Part-time housekeeper/nanny for tweens--possible? how much?

[Anonymous]

I will be moving back to the DC area next year after living overseas. We are so fortunate here to be able to afford a part-time helper who cooks, cleans, does some grocery shopping and laundry, and is present for our kids after school (now 11 and 12 years old, so they don't need a lot of supervision).

I would love to find some sort of similar arrangement next year, maybe 3-6pm or 3-7pm a few nights a week, just to have extra help at home as my husband and I will both work full-time. However, I'm most familiar with people in the DC area hiring nannies--who focus on child care for younger kids--or a cleaning service that comes for a few hours every other week.

Does anyone else have this sort of arrangement with someone who does a little bit of everything? How did you find such a person? (Seems like care.com forces you to choose between childcare vs. housework) Money is definitely a factor, as we are both federal employees. How much should I expect to pay?

Thanks for any experiences, advice, etc!

[Anonymous]

At least $20/hr. Look for a housekeeper type who doesn't mind that there'll be kids in the house.

[Anonymous]

Quite frankly at 11 and 12 years old your children should be able to cook, clean and do laundry. If you give them a list and cash they should be capable of going food shopping if you pick them up or help carry the bags home.

My kids are 9 and 12 and they do these things.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Quite frankly at 11 and 12 years old your children should be able to cook, clean and do laundry. If you give them a list and cash they should be capable of going food shopping if you pick them up or help carry the bags home.

My kids are 9 and 12 and they do these things.

You send your 9 year old to the grocery store alone after school to do the grocery shopping?

[Anonymous]

Since these hours aren't as appealing you might consider hiring someone from say 12-6 or 7pm so it's 30+ hours/week. The person might not need 3 hours a day to do all the non-kid-related stuff but if you were to offer guaranteed 30 hours/week I think the later hours might be more appealing.

Also I agree with PP that since you need someone who can drive and who's willing to do a lot of household tasks you'll likely wind up paying more. Maybe not $20/hour but between PT, evening hours, etc it might be close to that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Quite frankly at 11 and 12 years old your children should be able to cook, clean and do laundry. If you give them a list and cash they should be capable of going food shopping if you pick them up or help carry the bags home.

My kids are 9 and 12 and they do these things.

You send your 9 year old to the grocery store alone after school to do the grocery shopping?

I can absolutely drop them off at the supermarket to do the food shopping, while I go run a couple of other errands and then meet them back at the supermarket. They show me what they couldn't find or weren't sure of and I sometimes say to forget it or go back in with one while the other loads the trunk and then meets us back inside.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Quite frankly at 11 and 12 years old your children should be able to cook, clean and do laundry. If you give them a list and cash they should be capable of going food shopping if you pick them up or help carry the bags home.

My kids are 9 and 12 and they do these things.

As did mine. What is wrong with people who do not teach their children to take care of themselves? God help our future that will be populated with totally helpless adults!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At least $20/hr. Look for a housekeeper type who doesn't mind that there'll be kids in the house.

$20 clean no taxes.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thanks to folks who offered suggestions about wages, advertising for a housekeeper, hours, etc.

Where would you suggest advertising? Care.com? Local paper? (Maybe Spanish language, as that may be a good pool of applicants and I speak Spanish?) Other ideas?

[Anonymous]

I would post the job on care.com and see what type of applicants you get. I would also guess $20/hour and you'll need to guarantee the hours (vs getting home early and not paying then until 7 pm or something)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Thanks to folks who offered suggestions about wages, advertising for a housekeeper, hours, etc.

Where would you suggest advertising? Care.com? Local paper? (Maybe Spanish language, as that may be a good pool of applicants and I speak Spanish?) Other ideas?

List serve. What neighborhood are you moving to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Quite frankly at 11 and 12 years old your children should be able to cook, clean and do laundry. If you give them a list and cash they should be capable of going food shopping if you pick them up or help carry the bags home.

My kids are 9 and 12 and they do these things.

As did mine. What is wrong with people who do not teach their children to take care of themselves? God help our future that will be populated with totally helpless adults!

All these skills can be learned in high school and college. Do what works for your family.

[Anonymous]

OP, I have a similar need - I'd very much appreciate it if you can share your findings. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, I have a similar need - I'd very much appreciate it if you can share your findings. Thanks!

Why not use your neighborhood list serve?

[Anonymous]

PP - That's exactly what a friend suggested - but our neighborhood doesn't have one