I am not the poster above, but I agree that $1-2 is standard for a new baby raise. As for the person who questioned if that is what the PP gets paid, that's not really relevant unless the PP is a nanny. Rates in the nanny field are driven by supply and demand in the nanny market, not by pay scales at the parents' jobs. Nevertheless, it is worth noting that a nanny who goes from $15 per hour to $17 per hour based on the added responsibility of a new baby has just received a raise of more than 13%. That would be considered a fabulous increase in most jobs where the workload increased due to changing employer needs but fell short of being an entirely different job or promotion. |
You're new here, huh? Newborn care IS a different job than caring for toddlers and older children. Hence the popularity of baby nurses and now, newborn care specialists. Of course you may belong to the "anyone can do it" camp. Good luck to you. I've witnessed parents who struggled with how to hold their baby, let anything more advanced than that, like feeding, calming a screaming baby, etc. Your apples and oranges comparason resulting in a 13% raise, is ignorant, at best. |
Absolutely true. PP is the one who is ignorant. |
Nope, not new here and not new to newborn care either. Very few nannies have full time responsibility for a newborn infant. Typically they take over when the mother returns to work at 3-6 months. And even if they were to be fully responsible for the newborn's care in the first few months, the newborn period is very short-lived. Thus, no one pays baby nurse/newborn care specialist rates on a permanent basis and it is absurd for nannies to think they should get a raise of more than 13% on the ground that the first few months with a newborn require a somewhat different skill set than caring for an older infant or toddler. Newborn care specialists typically command a higher rate than traditional nannies specifically because they are usually self- or agency-employed (so the parents are not responsible for taxes) and each job typically lasts only a couple of weeks to a couple of months. |
I'd suggest giving her a $1 raise and then perhaps a bonus this year at Christmas. You don't want to price yourself out of this nanny unless you plan on switching on another year or two anyway. Its completely appropriate that your nanny will be able to do fewer light housekeeping tasks when the baby is young. Its good that your nanny is bringing this up proactively and not just thinking you expect her to keep doing it or just decide to not do it. A newborn won't be a newborn forever. Once the baby settles into a regular and longer nap schedule the tasks should return. Flexibility should always go both ways. |
Um...that's a second baby, right? So I think we can all safely assume that the mom knows how to hold them and feed them. Honestly, newborn care isn't terribly difficult. Comparing a newborn period to my now 3-year old toddler, right now parenting is way more difficult (other than sleep deprivation). Baby nurses may make more money, but you're talking about someone who is in the picture only for a few weeks, not long-term. The nanny isn't a kind of newborn specialist who gets called in for a few weeks to ease the transition to new parenting, she's a regular nanny. The mom, presumably, will be on maternity leave for some time, so the newborn period is sort of covered. |
Anyone who isn't pleased with a dollar increase to take on the care and responsibility of a newborn, should simply get a new job and be done with the insane parents who believe that's what baby care is worth. |
"just received a raise of more than 13%."
good point. I think speaking in %age terms more often would be useful, particularly for those of us working in fields where the customary raise is a handful of percentage points. Or better yet, what the raise would amount to on a yearly basis. $1 sounds like not a lot since it's an hrly figure. Even weekly amounts often sound relatively small but if you sum up the %age change or the annual total it's a respectable increase. |
This exactly. |
Let's see how else we can frame it so the not-so-bright nanny won't notice she's being had. |
The nanny is not "being had". She is receiving a 13% increase on pay, well above average. In most industries a 3-5% increase is considered the norm. |
Hint: No one doubles their workload for a 5% raise, or even a 13% raise. Not every nanny is that stupid, but you are right. Some of them are. |
A nanny's workload does not double when an additional child is added to the family. Instead, the attention available to each child and to household chores diminishes. |
Don't you educate yourself? "Helicopters" are a detriment, NOT an asset. Most of us understand that simple concept. |
![]() |