Rehiring our former nanny

[Anonymous]

Sorry if this long.
Back in 2012 we hired a nanny to care for our first child.
She was great. She didn't do the household stuff some of my friends nannies do , but she was great with our daughter.
We let her go after a year, because my husband was able to work from home and we were able to use my mom and sister as back up.
Fast forward to now I am pregnant with twin boys due in late March.

We are going to need regular help when the twins arrive.

I know for a fact our former nanny is looking for a job.
I also know she has experience caring for infant twins.

Would it be strange to call her up and see if she would be interested in being our nanny again?

In the last year we have seen her 3 times our last two visits she cancelled.

[Anonymous]

OP again what should we offer her to return? We originally paid $18 per hour.

[Anonymous]

I would offer at least 22 even 25 with infant twins and a toddler... If you want house work on top of that maybe even more! Definitely approach Her! If she sees you posting looking she may feel hurt you didn't ask her

[Anonymous]

Stop inflating wages.

[Anonymous]

Of course you can talk with her - it's great to have the option of a known person, who also knows you. HOwever, do not rule out doing a new search. There are lots of nannies out there (with multiples experience) who are worth meeting.

Think long and carefully about what your ideal nanny would bring to the job. Build a job description and ad driven by that and then present it to your former nanny (if you think she can do what you need) to see if she's interested.

Without knowing where you live and some of the other details of your job it's difficult to assess rates. (And you'll see how wide-ranging and vitriolic this issue gets on this forum.)

I live in Montgomery County MD and I think $18/hr is on the high end for one child.

I have twins and I pay less than $18/hr for a wonderfully competent nanny who has been with us for years (since the twins were infants). When I have needed short-term care, or longer chunks of care (when our nanny was on medical leave or vacation) I have paid $18-20/hr for nannies hired through an agency. There were nannies from the agency that wouldn't take on twins for less than $22-24, but there were plenty for me to choose from in the below $20/hr range.

So you need to think about your total compensation package - how many hours a week (so any overtime?) benefits, other compensation, working conditions, etc...

Twins are tough, and three kids is really tricky. This is a special person you need to find. People like this are out there, but you'll probably need/want to test the market a bit to see what's possible in your area.

Don't just limit yourself to a former nanny who was ok but not great (especially if she's been unreliable with simply social things recently.)

Congrats and good luck w/ the next few months!

[Anonymous]

I'm not sure what you mean. We did pay her $18 an hour actually a little over which is on the higher end, but don't know if it would be reasonable to ask her back at the same rate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would offer at least 22 even 25 with infant twins and a toddler... If you want house work on top of that maybe even more! Definitely approach Her! If she sees you posting looking she may feel hurt you didn't ask her

+1

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what you mean. We did pay her $18 an hour actually a little over which is on the higher end, but don't know if it would be reasonable to ask her back at the same rate.

No, it would not be reasonable to ask her back at the same rate. Nannies generally get an increase for added children (especially infant twins) and cost of living increase.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm not sure what you mean. We did pay her $18 an hour actually a little over which is on the higher end, but don't know if it would be reasonable to ask her back at the same rate.

No - you would need to pay her more. You can't add infant twins and expect her to work the same rate. But you can also find other nanny options for all three kids, possibly with a higher level of care than you experienced with your former nanny, for the same rate you were paying her - depending where you are, total package, market availability, etc...

[Anonymous]

Duh - of course you can't offer her the same rate !

$18 was for one child, now there'd be 3. Even if your 1st child is in school during the day, there'd still be times when she has all three kids.

I'd pay $25 an hour and add some simple housework tasks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Stop inflating wages.

Please go away. You're really not wanted here.

[Anonymous]

OP you could find a nanny for $14-15 an hour and that is including housework! Why would you consider paying $18 an hour again for a lazy nanny?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Duh - of course you can't offer her the same rate !

$18 was for one child, now there'd be 3. Even if your 1st child is in school during the day, there'd still be times when she has all three kids.

I'd pay $25 an hour and add some simple housework tasks.

Can you even afford $25 an hour?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP you could find a nanny for $14-15 an hour and that is including housework! Why would you consider paying $18 an hour again for a lazy nanny?

No one said this nanny is lazy !

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Duh - of course you can't offer her the same rate !

$18 was for one child, now there'd be 3. Even if your 1st child is in school during the day, there'd still be times when she has all three kids.

I'd pay $25 an hour and add some simple housework tasks.

Can you even afford $25 an hour?

This is what I pay my nanny.