Please don't ask what the "going rate" for a nanny is without...

[Anonymous]

... giving specifics of what you are looking for.

Legal or Off-The-Books?

College graduate or not?

What kind of previous experience and for how long?

Every single time anyone asks what the going rate for a nanny is in any particular area, the same argument starts between the people who will hire an undocumented immigrant for $10 an hour and those who want a legal, college graduate with experience for $25 an hour.

Please just state what you want upfront.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:... giving specifics of what you are looking for.

Legal or Off-The-Books?

College graduate or not?

What kind of previous experience and for how long?

Every single time anyone asks what the going rate for a nanny is in any particular area, the same argument starts between the people who will hire an undocumented immigrant for $10 an hour and those who want a legal, college graduate with experience for $25 an hour.

Please just state what you want upfront.

The problem is they want the legal college grad for $10 an hour, they don't want to list specifics because they just want someone to justify that $10 an hour is OK and then they can just apply that to everyone in their mind.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:... giving specifics of what you are looking for.

Legal or Off-The-Books?

College graduate or not?

What kind of previous experience and for how long?

Every single time anyone asks what the going rate for a nanny is in any particular area, the same argument starts between the people who will hire an undocumented immigrant for $10 an hour and those who want a legal, college graduate with experience for $25 an hour.

Please just state what you want upfront.

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:... giving specifics of what you are looking for.

Legal or Off-The-Books?

College graduate or not?

What kind of previous experience and for how long?

Every single time anyone asks what the going rate for a nanny is in any particular area, the same argument starts between the people who will hire an undocumented immigrant for $10 an hour and those who want a legal, college graduate with experience for $25 an hour.

Please just state what you want upfront.

The problem is they want the legal college grad for $10 an hour, they don't want to list specifics because they just want someone to justify that $10 an hour is OK and then they can just apply that to everyone in their mind.

I find it hard to even get parents to pay 10 per hr. I have a college degree and years of experience. I went on an interview a while ago. They wanted to pay less then 2 per hr once I did the math. The mom got so upset when I said my rate was 10 per hr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:... giving specifics of what you are looking for.

Legal or Off-The-Books?

College graduate or not?

What kind of previous experience and for how long?

Every single time anyone asks what the going rate for a nanny is in any particular area, the same argument starts between the people who will hire an undocumented immigrant for $10 an hour and those who want a legal, college graduate with experience for $25 an hour.

Please just state what you want upfront.

The problem is they want the legal college grad for $10 an hour, they don't want to list specifics because they just want someone to justify that $10 an hour is OK and then they can just apply that to everyone in their mind.

I find it hard to even get parents to pay 10 per hr. I have a college degree and years of experience. I went on an interview a while ago. They wanted to pay less then 2 per hr once I did the math. The mom got so upset when I said my rate was 10 per hr.

I've seen that a lot with these women who totally underestimate childcare. I've seen people say they have two kids but only want to pay like its one, because their 4 year old "is pretty independent and doesn't need much, you can just focus on the baby." Like a 4 year old will just stay out of the way all day and not need love, attention, meals, help, etc...

It's pretty ridiculous.

[Anonymous]

YES! Please simply state what you are looking for so we can stop reading the same fricking argument about rate over and over and over again. If you want to hire an illegal to clean your house and keep an eye on your kids - don't ask for the "going rate for a nanny". And certainly don't think that your income or money problems affect the rate of any employee!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:YES! Please simply state what you are looking for so we can stop reading the same fricking argument about rate over and over and over again. If you want to hire an illegal to clean your house and keep an eye on your kids - don't ask for the "going rate for a nanny". And certainly don't think that your income or money problems affect the rate of any employee!

Exactly! And learn the difference between a sitter and a nanny.

[Anonymous]

I think bored mommies like the argument to denigrate their nannies or because they can't afford one.

[Anonymous]

MB here and I really agree w/ OP. It would be so great to not answer the same questions over and over, or have the same fights, etc...

The problem is that the basic questions are the ones we all need to ask when starting out, and people find this board (and others) when they're new to the process so they don't know how it sounds to those of us who are no longer rookies.

I wonder if it would be possible to have a bit of a FAQ section or "If you're just looking into nannies Read This/If you're new to nannying read this" kind of section.

Probably too much work for this venue but it would be a great resource and might cut down on some of the repetition.

Re the nastiness and endless fighting - I don't see that changing as long as the forums are anonymous.

