Different rates for nannying vs babysitting?

[Anonymous]

We pay our nanny over $20/hr to care for our 2 toddlers. We pay the couple evening babysitters we use $15/hr. We pay less b/c all the sitters have to do is play for at most an hour, then puttge kids in bed and watch the monitor. We feed, bathe, put on jammies, etc. before we go. Our nanny recently said she'd like the opportunity for some evening babysitting jobs. Of course we'd love to hire her, but our evenings out are already so expensive at $15/he. Is it normal to pay a nanny a lower hourly rate for evening babysitting?

[Anonymous]

Our nanny gets $25 an hour and when we go out we always want the nanny and pay her $25 an hour still. If she is unavailable we will call our old nanny who we keep in touch with as backup and pay her $15 an hour for babysitting.

My opinion is if you ask the nanny to "stay", like she nannied all day and then you go out right after work and she continues on to babysit you should pay her her typical rate. But based on your original comments you always are there to do the feeding/bath routine so that means any would come in just to babysit so you could pay her a "babysitting rate." Just let her know now that you pay less for babysitting and that if she is interested you are happy to give her first priority.

[Anonymous]

It makes no sense to pay the same person a lesser rate just because the kids will be asleep.

Caring for a child is a huge responsibility and the liability issues are huge.

Some days are easier than other days. Such is the type of work children entail.

Just because a child will be sleeping should not equal less pay. I think you are being cheap. No offense please.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It makes no sense to pay the same person a lesser rate just because the kids will be asleep.

Caring for a child is a huge responsibility and the liability issues are huge.

Some days are easier than other days. Such is the type of work children entail.

Just because a child will be sleeping should not equal less pay. I think you are being cheap. No offense please.

Being a childs nanny and raising them, planning things to teach them, taking them places, watching them at the park, supervising playdates is EXACTLY the same as watching TV from 8-10:30 while they sleep and parents catch a movie. :roll eyes:

[Anonymous]

Since your nanny asked tell her the deal: oh, we've been paying various sitters $15/hr for 4-6 hour babysitting gigs where the kids are set up for bed and go to sleep at 7pm. If you are interested in that at those terms we can let you know when some events come up. Just let us know if that is something you are interested in.

That simple. Not a way to juice overtime, it's nighttime babysitting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We pay our nanny over $20/hr to care for our 2 toddlers. We pay the couple evening babysitters we use $15/hr. We pay less b/c all the sitters have to do is play for at most an hour, then puttge kids in bed and watch the monitor. We feed, bathe, put on jammies, etc. before we go. Our nanny recently said she'd like the opportunity for some evening babysitting jobs. Of course we'd love to hire her, but our evenings out are already so expensive at $15/he. Is it normal to pay a nanny a lower hourly rate for evening babysitting?

No, it isn't standard at all. I would never even bring that up with our nanny. If $5 more an hour is going to break you then continue to hire lesser sitters at $15 and hour and please do not insult your nanny.

[Anonymous]

I am still my charge's nanny when I work in the evenings. I have the same education, emergency training, and experience in the evening that I do in the day time. I am also extremely familiar with my charge and his moods/fears and will not need to call my employers while they are out -- I know what is truly important and what I can handle. I also know my way around their home and will usually get a load or two of my charge's laundry done in the evening or make some homemade food for him for the next day.

Why would I ever expect to be paid less?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am still my charge's nanny when I work in the evenings. I have the same education, emergency training, and experience in the evening that I do in the day time. I am also extremely familiar with my charge and his moods/fears and will not need to call my employers while they are out -- I know what is truly important and what I can handle. I also know my way around their home and will usually get a load or two of my charge's laundry done in the evening or make some homemade food for him for the next day.

Why would I ever expect to be paid less?

If a doctor is having money troubles and offers to wash my car do I need to pay him extra because he has a Doctorate and lots of years experience being a doctor? No. And the parents don't need a college educated career nanny to watch tv while their child sleeps as they catch a movie. So you can either take the reduced pay or bow out and take nothing. No ones forcing you to do anything.

[Anonymous]

If my nanny babysits at night we pay the same hourly rate. But if we use a teenager to babysit we pay much less.

My nanny will not pare down what she does when she babysits. She WILL give a bath, she will go the extra mile. She won't just keep the kids alive. She won't just watch tv with them until bedtime. She'll make up stories, play games, clean up any messes they make, and overall go above and beyond just as she does during her nanny days.

[Anonymous]

Ok, but let's say paying the nanny's rate for babysitting isn't the the cards. For whatever reason. What's the best procedure? Just turn down her request?

I could see the insult if the parents approached the nanny about sitting at a lessor rate. But what's the gracious way to handle it when the nanny approaches the parents?

[Anonymous]

In my experience as a nanny babysitters make more because its less time and let's say you only pay 8 per hr it's not worth a babysitters time. I however charge 10 per hr no matter what for nannying, babysitting 1 child, 5 children. I just can't go lower

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Since your nanny asked tell her the deal: oh, we've been paying various sitters $15/hr for 4-6 hour babysitting gigs where the kids are set up for bed and go to sleep at 7pm. If you are interested in that at those terms we can let you know when some events come up. Just let us know if that is something you are interested in.

That simple. Not a way to juice overtime, it's nighttime babysitting.

This is good advice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am still my charge's nanny when I work in the evenings. I have the same education, emergency training, and experience in the evening that I do in the day time. I am also extremely familiar with my charge and his moods/fears and will not need to call my employers while they are out -- I know what is truly important and what I can handle. I also know my way around their home and will usually get a load or two of my charge's laundry done in the evening or make some homemade food for him for the next day.

Why would I ever expect to be paid less?

+1 MB here and I would never think to pay our nanny less because it is dark outside and the kids are asleep. I don't pay her less when the kids are napping.

[Anonymous]

Another MB who pays our nanny the same rate whether she is working her regular hours or the occasional evening.

To me, it is a safety and comfort issue. DC is twenty-months-old and his nanny has been with him since his birth. She knows his cries - she knows when something is not right with him. If he wakes up crying and sees his nanny he is as comfortable and comforted as if he sees DH or me. I know our nanny can handle ANYTHING that might happen.

To each his own, I suppose. For me, it would be a foolish economy to have a less expensive babysitter come when our son's nanny was available.

[Anonymous]

If I ask our nanny to babysit I am required, by law, to pay her at overtime rates.

That is prohibitive for us so we don't use her for babysitting. It has nothing to do w/ her - she's terrific, but what we would legally be required to pay her is roughly double what we can pay someone else. It's the difference between getting out w/ my husband or not quite frankly.