First time nanny seeker

[Anonymous]

I will be going to TX for school next month for approximately 6-months and I'm really stressing over trying to get care for my son while I'm gone. Hubby works swing shift, so he will be able to get our son off to school/camp in the morning. I'm looking a nanny to pick our son up from school/camp, do his laundry and prepare his dinner Monday-Friday from 6pm to midnight and an occasional Saturday. I think this would be good for a nanny share.

Do y'all think $200 per week is a fair rate? Do the hours seem reasonable for the pay rate? Minus the admin fees this is the weekly rate at one of the au pair agencies that I checked in to.

I posted an ad on sittercity as well as this site. On sittercity, I got a coupla hits from au pairs, but can they legally work for another family?

-- BV

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't compare an au pair rate to a nanny rate. An au pair gets free room and board. A nanny typically makes more.

[Anonymous]

No $200/week does not sound fair. Nor would this be good for a nanny share, as not many people are also looking for a 6-midnight nanny. Maybe you meant a split, but even for that you'd be asking a nanny to work all day for one family then all night for yours.

[Anonymous]

No even if it's just Monday to Friday - that's is 30 hours of work. It's below minimum wage. Throw in a Saturday and you're way under.

Plus you will have to pay for gas mileage for the driving.

[Anonymous]

How would a nanny share work? Generally in a nanny share, the nanny takes care of the children together. Are you proposing your child have a sleepover with another child every night and the nanny will watch both? So no, a nanny share would not work.

Also, $200 is WAY below appropriate. I assume you are thinking your child will be sleeping some of the time so you shouldn't have to pay a nanny's full hourly rate for sleeping hours, but thems the breaks.

[Anonymous]

For a nanny for one child for 30 hours a week (6-12 M-F), plan on paying $13 to $17 per hour, with the most desirable candidates likely seeking at least $15. Some candidates will want to be paid in the $18-$20 range, but you don't need to go that high to find good options.

These hours might appeal to a student who wants to study on the job or to someone who has a day job and needs extra income, but they absolutely won't work for a share. Do you have enough space at home to accommodate a live-in? If so, you might market the position as live-in or live-out at the option of the nanny. You could pay a lower hourly rate to a live-in and also attract a broader group of candidates, though you'd be absorbing the cost of the nanny's room and board.

[Anonymous]

MB here - you can't get the kind of care you're talking about for that amount of money. Looks like you're talking about 30 hours a week, inclusive of driving, laundry, meals, and an hourly rate of less than $7?

You need to be prepared to pay way, way more than that. Or, to build this as an aupair kind of position that includes room and board.

Or to not leave for 6 months and find a program with classes during the day where you live.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MB here - you can't get the kind of care you're talking about for that amount of money. Looks like you're talking about 30 hours a week, inclusive of driving, laundry, meals, and an hourly rate of less than $7?

You need to be prepared to pay way, way more than that. Or, to build this as an aupair kind of position that includes room and board.

Or to not leave for 6 months and find a program with classes during the day where you live.

Just gotta say - I'm a mother of a daughter and if my daughter wanted to be a nanny or au pair then fine. But I would strongly discourage her from taking a job as a live-in at a home where the only other adult besides her is a man (unless she were a lesbian. then by all means.). That is a recipe for problems.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MB here - you can't get the kind of care you're talking about for that amount of money. Looks like you're talking about 30 hours a week, inclusive of driving, laundry, meals, and an hourly rate of less than $7?

You need to be prepared to pay way, way more than that. Or, to build this as an aupair kind of position that includes room and board.

Or to not leave for 6 months and find a program with classes during the day where you live.

Just gotta say - I'm a mother of a daughter and if my daughter wanted to be a nanny or au pair then fine. But I would strongly discourage her from taking a job as a live-in at a home where the only other adult besides her is a man (unless she were a lesbian. then by all means.). That is a recipe for problems.

Fair point. I hadn't thought about it from that angle. Can't really find an angle where this setup (mom gone for 6 mths, very unrealistic salary expectations, etc...) works for anyone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MB here - you can't get the kind of care you're talking about for that amount of money. Looks like you're talking about 30 hours a week, inclusive of driving, laundry, meals, and an hourly rate of less than $7?

You need to be prepared to pay way, way more than that. Or, to build this as an aupair kind of position that includes room and board.

Or to not leave for 6 months and find a program with classes during the day where you live.

Just gotta say - I'm a mother of a daughter and if my daughter wanted to be a nanny or au pair then fine. But I would strongly discourage her from taking a job as a live-in at a home where the only other adult besides her is a man (unless she were a lesbian. then by all means.). That is a recipe for problems.

Why would it matter that she is a lesbian? Are you worried that your daughter will try to seduce the DB, or are you worried that he will put the moves on her? The fact that she's a lesbian wouldn't necessary deter the latter, which would be the bigger worry to most moms.

[Anonymous]

Was using an expletive really necessary? I'm new to the nanny world, so this is a definite learning curve for me.

Anonymous wrote:Your post is confusing.
Do you need a nanny in Texas or in DC/MD/VA?
What hours do you need?
How far in advance will you know about what Saturdays are needed?

There is no way you'd find a share until midnight. What parent wants to come pick up their child at midnight from someone's home?

$200 a week? Are you f*cking kidding me? Assuming you need someone from 4pm until midnight, that's a 40 hour work week before the Saturdays. You're trying to pay someone $5 an hour?!

[Anonymous]

I guess I had the wrong idea about nanny share. I was thinking it was a nanny who split her time between two families at their homes.

Anonymous wrote:How would a nanny share work? Generally in a nanny share, the nanny takes care of the children together. Are you proposing your child have a sleepover with another child every night and the nanny will watch both? So no, a nanny share would not work.

Also, $200 is WAY below appropriate. I assume you are thinking your child will be sleeping some of the time so you shouldn't have to pay a nanny's full hourly rate for sleeping hours, but thems the breaks.

[Anonymous]

I did advertise as a live-in, but then I edited the ad and removed live-in becasue I didn't think it would be attract anyone for 6 hours of work and I had planned to pay extra for Saturdays.

I'm military so I go where I'm told to go for school, so no options there. Hubby's family is in the mid-west and mine is West Coast and I would hate to ship off my kid to family, but it just may come to that.

Anonymous wrote:MB here - you can't get the kind of care you're talking about for that amount of money. Looks like you're talking about 30 hours a week, inclusive of driving, laundry, meals, and an hourly rate of less than $7?

You need to be prepared to pay way, way more than that. Or, to build this as an aupair kind of position that includes room and board.

Or to not leave for 6 months and find a program with classes during the day where you live.

[Anonymous]

I will put live-in back in my ad. We difinitely have the space to accommodate another adult. Our basement - currently a mom cave - can be outfitted as a suite and would be quite comfortable.

Anonymous wrote:For a nanny for one child for 30 hours a week (6-12 M-F), plan on paying $13 to $17 per hour, with the most desirable candidates likely seeking at least $15. Some candidates will want to be paid in the $18-$20 range, but you don't need to go that high to find good options.

These hours might appeal to a student who wants to study on the job or to someone who has a day job and needs extra income, but they absolutely won't work for a share. Do you have enough space at home to accommodate a live-in? If so, you might market the position as live-in or live-out at the option of the nanny. You could pay a lower hourly rate to a live-in and also attract a broader group of candidates, though you'd be absorbing the cost of the nanny's room and board.

[Anonymous]

Depending on what kind of work your dh is in/how much he makes, it might be more cost effective for him to quit and be a SAHP while you are away at school. I am a military spouse, and unfortunately it seems like most spouses with young kids end up doing this.