Mkes no sense to pay my nanny her OT rate for hrs mostly spent sleeping. So part is the cost and part is that she already works 50 hrs so I worry about her having time with her family too - I am reluctant to ask her to take more time away from them on weekends very often. But I have zero intention of replacing her and my sitter is in grad school so she has no interest either.

I'm not cheap, however I simply cannot afford to pay my nanny her normal rate or overtime for weekend babysitting. My children are normally awake for 1 hour when the nanny is here on weekends. I normally come home to the sitter sleeping or watching a movie. Which is totally fine and understandable, but not at the rate I normally pay my nanny. I can find neighbors, friends or other sitters to do this for half the price if anything. Therefore, yes, it is an expense issue in our family. OP its not personal

I just hired a babysitter as I want a back up for evenings and possible overnights that my DCs are comfortable with before the need arrives.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been with my family for four months - in the past when they needed a sitter they asked me... but over the weekend they had another girl come in and watch the kids which made me wonder if I did something wrong to not be asked or maybe I'm just over thinking?

I have a lovely nanny. DC adores her, she does a good job.

She does not know this, but I prefer to use someone else as a sitter. The sitter is there when DC is asleep - I don't want to pay my nanny her hourly rate plus the taxes on top of them to spend the evening at my home with a sleeping child when I could pay a college student or similar a significantly lower rate to basically housesit. It's just economics.

++1 YUP!

They are cheap and don't want to pay you OT.

I think they may be trying her out...to see how well she gets along with the kids. If she turns out to be good, then you may get your walking papers.

Be prepared.

Another MB, here. Economics drives it for me too. I pay legally and paying the nanny overtime just isn't feasble for me. Even if we paid her the normal hourly rate, it would still be a few dollars over the babysitter price. Hence, we go with the babysitter.

I love my nanny and she would always be my first choice for child care.

That said, I know she isn't available 24/7 -- she has her own life. So I occasionally use other sitters because my son is having stranger anxiety -- I'd like to get him to know other people in case I need child care when my nanny can't or would rather not be there, and he is ok with another person.

So you shouldn't necessarily take this personally.

My employers always use other sitters for weekend sitting. Sometimes one set of grandparents will watch the kids, and other times they ask one of the high school girls who live a couple houses down.

It doesn't bother me a bit. I already work 50 hours/week, and MB doesn't want me to get burnt out. My charges are the only set of grandchildren on one side and the only local set on the other side; so the grandparents like having extra opportunities to spend with the kids.

The neighborhood high school girls are great. They are really responsible (well one set of sisters is...the other set not so much so they don't really get asked), and they are much less expensive than I am. If MB can ask one of the girls to come over for a few hours on a weekend night it's easier than me needing to drive over 30 minutes to get there (and cheaper). Plus, the kids love having a new face to play with them. With the high school sitter it's all about having fun. With me they'd likely have to contribute to cleaning the kitchen, doing some learning activity, etc...

The high school sitters will likely be my backup this summer whenever I have to leave for a few hours to attend to site visits related to my internship.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've been with my family for four months - in the past when they needed a sitter they asked me... but over the weekend they had another girl come in and watch the kids which made me wonder if I did something wrong to not be asked or maybe I'm just over thinking?

I have a lovely nanny. DC adores her, she does a good job.

She does not know this, but I prefer to use someone else as a sitter. The sitter is there when DC is asleep - I don't want to pay my nanny her hourly rate plus the taxes on top of them to spend the evening at my home with a sleeping child when I could pay a college student or similar a significantly lower rate to basically housesit. It's just economics.

I think this might be it. I would also feel like I did something wrong if my employers asked another sitter for off hours care without giving me first dibs, but since I sit for other families when I am not working and I don't work full-time for them, they can feel comfortable asking me without feeling like they are offending me or paying ot rates for mostly sleeping kids. Win/win.

Anonymous wrote:I've been with my family for four months - in the past when they needed a sitter they asked me... but over the weekend they had another girl come in and watch the kids which made me wonder if I did something wrong to not be asked or maybe I'm just over thinking?

I have a lovely nanny. DC adores her, she does a good job.

She does not know this, but I prefer to use someone else as a sitter. The sitter is there when DC is asleep - I don't want to pay my nanny her hourly rate plus the taxes on top of them to spend the evening at my home with a sleeping child when I could pay a college student or similar a significantly lower rate to basically housesit. It's just economics.

MB here - I agree w/ the other posters. My nanny would always be my first choice, but she's also my most expensive option. Also, she occasionally goes on vacation, needs a sick day, etc... and I need to have back-up options. So I've been actively trying to find and use a couple of other folks so that I have back-up for when I need it.

It doesn't mean I value my nanny any less, just that I need additional coverage options and the best way to do that is to set them up in advance, when it isn't an emergency.

Don't take it personally. Take it as a sign that if/when you need some time off the family will be able to manage it comfortably and you don't have to feel guilty or pressured in any way!

Ask them if they plan to still call you. Some parents think it's good for their kids to have lots of different sitters. Either way, it's tme to get more families to work with.

They probably just don't want you to feel burnt out and wanted you to have a break. I wouldn't over think this.

I've been with my family for four months - in the past when they needed a sitter they asked me... but over the weekend they had another girl come in and watch the kids which made me wonder if I did something wrong to not be asked or maybe I'm just over thinking?