Am I the only nanny who wouldn't hire a nanny?

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure whether I'd hire a nanny in the future. My dream is to be a stay at home, homeschooling parent. But often life doesn't turn out as we plan so we make the best of things. What I do know is, if I hired a nanny, I'd make damn sure to get the best one possible. I wouldn't want to let a little insecurity on my part influence me to the point of hiring someone who was anything less than wonderful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Probably not. If i could afford one, I would want to give her a decent salary and as many perks as i can afford. I think this job is different from most regular 9-5 jobs because it is in someone's home. I certainly don't want to judge my bosses but at times i do. Especially with their finances when they say they can't give me a raise but i know otherwise. As a nanny it seems more in your face because you see receipts and the actual purchases. (correct me if i'm wrong). Plus there are just too many cheap parents out there. I don't want to be one of them. Maybe my thinking has been affected by my last two jobs that i felt didn't respect me as a nanny. I'm still looking now and there are many families who don't offer a decent wages. I certainly wouldn't be thinking my nanny is in it because she loves kids. If i found one like that, i would consider myself lucky! Many nannies are really not. I don't buy into the 'nanny is part of the family' thinking. I believed it when i first started until i got a wake up call. It is a job and they just want to do their job well and get paid decently.

You are wrong, you dont know the family can afford to pay you more. Your wage as a nanny is determined by the market rate, your skill level, amount of experience, and the level of desperation of the family. It is not based on how many luxuries your employer buys at all. Their expenses in those areas may also be budgeted the same as their child care expenses are budgeted.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Probably not. If i could afford one, I would want to give her a decent salary and as many perks as i can afford. I think this job is different from most regular 9-5 jobs because it is in someone's home. I certainly don't want to judge my bosses but at times i do. Especially with their finances when they say they can't give me a raise but i know otherwise. As a nanny it seems more in your face because you see receipts and the actual purchases. (correct me if i'm wrong). Plus there are just too many cheap parents out there. I don't want to be one of them. Maybe my thinking has been affected by my last two jobs that i felt didn't respect me as a nanny. I'm still looking now and there are many families who don't offer a decent wages. I certainly wouldn't be thinking my nanny is in it because she loves kids. If i found one like that, i would consider myself lucky! Many nannies are really not. I don't buy into the 'nanny is part of the family' thinking. I believed it when i first started until i got a wake up call. It is a job and they just want to do their job well and get paid decently.

You are wrong, you dont know the family can afford to pay you more. Your wage as a nanny is determined by the market rate, your skill level, amount of experience, and the level of desperation of the family. It is not based on how many luxuries your employer buys at all. Their expenses in those areas may also be budgeted the same as their child care expenses are budgeted.

You are the one who is wrong. Most of us know there is no market rate. There is an average rate, but even that has yet to be established. If you think differently, please provide some evidence. Verbal claims by nannies or parents with inflated/deflated rates do not qualify as evidence.

[Anonymous]

There is no need to provide "evidence" for something like market rate. It's pretty simple. If a majority of ads are offering a similar rate range, and several parents report paying a similar rate range (parents have an edge on setting rates these days because the economy is such there are more nannies than jobs), and internet sites devoted to hiring nannies publish salary survey information to help parents understand market rates, that's plenty of information on appropriate salaries and constitutes a market rate.

No one is saying that a nanny who believes she is exceptional in some way shouldn't try to command an above market rate. But pretending like there isn't a market is silly. Besides, ignoring a market rate is detrimental to nannies as it allows a perception that those very low pay ads on care.com are legitimate because there are no average rates. Yes, PP, market rates are average rates. Knowing what they are in an area educates parents and nannies about how to begin their negotiations. They are not an endpoint. They are the starting point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There is no need to provide "evidence" for something like market rate. It's pretty simple. If a majority of ads are offering a similar rate range, and several parents report paying a similar rate range (parents have an edge on setting rates these days because the economy is such there are more nannies than jobs), and internet sites devoted to hiring nannies publish salary survey information to help parents understand market rates, that's plenty of information on appropriate salaries and constitutes a market rate.

No one is saying that a nanny who believes she is exceptional in some way shouldn't try to command an above market rate. But pretending like there isn't a market is silly. Besides, ignoring a market rate is detrimental to nannies as it allows a perception that those very low pay ads on care.com are legitimate because there are no average rates. Yes, PP, market rates are average rates. Knowing what they are in an area educates parents and nannies about how to begin their negotiations. They are not an endpoint. They are the starting point.

I guess you aren't the crazy mb who repeatly insists that no nanny can possibly be worth $25/hr.
My high paying jobs come to me through word of mouth. I imagine this is how top earning nannies prefer to be matched. It's a small segment of parents who can afford it. I don't imagine they have time to waste on sittercity or care.com.
Btw, I didn't start out thinking that I was "exceptional". It's with years of training and experience that I've accumulated a beautiful file of reference letters singing my praises in great detail. One mb went on with three pages of a type-written letter saying that she owed her professional success to the caliber of care I provided her child. She was able to focus on her job 100% of the time because she knew beyond doubt that her child was receiving the very best care possible.

[Anonymous]

That is me right now. Former nanny with a mother's helper and occasional sitter. That's it. No way I'd hire a nanny and DH makes more than enough for us to hire one.