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Stains are different from vomit. If the parents failed to clean the car seat to the point that it failed the "sniff test", OP has every right to complain.
If the child vomited in the seat AFTER the employers had acquired the new seat and they chose to give the nasty seat to the nanny so they could have the clean new seat, then OP has every right to complain.
If the child vomited in the seat AFTER the employers had acquired the new seat and they chose to give the nasty seat to the nanny so they could have the clean new seat, then OP has every right to complain.
Because a lot of them think that if they can keep their kid alive, they should get paid nanny rates for running a small family daycare.
Because they believe that the "wear and tear" and the loss of the freedom to do as they wish when they wish with THEIR child, means their clients should have to pay through the nose.
Because they decide, spur of the moment, that running a small daycare would be an easy way to make money, and they do no research at all on realistic rates.
Because they feel entitled to charge whatever they want with no basis on whether their skill set supports their fees.
Heck, the above sounds like what a lot of MB's here say about the nannies they meet! Entitled, self-indulgent, inexperienced, and unconcerned about the realities of providing quality childcare.
Because they believe that the "wear and tear" and the loss of the freedom to do as they wish when they wish with THEIR child, means their clients should have to pay through the nose.
Because they decide, spur of the moment, that running a small daycare would be an easy way to make money, and they do no research at all on realistic rates.
Because they feel entitled to charge whatever they want with no basis on whether their skill set supports their fees.
Heck, the above sounds like what a lot of MB's here say about the nannies they meet! Entitled, self-indulgent, inexperienced, and unconcerned about the realities of providing quality childcare.
Anonymous wrote:OP do not feel bad about the pP trying to make you feel cheap for the reasonable question about 1 vs 2 kids. The answer throughl is
I was asking a legitimate question, with no intention of making anyone "feel cheap". I may be missing something, but the math isn't adding up. Here's the quote:
because of this, we decided to keep #1 in daycare ($300 week) and will get a nanny share (or nanny for a short time until we get into a share or daycare) for when #2 comes (2.25 years difference between the 2). I did the math and because I wanted #1 to have SOME sort of preschool, it was going to be more expensive for having a nanny for 2 AND the cost of #1's preschool ($200/week in our area, N arlington)
Let's say this poster wants 50 hours a week of care.
So, kid #1 costs $300/week for 50 hours at daycare. If kid #1 just goes to preschool, it will cost $200/week for, say, 12 hours of preschool. That means PP needs 50 hours of care for kid #2, and 38 hours of care for kid #1. $10/hour is the amount PP expects to pay a nanny of her own, $8/hour is what she expects to pay in a share. She's willing to up those rates by $1 if nanny also has kid #1. (And those are REMARKABLY, nay, RIDICULOUSLY low rates.)
#1 in daycare and #2 with a nanny, no share, 50 hours a week at $10/hour - $300 + $550 = $850
#1 in preschool and PP hires a nanny, no share, 50 hours a week at $11/hour - $200 + $605 = $805. If PP deducts the $12/week for the time her child is in preschool, $793 for 36 weeks of the year or so.
#1 in daycare and PP hires a shared nanny for #2, 50 hours a week at $8/hour - $300 + $440 = $740
#1 in preschool and PP hires a shared nanny, 50 hours a week at $9/hour - $200 + $495 = $695, minus $12/week 36 weeks a year
My point here, and where my confusion lies, is in the PP's concern about cost. The basic difference between her options (and yes, this is for a "nanny" who keeps the kids alive, not a good, professional nanny) is $155 a week. $8060 per year. If that's a whole lot of money to the PP, it's entirely possible her situation doesn't allow for the luxury of a nanny.
And before anyone snarks at me, think about this - if PP hires a nanny solo, the MOST that nanny would earn a year at the above rates is $28,600. Is that the sort of wage you would want YOUR childcare provider to earn?
Unless you can find someone who is retired who is willing to do what you need for a little "pin money", you're going to have to raise your rates a good bit. 15 hours a week at less than $9/hour isn't worth it for many people seeking PT work
Anonymous wrote:
PP here. If we decide to get our own nanny for #2, I was going to offer the nanny the option of taking care of #1 on #1's sick days for a higher rate those days, but keep #1 in FT daycare/preschool in general.
I'm just curious, but how much do you expect to pay the nanny you hire for your 2nd child? Even in a share situation paying the bare minimum of $15/hour ($7.50 per hour per employer) plus OT for 50 hours a week to hire a fairly inexperienced nanny, you're looking at more than $450/week, including the employer's share of taxes. Is that really less expensive than daycare for an infant? And if you don't do a share, you're looking at $12/hour for 50 hours, which is over $700/week.
