotten me more money. Is this just the way it is in the nanny world? Raises expected annually for no reason other than retention?

if you want to keep her, pony up. $26/hr is not great but low.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny makes $26/hr in Bethesda for one child. After one year she asked me for a raise ($2/hr plus a few hundred a month to her health insurance). Her justification was, inflation and the fact she had been with us for one year. I would never ask my boss for more pay with that justification. Not even when I worked an hourly rate in retail would that request have gotten me more money. Is this just the way it is in the nanny world? Raises expected annually for no reason other than retention?

Did you get a raise this year?
Did the nanny exceed expectations?
Has market rate for nannies changed in your area?
What is it worth to you to keep this nanny for the next year?
Just because the nanny did not articulate her justification the same way you would have does not mean it is not reasonable.

OP here. I got a 2% raise this year, not the 11% raise my nanny is asking for. I would say she “meets expectations”. Seems like the nanny market gets flooded in summer as families let nannies go as their kids start school. So I am just not convinced the market justified the raise.

lol and what is your annual income? Probably more than $26/hr.

Nanny here - Not sure what the going rate is where you are, but before covid here in LA Nannies were asking $25-30. Now the rates are $35-45, and I usually turn down $35 babysitting jobs, because I know someone else will pay $40. Nannies have been underpaid for years and you are going to risk losing your nanny. Aug/Sept is the best time of the year to find a new family, so hopefully you get this sorted soon, or else your nanny will sort it herself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Well I work in the corporate world and I was pretty insulted that I didn’t get even a 3% raise this year. Annual raises are pretty standard most places. Did you not get a raise this year, op?

My spouse never gets a raise and his income goes up and down every year in the corporate world.

Your spouse never gets a raise and his income goes up? What weird definition of a raise are you using?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you for real, OP? Do you work in the real world yourself? Yes, annual raises are the norm, not the exception - except when the employer is a poor one.

Luckily your nanny will have no problem finding another job when you fail to meet her reasonable remuneration requirements.

It’s not the norm and op may not be able to pay more.

It is the norm and if she is not “able to pay more,” guess she’s a daycare family. Shrug.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Our nanny makes $26/hr in Bethesda for one child. After one year she asked me for a raise ($2/hr plus a few hundred a month to her health insurance). Her justification was, inflation and the fact she had been with us for one year. I would never ask my boss for more pay with that justification. Not even when I worked an hourly rate in retail would that request have gotten me more money. Is this just the way it is in the nanny world? Raises expected annually for no reason other than retention?

Did you get a raise this year?
Did the nanny exceed expectations?
Has market rate for nannies changed in your area?
What is it worth to you to keep this nanny for the next year?
Just because the nanny did not articulate her justification the same way you would have does not mean it is not reasonable.

OP here. I got a 2% raise this year, not the 11% raise my nanny is asking for. I would say she “meets expectations”. Seems like the nanny market gets flooded in summer as families let nannies go as their kids start school. So I am just not convinced the market justified the raise.

Well, it sounds like you could do better. Call her bluff and if she walks, it sounds like it'll be easy to backfill.

Yes, OP, PLEASE do this. Please.

Anonymous wrote:26/hour for one child is very high id interview some others in secret to get the feel of the market at 18-21

Whatever you’re smoking, please pass it so we can all share — unless you live in Podunk, Oklahoma.

Anonymous wrote:That's not reasonable for one child. A small raise, ok, but $2 an hour is at over $300 a month, could be as high as $400, plus a few hundred for health insurance, so that easily could be $700 or so a month. I'd do .25 or .50 an hour raise if you can afford it. Tell her no. Worst case she leaves. You are paying her a good salary.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

My nanny is great and oh thank goodness she is not asking for a raise after her first year. We pay more than $26 though. She seems happy where she is and I am not mentioning it. Maybe next year if she is still working for us. She is untouchable as far as nannying goes but maybe this is why she is not asking for a raise. Too nice.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Offer her $1, split the difference.

This. And think long term. Whatever you offer her this year, she’ll expect the same (if not higher) raise next year.

You can't be serious? WTF, this person is watching your child and you can't cough up $2? Again, if you can afford a nanny for one kid, you can afford the $2 raise.

Oh I didn’t mean she should or should not pay the $2 raise. I was saying it would be fine to counter at a $1 raise if that’s what she can pay.

I was also suggesting that the OP consider her long term plan. If she plans on employing this nanny for, say, six years, and does a $2 raise this year, she’ll probably need to do a $2 raise every year and the nanny will be making $38/hr by the time the kiddo goes to kinder. Just saying she needs to think about the big picture.

I have no idea what OP’s budget looks like. I’m a MB. There was a time where I was squeezed by childcare costs and had to cut back on personal stuff to afford it. But obviously we wanted the best care for our kids, so we paid generously even though it meant we didn’t take nice vacations, didn’t eat out, etc. Now we are quite comfortable as my husband got a really well paying job. I still try to be generous because I remember what it’s like to be cash strapped. If parents don’t have the money, they can’t be generous. And if the nanny is just so-so, I see no reason to reward mediocrity.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Offer her $1, split the difference.

This. And think long term. Whatever you offer her this year, she’ll expect the same (if not higher) raise next year.

You can't be serious? WTF, this person is watching your child and you can't cough up $2? Again, if you can afford a nanny for one kid, you can afford the $2 raise.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Are you for real, OP? Do you work in the real world yourself? Yes, annual raises are the norm, not the exception - except when the employer is a poor one.

Luckily your nanny will have no problem finding another job when you fail to meet her reasonable remuneration requirements.

Maybe but the nanny also has to think about the lost income while looking for a new job. Is that worth the $40/week less taxes she is arguing for?

You are kidding yourself. She will smile as you decline the raise request, and begin the search immediately. There will be no lost income/down time.

Anonymous wrote:Stay home with your damned kid. Why’d you bother having any?

Wut? I’m wondering what your background is. Are you a stay at home parent? A nanny? This is a strange perspective on a forum literally about childcare!