Do nannies expect $ when they don't work?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No OP's nanny has hit the jackpot. The OP is free to do whatever she wants with her money. If she wants to double pay that is fine. I do find this post highly suspicious and unlikely to be true. Why anyone would would up their rate by $10 after a few months is strange. If OP was willing to pay that amount (which is unnecessary) she would have done it from the beginning.


It is sad to me that you find this suspicious, because I believe people should be compensated for the quality of their work. Up to the point we hired her, our childcare help had largely been younger students, and while they were often great, they spent a fair amount of time checking their phone, and did nothing except interact with the kids (just one child at that time actually). That was fine because we didn't ask for them to do more. With our current nanny, she went far above and beyond what we had asked of her, and I felt the extra was worth $10 more dollars an hour. I used to spend my entire weekend doing laundry - now I don't. I used to have a chaotic mess to clean up after the other nannies left, because kids make messes when they are playing and having fun, which was fine with me, but it was still another task for me to do when I was pretty tired after a long day. Plus all the other things she just took on and did around our house. I'm sorry that you find it suspicious that someone doing all of these things wouldn't be worth $10 more an hour to you, but to me it is definitely worth it. I gladly, and with no regrets, hand her that check at the end of every week. To me, she is worth every penny.

I find this suspicious as well and doubt you are an MB. If you are, you are sadly uneducated and spending your money foolishly.

The only extra your nanny may be doing is family laundry, hardly worth $10 more an hour. She should already be cleaning up after the children. That is a standard nanny responsibility.

Of course, you can spend your money as you wish. But don't fool yourself. You don't have an exceptional nanny who is going above and beyond. You have a nanny doing a good job who you are overpaying.

You are the ultimate fool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PTO is paid time off.

Unless your nanny is super nanny, you are being extremely generous in how much you pay her. You pay her too much.

Do you give her vacation or sick days? I understand you pay her when you go away, but what about when she needs vacation or gets sick days? Is that something you negotiated upfront? It doesn't appear to be the case.
And yes, while she is a part time sitter, you do have set hours for her, it isn't as if you call her and see if she is available.

We pay her the amount we do because we believe that people deserve a living wage. What do most nannies get paid? Much less than that would seem impossible to live on in DC. We do not give her vacation or sick days, because if I don't work, I don't get paid and therefore have no funds to pay her. Each year, I save throughout the year to be able to pay her for the summer because I don't have students during the summer (my work is tied to the school year).

You are right and deserve to be commended for your respect for the work that dedicated nannies do. Your paying the nanny $33./hr speaks volumes of the outstanding human being you are. I hope you continue to be vocal about this very important issue.

There are countless parents I know who earn quadruple your income, yet pay their child's nanny half as much as you do. You are outstanding and richly deserve all the best.

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you,
on behalf of all nannies who love their work

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
No OP's nanny has hit the jackpot. The OP is free to do whatever she wants with her money. If she wants to double pay that is fine. I do find this post highly suspicious and unlikely to be true. Why anyone would would up their rate by $10 after a few months is strange. If OP was willing to pay that amount (which is unnecessary) she would have done it from the beginning.


It is sad to me that you find this suspicious, because I believe people should be compensated for the quality of their work. Up to the point we hired her, our childcare help had largely been younger students, and while they were often great, they spent a fair amount of time checking their phone, and did nothing except interact with the kids (just one child at that time actually). That was fine because we didn't ask for them to do more. With our current nanny, she went far above and beyond what we had asked of her, and I felt the extra was worth $10 more dollars an hour. I used to spend my entire weekend doing laundry - now I don't. I used to have a chaotic mess to clean up after the other nannies left, because kids make messes when they are playing and having fun, which was fine with me, but it was still another task for me to do when I was pretty tired after a long day. Plus all the other things she just took on and did around our house. I'm sorry that you find it suspicious that someone doing all of these things wouldn't be worth $10 more an hour to you, but to me it is definitely worth it. I gladly, and with no regrets, hand her that check at the end of every week. To me, she is worth every penny.

I find this suspicious as well and doubt you are an MB. If you are, you are sadly uneducated and spending your money foolishly.

The only extra your nanny may be doing is family laundry, hardly worth $10 more an hour. She should already be cleaning up after the children. That is a standard nanny responsibility.

Of course, you can spend your money as you wish. But don't fool yourself. You don't have an exceptional nanny who is going above and beyond. You have a nanny doing a good job who you are overpaying.

OP here: This thread has just totally been a reality check for me. My original post was my first visit to the nanny forum. Because of the strange turn that this thread took, I found myself feeling like I had to justify our reasons for the amount we pay our nanny, but ultimately it was a reminder to me of all that our nanny contributes to our family. My original question was no longer relevant to me.