As I said, I am just curious as to how you see a nanny fitting in your budget, and wondering also what the cost is for infant daycare in your area.
Sounds like you have 2 choices here:
1) Keep your current nanny and pay her a rate higher than "market" rate for a nanny share since she has been with you for 2.5 years.
2) Fire your nanny and find someone who is willing to work a 3 kid share for the price you want to pay.
Good luck!
1) Keep your current nanny and pay her a rate higher than "market" rate for a nanny share since she has been with you for 2.5 years.
2) Fire your nanny and find someone who is willing to work a 3 kid share for the price you want to pay.
Good luck!
Anonymous wrote:nannydebsays wrote:Anonymous wrote:Ok. Thanks. We offered $22 and she is negotiating. We have a (positive) history with her so would like to make it work, but I'm afraid she's being unreasonable.
Is she currently your nanny and you are trying to transition to a nanny share? If so, what does she currently make? How long has she worked for you? These answers will make it easier for us to offer opinions on whether she is being unreasonable.
If she is currently employed by one family, and the offered increase is less than she feels is merited for the additional issues and duties that come with adding a family to your current arrangement, that could be the reason she is asking for more. You might consider what you could offer in addition to a $$ raise to make the share more attractive.
Yes she's currently a nanny (share) to the toddlers. New baby is a sibling. I wanted estimates of the current market w/o reference to that history. She's been with us for 2.5 yrs. Started at $18/hr now $20. So baby would be $2 raise.
OP, the issue is that while you may wish to ignore the history/background, it makes a HUGE difference. Going from 2 to 3 kids in a share is significant, especially when the addition is an infant. What is she asking for? Can you meet in the middle? Is your nanny replaceable, or do you want to keep her?
If she wants $30/hour, that's definitely unreasonable. If she wants $25/hour, that's not completely crazy, and compromising at $23.50 is completely reasonable, IMO.
Of course, you are the only one who knows what you can afford to offer, and if all you can afford is a 10% raise (and yes, that's 10% overall, I am sure your actual out of pocket will be much more since you are adding a second child), you might be better off seeing if you can find a nanny on your own for 2 kids who is within your budget.
Good luck!
OP, the price of nanny care doesn't double when you have 2 kids instead of one. There have been eternal debates here over what an appropriate rate is when a second child arrives, and no one has produced a magic answer.
No idea about the obamacare issue, but here's what I'd suggest regarding your decision on nanny vs. daycare:
1) Determine your childcare budget and the hours that you will need care. This in itself may give you your answer. Nannies offer flexibility in hours that daycares often don't, but if you need a nanny more than 40 hours a week, you'll have to pay her overtime. In addition to the nanny's gross wages, you should plan to add 10% to the top to cover your share of taxes. If you hire a nanny tax service, that will increase this cost.
2) Accept that hiring a nanny to care for 2 kids means paying her to care for 2 kids, even if one child is in school PT. If you are paying $16/hour for 2 kids, and would have paid $14/hour for 1 kid, you'd be looking at deducting $2/hour for the time your older child is in school, and unless she attends from 8 am - 6 pm, most nannies will see that as petty. Say your older child attends school 10 hours a week. You'd be docking your nanny $20 a week for not having to care for 2 kids all the time. Can you see why this might cause an issue?
3) Determine your job description. Figure out what you would like nanny to do beyond childcare, and then determine what nanny will actually be ABLE to do beyond childcare. Be flexible. If nanny isn't willing to vacuum all kid areas 2 times a week, ask if she'd be willing to do that 1 time a week. Or ask if she'd go grocery shopping instead of doing any cleaning beyond basic tidying up.
3)A) Imagine your perfect nanny. Determine which of those traits you MUST have, PREFER to have, would LIKE to have, and what traits you can do without.
4) Write a good, descriptive and informative ad. Include a general idea of your pay range, as well as a brief job description and a few of the characteristics you want in your nanny. Have a few questions in the ad that MUST be answered for a candidate to move forward, and make it clear that all responses without those answers will be tossed.
5) Get ready to screen replies over the phone, and use that to narrow down your list of applicants to the ones you want to interview in person. Ask open ended questions, and listen carefully to responses.
6) Meet your short list of candidates in person, and have them bring resumes. Interview them, and once you have your top 3 chosen, ask those 3 for their references.
