Rate for mother's helper?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DCUM, land of $40/hr nannies!

DCUM, land of entitled mothers who think they deserve cheap care!

This exactly. Why the heck do parents feel entitled to cheap childcare?

In order to pay $40 an hour, someone has to make $80 an hour and very few professions pay that much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whether or not you think the job is easy is really not important. If it were so easy you wouldn't be looking for help at all. It's still someone else's time that they are providing to you. During this time, they can't do anything else (cook for themselves, clean up, run errands, make phone calls, answer emails, relax, watch television, read a book, or work for someone else). Their time is worth whatever they decide is fair. You aren't entitled to help just because you want it. Either pay someone a reasonable rate, hire whoever will accept a lower rate, or find a family member who will help you.

I was trying to say this (a bit more diplomatically) upthread, but I'll add, you had to pay roughly what this person would get if they decided to take a different job. What would the SAHM you want to hire expect if, instead, she got a part time job in a daycare? What would a college student make on campus without having to commute to your house?

The reason childcare can be much cheaper than the wages for alternative jobs is, frankly, lots of the women doing this work don't have legal status to work. But you're not even contemplating someone who doesn't have legal status or maybe doesn't speak much English (nor should you!). But that's the secret to paying low wages.

If someone is willing to take a caregiving job then they are no longer a SAHM. A SAHM wants to care for her family, not yours. Many are very educated in this area, including having high level professional jobs and master's degrees.

[Anonymous]

it's mother, I can't rate it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG, find someone you think you’d like to hire, and ASK them!!!!

Sorry, OP, you’re a busy mom with twin babies. Please forgive my frustration here.

Yeah I have three kids 2 and under I did ask and thought what she asked ($20+ in cash/hr) was outrageous. I don't want a teenager. I want someone like a SAHM whose kids are at school in the am or a responsible college student. This is the schedule that works and would be guaranteed 20hrs/week. Hence need a ballpark idea. Again, will never be left alone, live near metro. Only requirement to literally help me when I need to pump or both are screaming.

Every nanny knows that’s never how it will be. You’ll have job creep. $20/hr is not outrageous.

[Anonymous]

$20/hr is cheap for the Washington DC area. That's a fact in my experience.

Now $40/hr might be outrageous, depending on the needs of your child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OMG, find someone you think you’d like to hire, and ASK them!!!!

Sorry, OP, you’re a busy mom with twin babies. Please forgive my frustration here.

Yeah I have three kids 2 and under I did ask and thought what she asked ($20+ in cash/hr) was outrageous. I don't want a teenager. I want someone like a SAHM whose kids are at school in the am or a responsible college student. This is the schedule that works and would be guaranteed 20hrs/week. Hence need a ballpark idea. Again, will never be left alone, live near metro. Only requirement to literally help me when I need to pump or both are screaming.

You think you will get a SAHM for $10/hr? $20/hr is reasonable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you literally ONLY NEED someone to hold one baby while you hold the other, then hire a 12 year old. Seriously.

A 12 year old will be THRILLED with $10/hr. A 12 year old isn't really old enough to have boyfriends or other social life so they can probably dedicate any hours you want to you.
Summer is coming soon, and they will have lots of free time. By the time school starts in September, you will know them very well, will have trained them to know your needs, etc. Keep hiring them a couple afternoons a week to help out. By the time they are 14 you will have an AMAZING sitter that you can trust.

Yes, this. I have a 15 yo dd who wants to work so badly this summer but she's not 16 yet-she has lots of experience working with children (volunteers at church and with kids with special needs, also babysits) and she would excel at a gig like this. We aren't local to this forum but maybe you can find a teen like that.