Older child goes to school - do we pay nanny the same for 1 kid?

[Anonymous]

I posted this in the nanny section but that forum seems to only be nannies. I'd like to hear from parents who have been there done that. Our oldest child is going to school. We'd like to keep our nanny on to watch our youngest child, but we can't justify the cost of paying her the same amount to watch only one child. Of course we would pay her more on days when the older child is home from school but we don't anticipate that happening very often. I just want to know what other families do in this situation. Surely we're not the first people to go through this. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

MB here. Pay her the same. She is available to you to watch both your kids. What about before and after school as well, and sick days? And presumably she took the job expecting to make a certain amount per hour. Did she say that for one kid I charge x and for two kids I charge y? If not, you can't now just start to pay her less. Presumably she has bills to pay! Can you ask her to help more with kids' laundry or errands?

[Anonymous]

Absolutely do not lower her pay!!! I understand why this makes sense but if you want to keep her, pay her what you origonally agrees on instead if decreasing pay!

[Anonymous]

Another MB here. Keep paying her the same amount. My second (I have 3) is starting school this year too but we aren't decreasing the nanny's pay. When her anniversary rolls around we will actually give her a raise. You might be surprised how often they get sick and there are a lot of days off over the course of the year. Agree with PP that you could ask her to help more with other things around the house like kids laundry if she isn't doing that already.

[Anonymous]

My nanny family kept my pay the same
and I had 14 hours a week were both
children were in school. Also they didn't
ask me to do any errands or increase
household chores, awesome family.

[Anonymous]

Do you expect to keep your nanny when you lower her pay??? Hope she leaves without notice!

[Anonymous]

Do you remember last winter? Do you remember how many days schools had to close because of weather? Now add in school holidays, half days, summer break, winter break, and sick days.

[Anonymous]

I think it's very interesting that when a new child is added, all of the nannies here will argue that OF COURSE nanny should get a raise, but when a child no longer needs care, pay stays the same. I think pay should be per hour, not per child, so I don't advocate lowering the nanny's pay in this instance, but this is just an interesting observation.

[Anonymous]

Kids these days in are out of school FAR more than they are in school. Seriously, don't be an idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think it's very interesting that when a new child is added, all of the nannies here will argue that OF COURSE nanny should get a raise, but when a child no longer needs care, pay stays the same. I think pay should be per hour, not per child, so I don't advocate lowering the nanny's pay in this instance, but this is just an interesting observation.

Your statement is ridiculous. An hourly rate is based on many different factors, including experience, location, duties and number of children. Paying strictly by the hour without taking into consideration the other factors I mentioned adds a "McDonalds-like, quantity over quality" quality to the nanny profession.
OP can do whatever she likes because at the end of the day, she is the boss.
Lowering the pay of an employee can definitely save you money. It also puts added pressure and stress on the employee.
I think we can all agree that nobody can work at their highest level when they're worried about paying the bills.
Lowering your nanny's pay will have one of two effects.
1. She will continue working for you, while slowly beginning to resent you. Her quality of work will surely decline.
2. She will decide to no longer work for you, forcing you to search for a new nanny.
The quality of candidate you want will (in most cases) not be willing to work for a lower rate when a child is in school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My nanny family kept my pay the same
and I had 14 hours a week were both
children were in school. Also they didn't
ask me to do any errands or increase
household chores, awesome family.

A decent nanny would pick up the extra duties to show she is flexible and for job security so you aren't replaceable. I would not be ok with my nanny hanging out without compromising for 14 hours a week. 4-6 hours, maybe, but 14 is a bit much.

OP, same salary.

[Anonymous]

Sorry, OP, that you have to endure the mean nannies here.

If you don't want to pay the same high rate for less work, you will probably need to find a new nanny. That's not a bad thing. You can surely find a good person for a fine rate.

Oh and don't worry about the nonsense nannies who want you to believe changing nannies is bad for kids. It isn't. Also, they are the same nannies who will jump ship on you in a second if you disappoint them.

So, no worries. Change nannies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry, OP, that you have to endure the mean nannies here.

If you don't want to pay the same high rate for less work, you will probably need to find a new nanny. That's not a bad thing. You can surely find a good person for a fine rate.

Oh and don't worry about the nonsense nannies who want you to believe changing nannies is bad for kids. It isn't. Also, they are the same nannies who will jump ship on you in a second if you disappoint them.

So, no worries. Change nannies.

Most of the comments here (with the exception of 2) were perfectly nice.
If by mean, you mean our opinion differs from yours, perhaps you're correct.

[Anonymous]

I'm the nanny that had a 14 hour break
each week. I wasn't being uncompromising
my employers told me I earned and deserved
that break. I was with them for eight years
and never took a sick day and gave back
about five weeks of paid vacation. I wouldn't
work for employers that are constantly
worried that they are getting their money's
worth.