7) Call ALL references and ask as many questions as you need to ask. Screen carefully. Ask if the parent would re-hire the nanny. Check to make sure the references names match the addresses given. Use LinkedIn and Facebook to see if there are any oddities in the references.
8) Have a trial day with your top candidate. Pay her for her time, and consider this a final interview. See how well she clicks with you and your family.
9) If you want to offer her the job, start working on a work agreement that outlines her job description, her pay/benefits, and all the other little details.
No idea about the obamacare issue, but here's what I'd suggest regarding your decision on nanny vs. daycare:
1) Determine your childcare budget and the hours that you will need care. This in itself may give you your answer. Nannies offer flexibility in hours that daycares often don't, but if you need a nanny more than 40 hours a week, you'll have to pay her overtime. In addition to the nanny's gross wages, you should plan to add 10% to the top to cover your share of taxes. If you hire a nanny tax service, that will increase this cost.
2) Accept that hiring a nanny to care for 2 kids means paying her to care for 2 kids, even if one child is in school PT. If you are paying $16/hour for 2 kids, and would have paid $14/hour for 1 kid, you'd be looking at deducting $2/hour for the time your older child is in school, and unless she attends from 8 am - 6 pm, most nannies will see that as petty. Say your older child attends school 10 hours a week. You'd be docking your nanny $20 a week for not having to care for 2 kids all the time. Can you see why this might cause an issue?
3) Determine your job description. Figure out what you would like nanny to do beyond childcare, and then determine what nanny will actually be ABLE to do beyond childcare. Be flexible. If nanny isn't willing to vacuum all kid areas 2 times a week, ask if she'd be willing to do that 1 time a week. Or ask if she'd go grocery shopping instead of doing any cleaning beyond basic tidying up.
3)A) Imagine your perfect nanny. Determine which of those traits you MUST have, PREFER to have, would LIKE to have, and what traits you can do without.
4) Write a good, descriptive and informative ad. Include a general idea of your pay range, as well as a brief job description and a few of the characteristics you want in your nanny. Have a few questions in the ad that MUST be answered for a candidate to move forward, and make it clear that all responses without those answers will be tossed.
5) Get ready to screen replies over the phone, and use that to narrow down your list of applicants to the ones you want to interview in person. Ask open ended questions, and listen carefully to responses.
6) Meet your short list of candidates in person, and have them bring resumes. Interview them, and once you have your top 3 chosen, ask those 3 for their references.
7) Call ALL references and ask as many questions as you need to ask. Screen carefully. Ask if the parent would re-hire the nanny. Check to make sure the references names match the addresses given. Use LinkedIn and Facebook to see if there are any oddities in the references.
8) Have a trial day with your top candidate. Pay her for her time, and consider this a final interview. See how well she clicks with you and your family.
9) If you want to offer her the job, start working on a work agreement that outlines her job description, her pay/benefits, and all the other little details.
No Desitin, as I have been told by a pediatrcian that it can trap irritants against the skin. I'd suggest Aquaphor.
OP, just taking the time to speak with your nanny and acknowledge that both your DC's are going through rough stages right now will help, as will offering her any advice you have for managing them and asking her for her ideas as well.
Good for you for recognizing this could become an issue and taking steps to avoid a problem down the road!
Good for you for recognizing this could become an issue and taking steps to avoid a problem down the road!
Anonymous wrote:Ok. Thanks. We offered $22 and she is negotiating. We have a (positive) history with her so would like to make it work, but I'm afraid she's being unreasonable.
Is she currently your nanny and you are trying to transition to a nanny share? If so, what does she currently make? How long has she worked for you? These answers will make it easier for us to offer opinions on whether she is being unreasonable.
If she is currently employed by one family, and the offered increase is less than she feels is merited for the additional issues and duties that come with adding a family to your current arrangement, that could be the reason she is asking for more. You might consider what you could offer in addition to a $$ raise to make the share more attractive.
Anonymous wrote:So what you're saying is that live-out nannies should have to pay taxes on every penny they earn, then turn around and pay rent, food, utilities. But live ins should be able to basically get those items for free and then NOT have to pay taxes on the value of that? Seems pretty unfair to the live out nanny.
