We set a time for the interview on Tuesday and she asked me my rates today when confirming. I emailed back that the time and place (their home) sounded great, and I listed a range stating it was negotiable.

We discussed that the cleaning/laundry won't be everyday, just picking up as we use things, and that she and her husband would probably end up taking care of dinner most of the time, I might cook something small just for the kids now and then.

I have worked for a couple of families with 4 kids so I know what it can be like, but we won't be dealing with many after school activities to try and get to, just getting them home, snack and homework for the older ones, then out to a park for a bit (there are 2 that are 2 blocks away in different directions) and/or playing at home. I feel confident that I will be able to handle it, otherwise I wouldn't continue on with the process.

If they were all older and had a few different activities to go to throughout the week then I would probably pass on it. One of my previous families had kids that did the same activities so it worked out easily for one person to do it (and they had a large vehicle to use), but the last had kids doing different stuff and some nothing at all (a toddler). But that family also had a personal/household assistant and the mom to help divide up all the duties and get kids places and have someone at home with the ones staying there and starting dinner.

Do not interview before talking about range or your lowest bid, otherwise you may waste your time and money. Tell her $24 taxed for 4 children and cleaning/laundry. 20 year bay area nanny here. This job will nit be easy, and SF I'd so expensive!

Thanks for the replies. That was what I was thinking. Family is heading out of town for vacation the next few days, so I will be interviewing once they get back. I do have several other interviews set up as well, so if the pay is too low I will just let them know that I can't do it for so little and move on to something else if they won't go any higher.

I'm in the Bay area caring for infant triplets and I'm getting paid $30/hr. I wouldn't take less than $24/25 for a job with 4 kids so close in age.

I'm an SF nanny and would request 25 and not take less than 24.

Thanks for the replies. I have mentioned the complexities of dealing with the housework, 4 kids and the juggling of it all in an email tonight, just briefly but that we should talk more about it in person. It could be that she just wants me to throw stuff from the washer into the dryer etc once a week, and pick up after the toys the kids play with (and most likely with the kids).

I also mentioned bringing up the subject of pay but did not mention any rates at this time, so that she can let me know what she was thinking, and we can negotiate that as well at the interview or afterwards. If the rate range she was thinking about is too low, then it can prevent us from going into the interview at all. I hope to meet with her and the kids this coming weekend (my only available free time).

I would actually be pushing my schedule around a bit for this position. I have 2 afternoons with 2 other positions and then an extra 3 hours still need to be scheduled with one of them, which might be added on to the one day currently scheduled to make it longer, or do those on Saturday late morning/early afternoon (l live with that family so it would be an easy no commute day for either).

I was hesitant about taking on something like this with my other days already, but with the right price I could be making some good money each month before taxes. I earn $20/hr for 2 kids with one of the positions and have a live-in exchange for about 11-12 hours per week. So I could be bringing in at least $1500+ not counting my room and board (and I have no car, so no car expenses) for about 28 hrs/wk. Plus plenty of personal time still for my hobbies and friends.

I also do guaranteed hours for all my positions and she had mentioned this would be the case in her original ad, so it seems good so far!

Anonymous wrote:I'm in the Bay Area, and I would definitely charge at least $24. 4 is a lot of work. Especially in the city. I would also make sure that the kids come before the housework. There are going to be days that the housework will suffer because of things having to do with kids. Make sure (as best you can) that if this happens, you aren't going to get in "trouble". Good luck!

I agree, this is important. You want to have a clear understanding that the housework comes after the primary childcare responsibilities. Of course, given the ages of the kids I'd have them doing the housework (or much of it) with me!

I'm in the Bay Area, and I would definitely charge at least $24. 4 is a lot of work. Especially in the city. I would also make sure that the kids come before the housework. There are going to be days that the housework will suffer because of things having to do with kids. Make sure (as best you can) that if this happens, you aren't going to get in "trouble". Good luck!

Hi OP. I'm an MB in Maryland so I'm of only limited value but my advice would be to ask for $24/hr based on the position and your experience, but indicate that you might have some room for give if need be. This is a part-time but complicated job, with several kids. It sounds like she wants/needs someone really competent and capable so you should start a little higher than you would be happy with (in terms of negotiating).

I would frame the conversation w/ the employer not so much in terms of your concerns about "not minding the duties... and not interacting with them much" but more in terms of the complexities of juggling two different location pickups every day, 4 kids in general, household duties, and some level of variability in scheduling. You can also tell her what you've charged in the past and why you think something around $24 makes sense.

I don't think an employer would refuse to consider you if you're within a dollar or two per hour, so you could know that you would actually be quite happy with 22 if you end up there, but how you approach the negotiation is important.

Good luck!!

I am a nanny that just responded to an ad in San Francisco and I would like some opinions on rates (I would have posted in my region for these forums but they are apparently now gone?).

The ad just stated kids plural and no ages. It is for 3 days a week (which would work with my other 2 positions already set up), 4 hours each day with the option to allow one evening a week to go a bit longer for extra hours (and what I am assuming is a date night for parents). When she responded, she said there are 4 kids, an 8 yr old (G), 6 yr old (G) and 4.5 yr old twins (B/G). They go to 2 different schools and she wants them walked home if nice out or public transit if not so nice (which would be sometimes in the winter only). The 2 older are further from home, but the twins school is just a couple blocks away. She would like them to go to the park if nice out, go to an activity once a week, help with homework, doing a snack, have me help with laundry, general tidying up including kids stuff organized, starting dinner, doing the dishwasher/kitchen etc. The walk home would take about 30 minutes out of the 4 hours.

I don't mind the duties, but I am wondering if that might be a lot of stuff to try and get done during the 4 hours (or 3.5) and actually spend much time with the kids? They do play together and are all fairly close in age, but I don't want to be so busy with the "other" stuff that I don't interact with them much. I am trying to figure out a fair hourly rate for this as well. I have worked with families with 4 kids before (2 different times so I have experience with that number of kids) but in different style of positions and one in a different location, plus I have great experience in general as well. This is SF and my standard rate is about $20/hr for 1 or 2 kids, depending on number of hours and if they are asking for more help around the house or not. The ad only stated competitive pay and based on experience, but I wanted to ask for input from others about what they would charge/pay so that I can use this in negotiating an hourly rate if it comes to that.

For those that do not know SF rates, we are generally a couple dollars an hour higher than DC due to our higher cost of living. I know there are people here on this site from this area, so I am hoping some of those can help out as well. I was thinking that I would need to ask for at LEAST $22/hr for something like this but I would normally think more towards $25. I don't want to get too high though and so I want to find something that would be fair to both sides or maybe compromise on a lower rate with slightly less duties?