Nannies- Critique our Job Offer/Description
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Anonymous
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Hi Everyone, So here is the deal. We are looking to start a nanny share in DC. There will be 3 boys (15 months, 19 months, and 16 months). Currently all 3 boys are in the same daycare and in general we are having a good experience. However, the daycare is going through some changes- and it seems like it is not fitting our needs. One of our favorite teachers from the room approached us about doing a nanny share with the boys. We are not sold on the idea- and neither is she, we are just talking at this point. Making the change from daycare to nanny would be a true transition for all of us and we just want to make sure we know what we are getting into. It is also important to note that all families live in the same condo building.
Question 1: Pay. We were thinking 1000 a week. Is this crazy low? Question 2: Hours: Hours would be 8-6, M-F but not all the kids for the entire time. For example our kiddo would be 9-4, another boy is 8-5, and the third boy is 10-6. Not that it matters- her time is all on the clock- but at least it would be staggered. Question 3: Time Off. We are all of the week of Christmas/new years and federal holidays. We were thinking of giving the same (paid) time off. How many more vacation does are typical? Question 4: What are forgetting? All Moms are also in agreement that there would be no extra duties- other than hanging out with the kids. Please critique or flame away! |
Anonymous
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Yes, $1000 is crazy low. I will offer pay ideas tomorrow when not on my phone. Briefly, I think all 3 families should pay at the very least $8 per shared hour with applicable OT. $12 per hour for solo care, and $10/hour for duo care. The math makes my head hurt, frankly.
Where will the share be hosted? Does that family have room for separate nap spaces and space to store equipment, food and toys? How will Nanny transport the kids? Who will purchase the triple stroller? Typical pto is 15 days plus the federal holidays parents are off. Nanny usually gets to choose 1 week of pto. What will the sick child policy be? If the host child is ill, who will be the alternate host? What happens if life intervenes and a family welcomes a second child, gets transferred, or leaves to return to daycare? Do all 3 sets of parents share the same or very similar parenting philosophies? If not, can all parents agree to accept nanny's choices when she is in charge? |
Anonymous
| I agree that $1000 is crazy low. We pay our nanny slightly more than that for 3 children NOT in a share and it's for only 40 hrs/week vs your 50. Typically in a share each family pays overall less than they would for their own nanny but combined the nanny makes more than she would working for just 1 family with the same number of children. It's more work for a nanny to take care of 3 kids from 3 different families than 3 from 1 family. |
Anonymous
$20 an hour/$1000 a week for an unskilled, no education, simple in the grand scheme of things job sounds pretty good to me! |
Anonymous
| Do a bit of searching on the forum as this topic has been covered extensively. PPs are pointed you in the right direction. You will want to visit nanny payroll websites to learn about taxes and employment laws. |
Anonymous
Ha ha ha! Simple job? Have you ever taken care of 3 toddlers? I care for toddler triplets and my days are BUSY! Never simple and never easy. This job is harder. |
Anonymous
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Honestly, for me the hours would be a negative. I don't mind the 10 hours. But having the kids arrive an hour apart, her day wouldn't really start until 10. Considering lunch and nap would be around noon, she wouldn't have a lot of time outside. I take care of toddler boys and we're outside all morning. I see that as a major set back.
The pay seems low considering the difficulty of the nanny share and dealing with three sets of parents. I would definitely rethink the hours. |
Anonymous
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In my opinion, I wouldn't be sold on the idea because any human being who would agree to care for three children in that age range for those hours, Mon-Fri is just out of her mind! Honestly OP, you couldn't pay me a million and I mean that literally!