Nope, I am saying that a LI nanny, in general, puts up with a certain amount of...inconveniences that a LO nanny is able to avoid. And I can't see the logic in a state choosing to tax a LI nanny based on the benefits her EMPLOYER gets by having a LI.
everyone is different, but I would choose the horrible burden of being a LO and having to pay for housing and food over having to LI someone else's home 24/7/365. Heck, just the ability to know that my living situation wasn't dependent on my keeping my employers 110% happy with me all the time is worth that extra expense.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Definitely not saying that there aren't nannies who aren't paid appropriately, but you might want to make sure of what the hourly rate is if a parent quotes you a weekly or monthly rate. If they are paying, say $1,000 a week for 55 hours, the rate is not a straight $1000/55 = $18. They are probably calculating it as (40 x rate) + (15 x rate x 1.5) = $1,000. In which case the rate would be $16.
This is entirely standard when parents are guaranteeing more than 40 hours per week. Careful parents spell it all out in the contract to protect themselves, but the nannies I've had and interviewed have always requested a weekly rate based on the number of hours, which has always exceeded 40 per week.
This isn't a matter of parents cheating the nanny, this is a matter of the nanny requesting weekly guaranteed income in a fixed amount for a fixed number of hours that exceeds 40. That guaranteed weekly rate can be broken down to an average rate per hour (e.g. $18 for each of 55 hours) or a lower base rate for the first 40 hours plus a higher time-and-a-half rate for each hour after 40.
This is exactly how it went for us. Our nanny wanted guaranteed hours at an averaged rate of $20/hrs. So we backed into the calculation and determined the base and OT rate that averaged to $20 for her guaranteed hours.
Exactly. The issue arises when a nanny doesn't communicate that her rate of $15/hour is her straight time rate, and she expects $22.50 for any hours over 40. That nanny runs into employers who offer her a job for $800/week gross for 50 hours, nanny signs the contract, and then realizes she is getting "cheated" out of her OT rate. At that point, the employers are going to get into trouble with the state wage and labor board if they didn't "back out" their weekly gross into an hourly rate and an OT rate.
(In my above example, nanny makes $14.54/hour and $21.81 for OT. If she got $15/hour and $22.50/OT, she'd gross $825/week)
Of course, if they did break the rate down and nanny signed the contract, nanny has nowhere to go with her complaints.
Yet another reason the nanny industry needs specific standards, including explanation of OT laws, information on why paying legally is important for both sides, and all the other minutia that goes with the industry.
Anonymous wrote:No nanny that I've ever heard of, would allow you to charge her for the privilege of listening to your kids running around (on your hardwood floors) over her head as she tries to sleep past 6am on the weekends, in your hole-in-wall basement.
You seem to be confused about nanny live in rates. The hourly rate is due to the value of the live in space as being a part of the total compensation package. This is why live ins make a lower hourly wage. If you don't like the trade in value for housing, don't take a live in job. It's crazy to think that housing should be free on top of the salary.
Yes, the trade off for FREE housing is a certain lack of privacy and additional noise. I'm not sure that TAXING those inconveniences is really all that smart though. It really erases any benefit of being a LI for the affected nanny, don't you think?
Say nanny could make $15/hour plus OT at her 55 hour a week job as a LO, but she accepts $12/hour and no OT to be a LI. She's now gone from a gross weekly income of $937.50 to a gross weekly income of $660, and her employer is going to add in her room and board estimated cost to her tax liability? Why would nanny then LI? I am guessing that for $1100+ a month, she might be able to find a liveable apartment somewhere, right? And her additional commute is made up for by her not living at work and being "asked" to work late all the time, or being told the bosses need her to watch the kids for "just an hour or so" every time she stays around on her off days.
Anonymous wrote:I think what OP means is that, as a live-in, the "value" of the room and board provided by your employer are taxable income according to the state and federal government and so they must be given a monetary number and reported as income by the employer and then the employee must pay taxes on that portion of "income" even though the employee gets it in trade, not in cash wages. And she can't figure out how to decide on a number.
It's pretty arbitrary. You can look at what you pay her as a live in and then what you WOULD pay her as a live out and call the difference the value of room and board. That's probably the most accurate way.
If the above is correct, I would strongly suggest that you value the room and board as low as possible so that your nanny doesn't get screwed over when it comes to her taxes. Maybe $200/month MAX.
I have never heard of room/board being taxable income for a LI, and unless you are in a situation (running for President one day or possibly being nominated to the Cabinet or the Supreme Court) that demands you be absolutely scrupulous about your household employee taxes, you might want to drop this idea. It's a guaranteed way to mess up your relationship with your LI nanny, IMO. Any time you increase an employee's tax burden without actually giving them more money in hand, you're going to sour that relationship.
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