How much should we pay our Nanny?
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Anonymous
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We have a great Nanny, she's been doing a share with us and another Family for 6 month now, the kids are both 9 month old. Our Parents like her, the kids love her and the best part is that she's always flexible, even on Sundays when my Husband and I want to go Play Tennis.
-A new Family wants to join the share, The Mom's expecting a baby soon. Currently Nanny's getting 18/hrs ( 9ish from each Family including taxes) How much should we pay her caring for 3 babies? Ps: we talked to her about it already and she's okay with taking care of 3 Babies, however we did not talk about Salary yet. Thank you everyone. Opinion needed from Parents and Nannies |
Anonymous
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So you're going to have THREE families involved in the share?
1) I'm not sure if that's legal - it may be, but there is a limit on how many unrelated children someone can look after without it being considered an in-home daycare; typically shares with more than two children consist of at least two siblings. Check your local laws on that front before moving forward. 2) A three-family share is, in my opinion, much different from a three-child share and warrants a much higher increase in salary. While I would suggest $22-23/hr if one of the existing members were having a new baby, the addition of an entirely new family - new set of parents to navigate, more schedules to accommodate, more strollers/playpens/cribs to manage and move around, etc. - I would think $25-26/hr would be the minimum reasonable rate to offer here, particularly for a nanny who offers you the kind of flexibility (sundays?!) you've described. You aren't likely to hit that jackpot very often. |
Anonymous
| How many hours per week is she working? I'd be concerned she's looking at this as a way to make more money, not realizing how much work three babies will be! Has she worked with triplets before? |
Anonymous
| The ratio in daycares for infants is 4:1, FWI. I don't think there's a law on how many families can be in a nanny share, but someone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. |
Anonymous
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Taking into account maternity leave, she will have two kids that are a year and a 3 month old?
Your nanny has no idea what she's getting into. That sounds like such a poor decision. |
Anonymous
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OP, there is NO WAY one person can adequately care for three babies.
It's common sense. You guys might as well put them in a daycare. She is saying she is okay, but wait until the first week. Then ask her. |
Anonymous
+1 Especially when the older babies begin walking and climbing. |
Anonymous
Maybe you can't, but that is a pretty broad statement to make about someone you know nothing about. Plenty of people have and are very able to care for three babies at a time. This is not rocket science we are talking about. It's pretty sad when caring for multiple children without a team of adults is considered an impossible task... |
Anonymous
You can speak only for yourself. |
Anonymous
| I've worked in a daycare center before and was responsible for 4 young infants at a time on my own from 8-6 every week day, so for those saying that someone can't take care of 3 babies- they are wrong and have no idea what they are talking about. It's not difficult once you get everyone on a schedule. If the nanny is a professional and knows what she is doing, I see no issue with her watching 3 babies. I'm the PP from above who stated the ratio in daycares was 4:1. I feel like just because some of you can't handle your own 2 kids doesn't mean that a nanny with 5-10 years experience can't handle doing a nanny share like this. |
Anonymous
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I did a share with 3 babies briefly, to help out a friend of my MBs. My rate went from $18/hour to $21. It wasn't enough. There were days where I literally did not sit all day, for 9 hours. I had 2 10 month olds and a 15 month old. I was able to handle it fine, but would probably ask for $24/hour. I think at a certain point, the rate that would make a job worth it is no longer a savings for the share families over a 2-kid share.
Some things to consider: How well/often does everyone sleep? Where will they sleep? Does the host family have enough space for everything 2 older babies and a newborn need? What are the temperaments like? Will the older ones be jealous of the newborn? Will your nanny ever get any down time? Say goodbye to any non childcare tasks she may have done, including kid laundry, and sometimes the place will be a mess. Its just going to happen. |
Anonymous
| I would not add a newborn infant to the mix. |
Anonymous
The difference between a daycare ratio of 4:1 and a nanny with 3 babies, is that at a daycare there are other adults around to help if things get out of hand. As someone who has done a 3-kid share, there isn't anything more stressful than a toddler throwing a tantrum, a screaming baby (because the toddler is scaring him and he's overtired), and another baby hell bent on killing himself while all of this is going on (trying to climb the baby gate, finding things to play with that he shouldn't because his parents leave stuff out, etc.) and there is no one there to take one off your hands. |
nannydebsays
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To answer your question, the nanny should earn $27/hour. If you are trying to save additional money by adding an infant to the mix, you'll wind up losing your nanny to burn-out because on bad days she will feel woefully underpaid.
The main issue IMO is logistics: Who hosts? Is there room for 3 kids to sleep separately? How about baby toys/playpens/jumpers, and so forth? Will the host family feel swamped with baby stuff everywhere? What about vacation time for nanny? How many hours will she be working? What will the 3 families choose as their sick child policy? How will you coordinate any variation in the hours each family needs care? There's an awful lot to this, OP, and I am not sure it can be done long term successfully. |
Anonymous
Take your own advice. You bust out this lame line on every thread where someone disagrees with you. |