Am I overpaying my nanny?

[Anonymous]

Several friends of mine said that I am overpaying my nanny for her level of experience. What do you think?

My nanny watches my two year old 40 hours per week, 4 days a week and we pay her $22.00/hr. She cleans up after my child (laundry, cleans room, organizes play area, rinses child's dishes) and takes my child to a class 3x per week. No cooking because she says she does not know how to cook, so I make all the meals and she reheats it. English is not her first language and she would speak to my child in her native language which I asked her to stop because we are already a bilingual family. She also gets 10 days PTO and 4 days sick leave. She has about 10 years experience.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Several friends of mine said that I am overpaying my nanny for her level of experience. What do you think?

My nanny watches my two year old 40 hours per week, 4 days a week and we pay her $22.00/hr. She cleans up after my child (laundry, cleans room, organizes play area, rinses child's dishes) and takes my child to a class 3x per week. No cooking because she says she does not know how to cook, so I make all the meals and she reheats it. English is not her first language and she would speak to my child in her native language which I asked her to stop because we are already a bilingual family. She also gets 10 days PTO and 4 days sick leave. She has about 10 years experience.

Not really answering your question but why not trilingual? That would be a benefit for your child.

[Anonymous]

I would say you are over paying. About $15/HR is the market rate in this area.

[Anonymous]

what no way... for 10 years experience for $15 is not good enough. $22 is good, the only thing is that English isn't her first language.

[Anonymous]

No. You are not overpaying your children's nanny. My daughter's nanny has a college degree and preschool teaching experience as well as over ten years as a nanny and we pay her $27 an hour plus overtime.

[Anonymous]

It really all boils down to where you are located OP.

If you are in a large, metropolitan city or a small rural town.

Location is a huge factor when determining how much to pay your Nanny.

[Anonymous]

Sorry to derail the thread but im confused. If she doesnt speak English and you asked her to stop speaking in her native language, how does she communicate with LO?

I think your pay is slightly high but not by much. I also think it doesnt really matter, You can't suddenly reduce her pay because you realised youre paying too much. I assume you can afford what youre paying or you wouldnt have offered it in the beginning. If you like her and she likes and enjoys your kid then you should be happy.

[Anonymous]

I get $20 hr for watching two kids and I think my boss are under paying me but act as its the top rate in this area. Any way I am not planning to stay long with them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sorry to derail the thread but im confused. If she doesnt speak English and you asked her to stop speaking in her native language, how does she communicate with LO?

.

OP did not say her nanny does not speak English. She said English is not the nanny's first language.

I raise my eye brows at the "no cooking because she doesn't know how to cook" part--It doesn't take a gourmet chef to prepare some simple meals for a 2 year old.

[Anonymous]

Yes sure paying well for stable care giver for your family is wrong. How about we reduce her pay and she will have to find a second job to make ends meet then will be so overworked that will start looking for a single job that pays better and leave altogether. OP should ask her so called friends how their nanny situation has been with the $15/h salary.

[Anonymous]

I also disagree that cooking should be dumped on a nanny to do. I am ok with microwave/oven heating of food but do not want to cook in the family's home simply because I could get burned, cause a fire or use an ingredient that can cause an allergic reaction in a child. Don't get me wrong I am good cook and careful person but just don't want to risk it. NF should provide ready to heat meals period.

[Anonymous]

If you are anywhere in the DMV except NW DC where people hire college-educated nannies through agencies and pay them $25-$30/hr for one child, you are at the top of the range for one child; maybe even a little beyond that.

It's not so high that I would say that you are "overpaying," but I wouldn't go much higher either with raises unless I added another child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I also disagree that cooking should be dumped on a nanny to do. I am ok with microwave/oven heating of food but do not want to cook in the family's home simply because I could get burned, cause a fire or use an ingredient that can cause an allergic reaction in a child. Don't get me wrong I am good cook and careful person but just don't want to risk it. NF should provide ready to heat meals period.

You know, it's ok to say you don't want to cook. It's kind of crazy to say that you won't cook because it's too dangerous. If a nanny candidate gave me these reasons for not cooking, I would think she either had a major anxiety disorder, was accident-prone, or was crazy.

[Anonymous]

For what your nanny provides, you are overpaying. Her job sounds standard-issue and not particularly challenging. I don't see you say anywhere that she's amazing. For $22, the nanny ought to speak English perfectly and be a competent cook.

You can always publish an ad and see what caliber of applicants it will attract. If people who respond to $19/hr are subpar, you'll know you are paying market rate. If you see amazing candidates at $19/hr, you'll know you are overpaying. For $22/hr I expect something stellar.

[Anonymous]

For reference I make $25/hr and don't do any "chores" (no cleaning, no folding clothes, no making beds, etc) but I am white and American. So I guess it just depends on what you value.