For one person, that is going to be the toughest job in the world, even Obama's job doesn't compare. And she won't have the benefit of any dedicated lunch breaks or 15 min. breaks during the day either. Whether or not she will admit it to you, she WILL eventually get burned out. Big time. And no one will suffer more than those three precious children. I say re-consider. |
Anonymous
I never said it wasn't busy and I never said it was easy... I said it was unskilled work and simple. Many unskilled jobs are busy, not easy, and thankless (steel worker, garbageman, McDonalds worker, etc.) and compared to all the no degree requiring options, nannying looks like a sweet gig which is why it's probably filled with so many applicants with no experience. |
Anonymous
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I'd do it for $1000 net. I don't think it's crazy low, but it also depends on where you are located. I've done 3-4 toddlers in a share and it's really not THAT hard, they were all boys and all the ages you mention. You don't get out as much, and when you do, you tend to stay fairly close. (Are you on a bus line for the occasional longer outing?) Nanny needs to be organized and have everything SHE needs to get through the day (coffee, tampons, advil, healthy lunch etc) and if she's feeling good, the kids will be fine. The boys need to be on the same/similar nap schedule so she gets a break. A good nanny can make this happen and it's not a big deal. I've done it. Don't listen to the lazy nannies who don't want to work.
Main things to consider are whose house, where will they sleep, who's the backup house, will you rotate, is the late parent willing to drop off at alternate location if nanny wants to get out for an outing early in the day, how will food work (I found it worked best when all the kids ate the same thing so they weren't fighting over each other's better looking food.) Is there a park or similar place nearby so they can get outside w/o too much effort? Does someone have a wagon she can use? (Cheaper than triple stroller and probably easier to maneuver.) do you have backup care if nanny is sick/needs a personal day? do each of you have your own backup or will the backup need to watch all three kids? those are the main things I can think of. |
Anonymous
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My biggest question is has this teacher been a nanny before ? Has she independently been in charge of a group of small children before?
There is a difference in daycare and nanny care I've done both. She will be completely responsible during the day no true breaks or a coworker to split responsibilities with. Also having been a head teacher in daycare I can say that often the overly bubbly teacher at pick up and drop off is the laziest teacher during the day or the center of the drama during the day. Think very carefully before you hire her and make sure she is not just after good pay. If you truly want to go a nanny route I would look into both individual and share situations. If you decide on a nanny I would interview other candidates in addition to this teacher. |
Anonymous
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I don't know. $1000 divided by 50 hours/week (8 to 6 is 50 hours/week) is $20/hour. Of course that's pre-tax, and you'll want to do taxes, etc. right? Or are you thinking under the table, just paying cash? (some families do this, it depends on your job whether you can be found to be paying someone under the table)
I think the biggest challenge is the logistics - sounds all happiness and light given the boys are already friends. But where are you going to do this? I think the family who is always the host will eventually sick and tired of the pack and plays or whatever napping system you use all over the house... . and with toddlers you really do need enough of most toys so they can play the same thing but since they can't share yet, you have to have multiple buses, puzzles, blocks, etc. So one person's house will look like a childcare center while the other 2 get off 'scot free". So I think if you shared it from house to house for one week it might be better - so everyone has a week in their house (less rushed in the AM getting to childcare) but then has 2 weeks at other houses... and yet being at one place for an entire week gives some continuity for the week for the kids and nanny. But how will they all nap at once? Will you purchase mats (Discount School Supplies has these) and nap in one room, at the same time? (like they already do in childcare) or will they each sleep in a bedroom, in which case all those rooms need to be 300% childproofed in case they woke up and got off their mats and the nanny didn't know it (yes, she'll check on them but honestly she can't be in 3 bedrooms at once and there will be a bit of time they are wandering in a room unattended unless they are great about calling/yelling/coming out when they are done with naps. And you can't have 3 cribs in a house unless you authentically have triplets because who the heck wants that? and who will purchase that triplet stroller because she'll need it while they are this age to get anywhere, and you want her to go outside to the park where they can get out and run, run, run every freakin' day. in a fully enclosed play area where she can see all 3 of them while helping them play. It's possible to do, but it needs to be done safely or she won't feel safe and you'll find her not taking them out