[Anonymous]

I posted the original question asking about the cost of a nanny and am surprised how quick to judge many of you are. I did not ask for specifics because I am literally at the very beginning of this process and have no idea what I'm currently looking for. What I would have wanted was a supportive community of other parents who could possibly help explain that there are many differences in nanny prices based on all of these types of approaches you've put out. It would be nice if everyone could be a little more assuming of goodwill and take a breath before jumping to conclusions that new parents just want justification to hire sub-par child care, as if we don't care about our children as much as you do. Please try to be kinder to new parents who are trying to navigate something very complicated and new that might be something that you are used to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I posted the original question asking about the cost of a nanny and am surprised how quick to judge many of you are. I did not ask for specifics because I am literally at the very beginning of this process and have no idea what I'm currently looking for. What I would have wanted was a supportive community of other parents who could possibly help explain that there are many differences in nanny prices based on all of these types of approaches you've put out. It would be nice if everyone could be a little more assuming of goodwill and take a breath before jumping to conclusions that new parents just want justification to hire sub-par child care, as if we don't care about our children as much as you do. Please try to be kinder to new parents who are trying to navigate something very complicated and new that might be something that you are used to.

Thank you for this post! I TOTALLY agree.

[Anonymous]

Also, where you live at is important as well.

The cost of living should affect the rate of how much you should expect to pay someone and how much that someone needs to make a decent living as your employee.

[Anonymous]

I posted the original question asking about the cost of a nanny and am surprised how quick to judge many of you are. I did not ask for specifics because I am literally at the very beginning of this process and have no idea what I'm currently looking for. What I would have wanted was a supportive community of other parents who could possibly help explain that there are many differences in nanny prices based on all of these types of approaches you've put out. It would be nice if everyone could be a little more assuming of goodwill and take a breath before jumping to conclusions that new parents just want justification to hire sub-par child care, as if we don't care about our children as much as you do. Please try to be kinder to new parents who are trying to navigate something very complicated and new that might be something that you are used to.

I agree as well.

Frankly, I don't think OP's post is helpful. People don't know what they are looking for and this is exactly the place to ask those questions and have a chance to crowd source the answers. Most of the arguing over rates here is because there are a few persistent nannies who want to drive up rates and a few MBs who get annoyed at new parents being taken advantage of by inflated (and untrue) rates. Both sides have a point which is probably why the arguing never stops. That said, there are many more reasonable people who answer those posts and you will get an indication of market rates over the course of a thread. This will be helpful to parents looking for a nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I posted the original question asking about the cost of a nanny and am surprised how quick to judge many of you are. I did not ask for specifics because I am literally at the very beginning of this process and have no idea what I'm currently looking for. What I would have wanted was a supportive community of other parents who could possibly help explain that there are many differences in nanny prices based on all of these types of approaches you've put out. It would be nice if everyone could be a little more assuming of goodwill and take a breath before jumping to conclusions that new parents just want justification to hire sub-par child care, as if we don't care about our children as much as you do. Please try to be kinder to new parents who are trying to navigate something very complicated and new that might be something that you are used to.

I agree as well.

Frankly, I don't think OP's post is helpful. People don't know what they are looking for and this is exactly the place to ask those questions and have a chance to crowd source the answers. Most of the arguing over rates here is because there are a few persistent nannies who want to drive up rates and a few MBs who get annoyed at new parents being taken advantage of by inflated (and untrue) rates. Both sides have a point which is probably why the arguing never stops. That said, there are many more reasonable people who answer those posts and you will get an indication of market rates over the course of a thread. This will be helpful to parents looking for a nanny.

Your denial of reality is not helpful to anyone. While every profession has its average wages, there are also individuals who outperform your average workers, and they earn more. If you want better than average, you pay better than average. This is only common sense and we all know it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

I posted the original question asking about the cost of a nanny and am surprised how quick to judge many of you are. I did not ask for specifics because I am literally at the very beginning of this process and have no idea what I'm currently looking for. What I would have wanted was a supportive community of other parents who could possibly help explain that there are many differences in nanny prices based on all of these types of approaches you've put out. It would be nice if everyone could be a little more assuming of goodwill and take a breath before jumping to conclusions that new parents just want justification to hire sub-par child care, as if we don't care about our children as much as you do. Please try to be kinder to new parents who are trying to navigate something very complicated and new that might be something that you are used to.

I agree as well.

Frankly, I don't think OP's post is helpful. People don't know what they are looking for and this is exactly the place to ask those questions and have a chance to crowd source the answers. Most of the arguing over rates here is because there are a few persistent nannies who want to drive up rates and a few MBs who get annoyed at new parents being taken advantage of by inflated (and untrue) rates. Both sides have a point which is probably why the arguing never stops. That said, there are many more reasonable people who answer those posts and you will get an indication of market rates over the course of a thread. This will be helpful to parents looking for a nanny.

Your denial of reality is not helpful to anyone. While every profession has its average wages, there are also individuals who outperform your average workers, and they earn more. If you want better than average, you pay better than average. This is only common sense and we all know it.

No one is trying to "drive up rates" ... this small community has no influence on the nanny workforce in DC at large. People just occasionally point out, when appropriate, that they or someone they know earns more than "the going rate."