Live in Mother's Helper?
![[Post New]](/nanny-forum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
|
Scenario - When I have my second child I would like to have a live-in "mother's helper" who would work 20 hours per week. I say Mother's Helper because I don't foresee me leaving my children with this person alone, but more like someone to accompany and assist me in my daily errands and light housekeeping. My Dh works very long hours and we have no family in the area. I do not work and I don't need someone full-time. I'm thinking 4 hours/day, 5 days/week. No weekends.
In exchange I would be offering a basement apartment with private bath, kitchenette, small kitchen and separate entrance. But not sure what the wage would be per hour? Is there a better term for such a position? Can anyone give me a ballpark figure as to what I should offer to pay this person? Thanks in advance |
Anonymous
|
Where abouts are you located? Metro rail (or bus?) accessible? Parking space?
How old are the children? These details would matter. |
Anonymous
| It might be hard to find someone that will live-in for so few hours. |
Anonymous
| Sorry, yes. Alexandria. Parking - yes. Children would be 4 and infant. This person would have set hours and free to go to school, have another job, whatever outside of those hours. I know a professional nanny would not want a postion like this, but maybe a student who needs a place to live plus a paycheck? Access to bus that goes to metro. Would consider providing an inexpensive car for their personal use. |
Anonymous
|
I really don't know that you'll be able to find anyone wanting to live-in for these PT hours. I'm a college student, and neither myself nor any of my friends would be all that eager to live in a family setting like this again. We're all just getting out on our own and are enjoying living with friends, the college lifestyle, etc. You could post an ad and see the response, but I don't know that there would be a lot of takers.
For a live-out, I imagine this running you $240-$300/wk. Would that really be breaking the bank? You could probably do it for even less if you'd be willing to have a high schooler come after school to help out. |
Anonymous
|
uh. NO.
no one wants to be around MB all day, ESPECIALLY if you're not working from home, and then have to live there. And for only 20 hrs a week? Not worth this persons time unless they're desperate for a place to live. Odds are they will need a second job, because living off 20hrs isn't much. (even if you have free room & board). Why not just have a PT nanny? A student or someone looking for a second PT job would take this position. You don't need a live-in. |
Anonymous
|
....you're a stay at home mom. With only 2 kids.
Why not: Pay for a housekeeper to come 2-3x a week Hire a sitter 2-3x a week while you run errands It would probably boil down to about 20 hours and you wouldn't have to have someone living in your house all of the time. |
Anonymous
| I'm not sure why you are getting so much negativity. It's not the job for everyone, but it could be a good job. Here's the crux for me. Is it truly a livable basement apartment? Could someone cook a full meal in the kitchen? Is there living space for a couch and tv? Would you let them live like a tenant? Ie, you don't access their space, they can have guests, and there is no real need for them to use the main house outside of working hours? If so, I think you could do it as a strict exchange for up to 15 hours a week. Especially if you have total flexilbility for the hours. |
nannydebsays
Member Offline
Member Offline
|
Sorry for the rambly thoughts...
I agree with the PP about seeing if you can do shorter hours as a rent exchange. If that's not possible, then I do think you can find someone, but it'll be a bit of a process. IMO, your best bet will be to seek out someone who has cared for kids before, but doesn't have enough experience to find jobs as a nanny. That person needs solid long term references to make the move into nannying, and a job like your is a good fit for that. Many families, and most agencies want to hire nannies with experience. If you find a college student, are you willing and able to be flexible with your needs to accommodate her classes/another job? If so, your search will be slightly easier. If there are colleges near you that offer social work/psychology/education/nursing majors, you might contact them to see if they have job boards. WRT compensation, I would offer $200 - $250/week, and see what sort of people respond to your ads. If you aren't happy with the quality of candidates, you might have to up the pay to attract better people. I wouldn't go above $300/week though. You may need to think of this as being similar to having an au pair. And yes, working hand-in-hand with you will put some people off the job right away. You need to think a bit about how you'll use your MH. Will you want her to take one child while you manage the other? Do you plan to "manage" her pretty continually? Do you want to train her and then let her do her thing, or do you want her right next to you when she is working? What job responsibilities will you want her to take on? Write up a job description, and think about what you KNOW you want, what you THINK you want, and what's negotiable. That's the best way to clarify who and what you're looking for, and will allow you to write a clear and concise ad when the time comes. |
NisforNanny
Member Offline
Member Offline
|
I have a nanny friend who is a part-time live-in nanny. She is a recent college graduate applying to medical school, so this was a good temporary job for her. She made a one-year commitment to the family. I think it would be hard to find someone who would be interested in this position long term, but you might be able to find a grad student. I agree with above that undergrads probably want a different sort of social life.
I would emphasize that you are able to be flexible with your hours, to accommodate a second job (e.g., afterschool nanny) or student schedule, this will make your position more appealing. If you need extra hours would you pay the person a higher rate or keep them at the reduced "live-in" rate? I think you will attract more candidates if you say something like, "rent and $250/wk for twenty hours per week, hours above 20/wk will be compensated at $x/hr." You might want the person to have extra availability if your husband is traveling or someone is ill. My friend above's main complaint about her job is how she is always being asked to do extra hours at her reduced rate (that offsets her rent) and her employers expect her to turn down babysitting for someone else during her "off" hours to work extra for them, for half the money. |