of the stroller much. by the way, does she like to go outside and see the importance of daily outdoor play (not just walks in strollers)? or does she only take the kids out because it's the rule at daycare and her boss gets after her or the other coteacher loves it so she does it? many of my teachers were like either of the latter. Hate to be negativity nelly, and it might work. let's see, some positives: all 3 kids are the same age, so their toys and interests are similar. they know each other and you know the teacher. you live close by. but the negatives keep coming up - do you really live in a condo big enough for 3 active boys all day? and would you trust the teacher to think of interesting and creative activities that could be done (painting, playdough, glue collages, water play somehow or other, washing dolls and toys in the sink, finger paint, playing with toys, listening and dancing to music, outdoor play, etc.) with 3 toddlers in a house that isn't designed for this like a childcare center is? (as in, at a chidlcare center there isn't a beautiful couch that simply cannot get paint on it, there isn't a tv, remote and DVR that simply cannot be touched or poked or pushed, there isn't a toilet they can dump toys in and flush, kitchen doors to pull open, stools to climb onto and stand on the kitchen counter.... with 3 toddlers (think TRIPLETS) in the exploration and climbing stage, all of these things might be an issue. Or not, some kids are easy, others are not.... If you paid $400 a family then it would be $1200 total and $400 a week is $1600 a month and surely your childcare is more expensive than that? Also, how would you do food? each family send lunch and snacks for the day or the host family has enough food for the nanny to make and cook lunch and snacks? of course everyone would bring their own diapers, wipes, extra clothing, sheets and blankets for nap. Perhaps each family would pack their lunch and the host family would provide snacks. do you all agree on the type of snacks, type of food, interest in outdoor time (lenght of time and when it's too cold to go out, too wet to go out, too hot to go out), etc? Because all 3 parents are the boss, so she'd have 3 bosses to please, and honestly many things would have to give at the same time because it's a nanny share, not an individual nanny who can do it 100% of the way the parents want. |
nannydebsays
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Adding on to my post from last night, I think one PP raised a great question - has this woman been a nanny before? Does she understand that, depending upon the parameters she is given around outings, she may not see another adult 10 hours a day? Is she able to cope with no breaks at all on days when nap time fails to take place for one or more kiddos? Is she prepared to keep 3 toddler boys occupied up to 10 hours a day? Also, I assume the family that needs the longest hours would host. Are they equipped with inside and outside space for 3 toddlers to burn off energy? And looking at hours you listed, that assumption is wrong unless the 8 - 5 family is happy to have the 10 - 6 kiddo stay at their home with nanny for an extra hour?? Honestly, if I were considering this, the staggered hours would become frustrating. If the 10 am arriver is a slow to adapt child who takes 30 minutes to fully transition, that might mean little to no chance for even the smallest outing since lunch would have to be at noonish so naps could be had at 1 or so. Regarding money:
9 - 4: 35 hours a week at $10/hour is $350 10 - 6: 40 hours a week at $10/hour is $400 8 - 5: 45 hours a week at $10/hour plus overtime is $475 Total weekly GROSS pay is $1225. That pay needs to be guaranteed, with no banking hours, no losing pay if you choose not to use nanny, etc. The ONLY time her check would change would be if she worked additional hours, and that rate should be her OT rate of $15/hour regardless of which family needs extra coverage. The absolute bare minimum hourly rate needs to be $10/hour. I think trying to juggle 3 kid rate vs. 2 kid rate vs. 1 kid rate would eventually drive you all insane. Set an hourly rate per family, set an OT rate per family, and don't adjust or juggle. If you need an extra 3 hours one week, pay at the OT rate for that time, period. OP, this sounds very difficult to do, but it's not impossible. For a 3 way share to work, lines of communication MUST be fully open at all times, parents MUST be on the same page, and nanny MUST feel as if she can talk to you all without judgement if issues come up. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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Op here, we would never bank hours. Not even sure how that is fair to anyone. But I think it's important to note that. We are 3 blocks from a metro line. A mile from smithsonians ect.
Thanks for the constitutive feedback. Will think about it over the weekend and write more on Monday! |
Anonymous
| NP here. While I've never done a share with 3 kids (only 2), I do have three kids myself who have varing schedules with our nanny. Instead of paying 3 different rates, I pay just one generous rate. To simplify things, have all three families pay for 40 hours--the 35 hour family would most likely need to pay full time anywhere else so trying to accommodate their savings is just silly. Then, specify an overtime rate for the one family who needs 45. This would be the easiest way and the most fair to the nanny. |