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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Why would her pay be affected by whether or not she brings her child? She’s still doing the work. [/quote]

This argument is so ridiculous I cringe every time I hear it. In childcare, you pay for the ratio. If you have one child then by hiring a nanny, the most expensive form of childcare, you are guaranteeing a 1:1 ratio (your child gets 100% of the caregivers attention), and you are paying for that, usually $20-25/hr.

If you are doing a nanny share with another family with one child the ratio is now 1:2 (your child is getting about 50% of the caregivers attention), and thus the cost goes down to roughly $12-15/hr per family.

If you enroll your child in daycare, where the ratios are much higher, 1:4 or 1:6, then again your cost goes down, to about $5-10/hr.

Maternal bias is a REAL thing. I see it regularly at the library and playground where I often see nannies with their charges and their own children. The nanny gives her own child more attention every time. If both kids are crying, who does she run to first?

So, if a nanny brings her own child, the ratio may be 1:2, but your child is likely getting even less than 50% of nanny's attention, since she will inherently favor her own child.

And especially with the age difference this is a bad plan for a million reasons. Is your home fully toddler proofed yet? Is nanny expecting you to provide a pack n play, extra high chair and double stroller to accommodate her child? What will happen when nanny's child is ill? When your own child is ill will nanny take the day off and expect to be paid for it so she doesn't risk getting her own child sick? Are you going to provide food for both nanny AND her child? Is your baby going to be expected just to nap on the go every morning so nanny's child can continue his usual routine? Is your baby going to spend twice as much time in a baby bjorn or stroller while nanny engages more directly with her own child?

What if nanny's child sees mommy taking care of a new baby and feels jealous and retaliates? What if nanny's child hits baby? What if nanny's child acts out while mommy is feeding baby and draws all over your walls with markers?

I personally know a mother who hired a nanny who brought her own child. The nanny's child was a few months older than her charge, they were both toddlers. DD had many bumps and bruises at the end of the day, but her mom chalked it up to being a toddler. But after a while she began to wonder and set up visible cameras. It turned out that nanny's son was repeatedly hitting and pushing DD. They tried speaking to the nanny about their concerns, but the situation only got worse, and after nanny's son pushed DD down the stairs they finally came to their senses and fired her.

No, a nanny who brings her own child does not deserve the same pay as a nanny who doesn't bring a child, because the ratio of children to caregiver increases and therefore it is literally impossible for your child to be getting the 1:1 attention that makes nanny care so expensive in the first place. [/quote]

This is absolutely true for a beginner and someone who doesn’t know how to stimulate both children, SIMULTANEOUSLY! Include, include, include all children in activities! If the baby is younger, have the older one help “Timmy can you help me read to the baby? What story should we read first?” If you’re doing arts and crafts, create 2 of the same projects, just make one more challenging for the older child- this is done in daycare as well. [b]You can put baby down, spend 5 extra minutes cuddling on your baby and put him or her to sleep so they are on the same schedule. It’s not rocket science! [/b]Stop being cheap! Being a nanny is a job and it’s a very essential job at that. [/quote]

Let me guess, pp, you are a nanny who brings her own child  :roll:

Your post makes very little sense. Are they on staggered sleep schedules so nanny can spend one on one time as you suggest or are they on the same sleep schedule, which you also suggest?? Obviously a 1 year old and a 3 month old have such drastically different sleep needs that trying to keep them on the same sleep schedule will be futile and make everyone miserable.

And how is she realistically going to include a 3 month old in 1 year old activities and vice versa? Sure, they can sit and read a book together, but beyond that this isn't very realistic with this type of age gap. I foresee a lot of baby in the stroller or carrier or laying on an activity playmat without direct attention while nanny focuses on the needs of her own child. And as the kids get older this will only become more difficult, as nanny would have a 10-15 month old charge and her own 2 year old. At the park is she going to be chasing after her fast toddler on the play structure while baby, who at that age really needs to be working on gross motor skills such as climbing, crawling, walking, instead sits in the stroller or baby swing or baby carrier the whole time?

This scenario, with these ages, really benefits no one and likely will be a real detriment to baby who would take a back seat to the toddlers needs.

OP, your infant is literally better off in a decent daycare with other infants than with a nanny with her own toddler present. Or in a true infant nanny share or with her own private nanny, if you can afford that. [/quote]

Nope. No children but in a share with a 4 month old, 23 month old and 2.5 yr old. We manage- I still have a job (so I’m doing something right)  and have time to send my families a weekly calendar of activities indoor and outdoor. Again, it’s not impossible. And as they get older, you should be encouraging independent play, where you can still help younger child with gross motor.

What’s your occupation? How many kids do you have pp? It may be challenging for you to handle multiples but not for all- especially when we do this for a living. I’m not going to waste my time explaining how you can use the same materials for a project but challenge the older one (everybody loves paint)! [/quote]

Oh! I didn’t read your whole post but the infant of course naps more and may wake up but we are almost there when the baby goes down (again) at 1:00 with the older 2 some days are different which is expected but we will get there. Each child may wake up sooner than the other and I either let them stay in their crib until 3:15 (with permission) or I have them come downstairs with me and we hangout. So are you saying it’s hard to have everyone on the same schedule or it’s hard to give everyone attention? Again, I refused to read everything. :) [/quote]

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