Trying to analyze costs Nanny VS child care

[Anonymous]

I have twin kindergartners this year and will have a new baby in April 2014. I am going back to work in August, once school starts. In trying to analyze our options, I'm considering both a nanny as well as day care for the infant and before/after care for the older ones.

How much would I offer a nanny to:
- arrive at 8am
- put two kids on the bus around 8:30
- care for infant all day
- pick two kids up from bus around 3:30
- care for the three until around 5
?

I have only ever done center-based day care (which results in many, many days of me taking leave because of sickness), so I am unsure of how the nanny-business works. Thanks for ANY input.

[Anonymous]

Where are you located? Will she have any additional duties apart from childcare, and if so, what will these encompass? Will you pay legally? Without knowing more details, it's hard to estimate.

[Anonymous]

OP, why not go to your neighborhood park, and just ask the women who you see doing it? Expect anywhere from $14-26/hr., depending on who you want.

[Anonymous]

Here is what we do:

I pay my nanny $430/week and pay her portion of the taxes at the end of year as well. It comes out closer to $500/week when you consider taxes.

She speaks only Spanish but that is okay since I speak Spanish. She brings both of her kids with her.

I have two kids (3.5 yrs and 19 months)

She arrives at 7:30. At 8:30 all four kids pile into car. They drop off her daughter at elementary school. Then they drop off my son at preschool. She cares for my daughter and her son all day. At 12:15, I normally run out on my lunch break (I work from home) to pick my son up from preschool. We get home, she feeds him lunch, etc.

She leaves at 3:30.

She spends lots of time playing outside with them but when its cold/rainy/etc I have to think of activities for them. Some nannies are great at doing this...maybe nannies with lots of experience.

I'm not sure of other's experiences but our nanny's family is basically a part of our family which I love, but it does mean more work. I try to collect hand me downs for her, I attend back to school night to translate for her daughter. She is using my house for her son's 1st birthday party this weekend. We love all of that...but it does add an element of chaos. And it isn't as "easy" as just dropping the kids at daycare in the morning. I love it though, and I like my kids being able to be home more.

Hope this helps.

[Anonymous]

From 8-8.30 and 3.30-5, what do you need her to do with the older kids? Will it involve fixing breakfast? Getting them dressed? Is the bus stop far? When they're home, will she have to give baths? Cook dinner? Help with homework?

Depending on what you need her to do and where you are located, I'd guess $15-17 per hour base rate (time and a half for any hours past 40).

Some nannies might want extra pay if one or both of the twins are ever home (cold, snow day, teacher in-service day, etc). Especially over school holidays.

[Anonymous]

We are in King Farm in Rockville.

She wouldn't need to prepare any meals or do any housekeeping, unless she would prefer keeping busy that way during the infants' naps. The busstop is in close walking distance, but not at our doorstop.

Thank you for your responses....I am starting to think a child care center is more my comfort level; I don't really want to be worrying about adding hours every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in King Farm in Rockville.

She wouldn't need to prepare any meals or do any housekeeping, unless she would prefer keeping busy that way during the infants' naps. The busstop is in close walking distance, but not at our doorstop.

Thank you for your responses....I am starting to think a child care center is more my comfort level; I don't really want to be worrying about adding hours every day.

No one said anything about adding hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are in King Farm in Rockville.

She wouldn't need to prepare any meals or do any housekeeping, unless she would prefer keeping busy that way during the infants' naps. The busstop is in close walking distance, but not at our doorstop.

Thank you for your responses....I am starting to think a child care center is more my comfort level; I don't really want to be worrying about adding hours every day.

I live very close by your area and I'd be interested in applying if you're still looking.

[Anonymous]

OP in Rockville you can easily find a great nanny for $15 an hour that would cover the infant care and the school age children when they get home. The rates posted by crazy nannies here are laughable. You should post in the Gaztette. You'll be able to find someone who speaks english, is legal, good experience, and good driving record for $15.

[Anonymous]

We're in the process of finding a nanny now. We have a 3 month old and an 18 month old and we're looking for someone to work 40 hours a week at $15/hr. We posted the position on Care.com and received over 20 responses within the first day. I would a say third of the candidates were unacceptable either do to lack of experience, schedule conflicts, or just not being mature enough. Another third of the candidates were just OK and another third of the candidates were good to excellent. All of the candidates were happy to work for our advertised rate and many actually asked for less. Not sure how people feel about Care.com but we've found the site to be very helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, why not go to your neighborhood park, and just ask the women who you see doing it? Expect anywhere from $14-26/hr., depending on who you want.

Old post, so numbers are higher, but here’s one way to find out how much sitters are charging.