You can doubt away, but I am a MB. Telling me I am uneducated and foolish is just a lazy, judgmental way of thinking. You and I clearly have different ideas regarding how we should be treating and valuing other people, especially the people that are such an important part of the structure that makes our family work. Maybe before insulting me, you should have read my posts, but since you didn't feel the need to be fully informed before judging me, let me state my reasons again. She doesn't just do laundry and clean up after the kids. She tackles any and all of the things that need to be taken care of. My eternal list of "things to do when I have time" has shrunk to almost nothing since she's been with us. Cleaning out closets, sorting the girls toys and clothes as they are outgrown, deep cleaning the fridge, the cabinets, the clutter that can collect, fixing things that need to be repaired - she seeks out and tackles almost anything that needs to be done. And let's not forget that she is amazing with my kids (if you want details, see the previous posts). Do you know what a relief it is to not have all of those things still on my list? To be able to go to work and thoroughly focus and enjoy myself because I know my kids are getting the best possible care? That they are happy and safe? So go ahead and call me a fool, because I can't change the lens through which you see the world and what is of value in your eyes. To try would just be a waste of time.

[Anonymous]

I do not think it is nuts to pay someone fabulous that much. What I think is nuts is to pay her that much when it equals out to how much your take-home is after working (in most cases) unless the work is simply a professional requirement to keep a foot in the door.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not think it is nuts to pay someone fabulous that much. What I think is nuts is to pay her that much when it equals out to how much your take-home is after working (in most cases) unless the work is simply a professional requirement to keep a foot in the door.

Who are you to determine the valve of anything for another person?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I do not think it is nuts to pay someone fabulous that much. What I think is nuts is to pay her that much when it equals out to how much your take-home is after working (in most cases) unless the work is simply a professional requirement to keep a foot in the door.

NP here: I earn about half of what our not-so-fabulous nanny earns. We have 3 kids under 4, and I work part time just to keep my foot in the door. Having the nanny full time gives us a lot of flexibility as a family, and means the older kids can take classes without disrupting the baby's naps all the time.

But, my salary doesn't pay our nanny. The family income, including my DH's pays it. I would totally pay what this woman pays for someone who does what her "nanny" (she's a Household Manager, really) does. I'm thinking about hiring someone at $20/hr for 10-12 hours a week to do that work. If I could pay our nanny $30/hr and get all that in one person, absolutely!

[Anonymous]

Damnnnnnnnnnn $30 an hour? She HAS IT MADEEE!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Damnnnnnnnnnn $30 an hour? She HAS IT MADEEE!!!

She's doing somethin' riiiiiiight!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Damnnnnnnnnnn $30 an hour? She HAS IT MADEEE!!!

Are you a nanny? If so, would you do all that she does for $30 an hour?

It's not as though she's sitting around eating Bon bons and doing her nails.

She has it made, in the sense that she has MADE it what it is. She is valued for the excellent work she does and all that she contributes to the family. This isn't rocket science.

[Anonymous]

^ and she got lucky enough to find a family that does not care that the pay exceeds what the MB makes while nanny is working for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^ and she got lucky enough to find a family that does not care that the pay exceeds what the MB makes while nanny is working for them.

That is not what I said. I said that at the end of things, we basically break even. Plus, I get to go out and do work I find very full fulling and that makes me happy. Then I'm a better mom when I am home the other half of the week. Happiness and balance are pretty priceless in my opinion.

[Anonymous]

"That is not what I said. I said that at the end of things, we basically break even. Plus, I get to go out and do work I find very full fulling and that makes me happy. Then I'm a better mom when I am home the other half of the week. Happiness and balance are pretty priceless in my opinion. "

Fine. Basic point remains - most families employing a nanny for a sizable part of the week are relying on the mom's earnings to pay for bills and other stuff. So even breaking even on the nanny's salary does not allow for that sso it's a nice luxury but not going to work for most families employing a nanny.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"That is not what I said. I said that at the end of things, we basically break even. Plus, I get to go out and do work I find very full fulling and that makes me happy. Then I'm a better mom when I am home the other half of the week. Happiness and balance are pretty priceless in my opinion. "

Fine. Basic point remains - most families employing a nanny for a sizable part of the week are relying on the mom's earnings to pay for bills and other stuff. So even breaking even on the nanny's salary does not allow for that sso it's a nice luxury but not going to work for most families employing a nanny.

No one said everything should work for most families. Give it a rest already. Thanks.