What to do when 1 child goes to school?

[Anonymous]

We have had our nanny for over 4 years now. When our second child was born (2 years ago), we negotiated her raise. At that time, we asked her what happened when our then 2.5 year old was in school full time. She said that we would not reduce her salary, but instead she would have extra duties. She currently does the children's laundry, bathes them and feeds them dinner, and sweeps once a day. What more would be appropriate to ask her to do? We cannot imagine paying her to care for 2 children when 1 is in school starting in August from 8:30 - 3 without having her do more. Any suggestions would be appreciated. We want to be reasonable, but we feel a bit taken advantage of lately and want to be well informed for the upcoming discussion. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

One child going to school full time isn't really going to dramatically change how much extra time she has. What strikes me here is that you say you feel taken advantage of in other ways. How so? If you're unhappy with your nanny's work, I don't think the answer is piling on extra chores just to feel like you're getting the best bang for your buck.

[Anonymous]

You need to take your issues to the nanny if you feel confident they are valid. Are you sure you aren't just complaining for nothing?
Let us know how she responds.

[Anonymous]

There was not a complaint in that post. It would be helpful to hear from employers.

[Anonymous]

Hard to tell what you're looking for here.

It is not customary to reduce a nanny's hourly pay when a child starts school, but she's correct that adding extra tasks to her day can be a part of the restructuring. The question for you is how much of her day do you want focused on your child who is still at home and how much do you want focused on other tasks (grocery shopping, meal planning/prep, housekeeping, errands, etc.). It seems to me with one child at home FT you don't really have the "room" to add more jobs to her day. If both kids were in school, sure, this would be the time for her to move into a household manager position, but with a young child to supervise/engage/enrich/educate/entertain she will probably be busy enough. You could ask her to vacuum carpeted areas, perhaps. You could potentially ask her to do your laundry as well. Load, run, empty dishwasher. Basic, basic household duties. Beyond that just emphasize the care you want your DC to receive - is she going to be taking him/her out to activities during the day, trips to the zoo or the pool? If so she'll hardly be sitting around eating bonbons and collecting her money, you know? Your tone is a little off.

[Anonymous]

Once my charges started preschool (they are twins), I started doing the grocery shopping or running other errands as needed.

[Anonymous]

I would argue this is part if why MBs should be reluctant to bump up the rate tons with another child. If the rate can never go down again and it is hard to add extra tasks with one still at home then this seems to really screw an MB who gives a big 2nd child increase.

[Anonymous]

You could just get yourself new nanny and start her off at minimum wage. Problem solved?

[Anonymous]

You could definitely start over and hire a nanny whose salary is more aligned with your needs (not minimum wage, of course. That PP is just bitter.) you could also add more housekeeping tasks, grocery shopping, and other errands. You could also look into keeping her rate level (no annual raise, if you usually give one) if she is at the upper limits and her responsibilities are decreasing.

[Anonymous]

Minimum wage is certainly fair for an entry level nanny with only babysitting experience. (PP above is often simply nasty.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Minimum wage is certainly fair for an entry level nanny with only babysitting experience. (PP above is often simply nasty.)

Are you often stupid? Ever tried to hire a nanny at minimum wage? It's literally the bottom of the barrel.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have had our nanny for over 4 years now. When our second child was born (2 years ago), we negotiated her raise. At that time, we asked her what happened when our then 2.5 year old was in school full time. She said that we would not reduce her salary, but instead she would have extra duties. She currently does the children's laundry, bathes them and feeds them dinner, and sweeps once a day. What more would be appropriate to ask her to do? We cannot imagine paying her to care for 2 children when 1 is in school starting in August from 8:30 - 3 without having her do more. Any suggestions would be appreciated. We want to be reasonable, but we feel a bit taken advantage of lately and want to be well informed for the upcoming discussion. Thanks.

Why do you feel taken advantage of?
Will the younger child do any classes, like Gymboree, when the older child is in school?

Does she bathe them every night? How frequently does she do their laundry (one load per week? two?)
What other duties would you like her to do?

Does she like to cook? She could help with meal prep. What hours is she with you? Not to judge, but it seems a little sad that your kids don't even get to eat dinner with you.

[nannydebsays]

Anonymous wrote:We have had our nanny for over 4 years now. When our second child was born (2 years ago), we negotiated her raise. At that time, we asked her what happened when our then 2.5 year old was in school full time. She said that we would not reduce her salary, but instead she would have extra duties. She currently does the children's laundry, bathes them and feeds them dinner, and sweeps once a day. What more would be appropriate to ask her to do? We cannot imagine paying her to care for 2 children when 1 is in school starting in August from 8:30 - 3 without having her do more. Any suggestions would be appreciated. We want to be reasonable, but we feel a bit taken advantage of lately and want to be well informed for the upcoming discussion. Thanks.

OP, what is going on between you and your nanny that has you irritated? IMO, you need to try to resolve whatever issues you currently have before discussing her pay for continuing employment. Is nanny not fulfilling her work agreement? Is nanny no longer performing at a high level? If you are unable or unwilling to get things back on track with your nanny, then making a change to someone new is likely in everyone's best interest.

For anyone to give good advice, letting us know where you live and what you currently pay would be helpful. Have you given her only a single raise over 4 years, or has she gotten yearly raises in addition to the "new baby" raise? What benefits do you offer?

And finally, what do you want nanny's priority to be while your youngest child is with her solo? Do you want a focus on outings, educational play, one-on-one time, and so forth, or do you want the focus to be on chores, errands, and housekeeping? In addition, unless your older child will be attending school year round with minimal vacation time, there will be plenty of days when nanny still has both of your children in her care. Will you be OK with the additional chores going undone on those days?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would argue this is part if why MBs should be reluctant to bump up the rate tons with another child. If the rate can never go down again and it is hard to add extra tasks with one still at home then this seems to really screw an MB who gives a big 2nd child increase.

This is one of the many reasons that I, as a nanny, don't believe in a raise for an additional child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would argue this is part if why MBs should be reluctant to bump up the rate tons with another child. If the rate can never go down again and it is hard to add extra tasks with one still at home then this seems to really screw an MB who gives a big 2nd child increase.

This is one of the many reasons that I, as a nanny, don't believe in a raise for an additional child.

That's too crazy for a nanny to say. I don't believe you. Every job pays more for increased responsibilities, except yours.