What did you end up paying your summer nanny?

[Anonymous]

I gave two school aged kids (8 & 6) and am thinking of dropping the au pair next year and trying for just a summer nanny.

I'm trying to calculate costs to compare. ..but can't seem to get clear answers. I can't believe that it costs upwards of $600-800/week...does it? ($15-20/hr x 40 hrs...)

Or do people do a set weekly rate?

FWIW...I live in the NoVA suburbs, not in DC.

Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Just put your kids in camp.

[Anonymous]

I live in a small suburb, so our pay rates here may vary, but I tend to find that a summer nanny would cost more than just putting your kids in a day camp if they are older. The day camps in my area are ~$1,000 per month for full day, and nannies are probably closer to $2,000 per month.

It really just depends what you want your kids to do all summer. With the camps they have to wake up early and have a very structured day, but they have an endless amount of activities to choose from (the girl I watched did gymnastics, tennis, dance and one other activity all in one summer), and I think it also helps them retain information between school years. With a nanny they can sleep in, relax and have a choice of whether they want to just play during the day or go on a special outing.

[Anonymous]

We pay $1100 a week. Sometimes they are in camp but nanny hangs around in the area and is always on call incase something happened so we don't dock anything for those days they are occupied for a couple hours a day. It's def. a lot cheaper to have an au pair, but our nanny is much better for them we think.

[Anonymous]

Our nanny makes $15 per hour/ $22.50 per hour for overtime. We pay her about $715 per week and do not dock her pay for the time that the kids are in camp. Instead, for those weeks we ask that she weed through all their clothes and toys, catalog the things that they've grown out of, and drop them at Goodwill. We also have her clean toys (bleach/rinse hard toys and wash soft toys). We know she has more down time than usual for the 2 weeks that our kids do camp but we also pay her to be on-call for those hours which makes it worth it for us.