When the older child goes to school

[Anonymous]

Our nanny has watched our two sons for a year and a half. The older one is going to school this Fall. We can't really justify the expense of paying her the same rate when she just watches our one son. We are looking for another family to join a share with us (I've already discussed this with our nanny and she is fine with it). However, we've had no luck so far and school starts in a few weeks. We are considering asking our nanny to stay with us and watch our one son, but for a little less money than what we pay now. Have others done this?

[Anonymous]

What about school holidays and if your
older son is sick. If I were your nanny
and you asked me to take a pay cut or
do a share, I would quit.

[Anonymous]

Sure. Jobs change all the time and nannies know this.

If you can't maintain her higher salary and have had no luck in finding a share, you should be upfront with the nanny and be ready for her to leave.

It's fine for her to leave because she needs a particular job and it's fine for you to find a more affordable nanny for the job you require.

There is no reason for you to pay more than you need in a nanny. You'll find a good new nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What about school holidays and if your
older son is sick. If I were your nanny
and you asked me to take a pay cut or
do a share, I would quit.

I'm glad you're not my nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about school holidays and if your
older son is sick. If I were your nanny
and you asked me to take a pay cut or
do a share, I would quit.

I'm glad you're not my nanny.

PP made valid points. What is your plan when your son is off of school and nanny has to watch him and potentially another share child? I would expect to be compensated for the additional child any time he was sick/off school and this ends up being a logistical headache for all involved. How long will he be in school? Factor in drop off/pick up time and it may only be a few 1-child hours a day, realistically. Are the financial savings really worth the hassle of finding 1) a share family, 2) another nanny or 3) alternative care for your son when he is out of school?

[Anonymous]

Will you pay the nanny extra for playdates, school holidays and sick days? Will you pay her extra to clean up after the older kid, do his laundry etc? You suck op.

[Anonymous]

My pay has always stayed the same when a child goes to school. You really aren't saving much money and the money that you are saving is not worth alienating your nanny.
Say you pay her $16/ hour and reduce her pay by $2/hour. You will save $14/day or $70/week. In turn, you also have a nanny who will begin resenting you, you will have the added hassle of keeping track of how many hours she cares for both children and competition from other employers who WILL pay her a full rate when their oldest child goes to school.

[Anonymous]

There is no reason for you to pay more than you need in a nanny. You'll find a good new nanny.

Stop assuming that the nanny isn't good. I am
sure your nanny probably can't afford to live from a
drastic pay cut. Better for her to find another family.

[Anonymous]

Think about how you would feel if your employer said "you job responsibilities are changing so we're going to cut your salary". If you would be upset and resentful think of how your many will feel. If a share is something she ages to and you choose to pursue- awesome. But don't cut her pay because Hey job is evolving the way is suppose to.

[Anonymous]

I have never had a family reduce my pay for when one or all of the children go to school. While there are not two or more little ones running around, there is still the one child to take care of. We still keep a busy schedule even if all the children are not at home.
I have gone on school field trips with the ones who are in school, am there when the school is closed for the day or there is a sick child who can't go to school. I have attended their school events when a parent cannot be there.
Maybe she would be ok with doing a couple of extra tasks a week like going to the grocery store or going to the dry cleaner.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will you pay the nanny extra for playdates, school holidays and sick days? Will you pay her extra to clean up after the older kid, do his laundry etc? You suck op.

I had this happen to me one time. The oldest started kindergarten and I was still taking care of her baby sister.
Every time I turned around the oldest girl was having this one particular girl come over for a play date. This girl
was horrible and naughty and it was rubbing off on my little one. Finally I spoke up and said I should be paid for the play date. One day the little girl came over again
when her dad came to pick her up she wouldn't listen and started running from her dad for 2 blocks, he was red and out of breath and couldn't catch her.
After that my boss could see how much of a bad influence that girl was, she never had a play date when I was there.

[Anonymous]

OP have you ever had a salary decrease because your boss decided to change the responsibilities of your job? I spent many years in the non-profit sector and even there, where money is tight and salaries are small, that never happened.

Either find a new nanny or pay her the same as you have been until the share starts up.

But if you do a share and are saving, say, $10/hr, will you pay her an extra $10/hr on the days your older son stays home sick or it's a teacher's workshop? Yeah, I didn't think so...