Anonymous wrote:OP do not feel bad about the pP trying to make you feel cheap for the reasonable question about 1 vs 2 kids. The answer throughl is

I was asking a legitimate question, with no intention of making anyone "feel cheap". I may be missing something, but the math isn't adding up. Here's the quote:

because of this, we decided to keep #1 in daycare ($300 week) and will get a nanny share (or nanny for a short time until we get into a share or daycare) for when #2 comes (2.25 years difference between the 2). I did the math and because I wanted #1 to have SOME sort of preschool, it was going to be more expensive for having a nanny for 2 AND the cost of #1's preschool ($200/week in our area, N arlington)

Let's say this poster wants 50 hours a week of care.

So, kid #1 costs $300/week for 50 hours at daycare. If kid #1 just goes to preschool, it will cost $200/week for, say, 12 hours of preschool. That means PP needs 50 hours of care for kid #2, and 38 hours of care for kid #1. $10/hour is the amount PP expects to pay a nanny of her own, $8/hour is what she expects to pay in a share. She's willing to up those rates by $1 if nanny also has kid #1. (And those are REMARKABLY, nay, RIDICULOUSLY low rates.)

#1 in daycare and #2 with a nanny, no share, 50 hours a week at $10/hour - $300 + $550 = $850

#1 in preschool and PP hires a nanny, no share, 50 hours a week at $11/hour - $200 + $605 = $805. If PP deducts the $12/week for the time her child is in preschool, $793 for 36 weeks of the year or so.

#1 in daycare and PP hires a shared nanny for #2, 50 hours a week at $8/hour - $300 + $440 = $740

#1 in preschool and PP hires a shared nanny, 50 hours a week at $9/hour - $200 + $495 = $695, minus $12/week 36 weeks a year

My point here, and where my confusion lies, is in the PP's concern about cost. The basic difference between her options (and yes, this is for a "nanny" who keeps the kids alive, not a good, professional nanny) is $155 a week. $8060 per year. If that's a whole lot of money to the PP, it's entirely possible her situation doesn't allow for the luxury of a nanny.

And before anyone snarks at me, think about this - if PP hires a nanny solo, the MOST that nanny would earn a year at the above rates is $28,600. Is that the sort of wage you would want YOUR childcare provider to earn?

...that you cannot cut her wages after a year because she would quit. Of course it does not make sense - but it is rational of course since she may have passed on other 2 kid jobs to take yours and now does not want to get paid less.

OP do not feel bad about the pP trying to make you feel cheap for the reasonable question about 1 vs 2 kids. The answer throughl is

Anonymous wrote:
PP here. If we decide to get our own nanny for #2, I was going to offer the nanny the option of taking care of #1 on #1's sick days for a higher rate those days, but keep #1 in FT daycare/preschool in general.

I'm just curious, but how much do you expect to pay the nanny you hire for your 2nd child? Even in a share situation paying the bare minimum of $15/hour ($7.50 per hour per employer) plus OT for 50 hours a week to hire a fairly inexperienced nanny, you're looking at more than $450/week, including the employer's share of taxes. Is that really less expensive than daycare for an infant? And if you don't do a share, you're looking at $12/hour for 50 hours, which is over $700/week.

As I said, I am just curious as to how you see a nanny fitting in your budget, and wondering also what the cost is for infant daycare in your area.

PP here. If we decide to get our own nanny for #2, I was going to offer the nanny the option of taking care of #1 on #1's sick days for a higher rate those days, but keep #1 in FT daycare/preschool in general.

Anonymous wrote:OP here, thanks for the replies.

We are located in Oak Hill VA. Our current daycare is 381 a week for an infant. I think they have a sibling discount rate but I am not sure how discounted.

The other concern I have is that we might have our daughter go to Montessori school at about 2.5 meaning we might only have both children at home for a year and then have one at school for part of the day. Would you have different rates for when both children are at home verse when only one is?

Thanks!

because of this, we decided to keep #1 in daycare ($300 week) and will get a nanny share (or nanny for a short time until we get into a share or daycare) for when #2 comes (2.25 years difference between the 2). I did the math and because I wanted #1 to have SOME sort of preschool, it was going to be more expensive for having a nanny for 2 AND the cost of #1's preschool ($200/week in our area, N arlington)

OP, the price of nanny care doesn't double when you have 2 kids instead of one. There have been eternal debates here over what an appropriate rate is when a second child arrives, and no one has produced a magic answer.

No idea about the obamacare issue, but here's what I'd suggest regarding your decision on nanny vs. daycare:

1) Determine your childcare budget and the hours that you will need care. This in itself may give you your answer. Nannies offer flexibility in hours that daycares often don't, but if you need a nanny more than 40 hours a week, you'll have to pay her overtime. In addition to the nanny's gross wages, you should plan to add 10% to the top to cover your share of taxes. If you hire a nanny tax service, that will increase this cost.

2) Accept that hiring a nanny to care for 2 kids means paying her to care for 2 kids, even if one child is in school PT. If you are paying $16/hour for 2 kids, and would have paid $14/hour for 1 kid, you'd be looking at deducting $2/hour for the time your older child is in school, and unless she attends from 8 am - 6 pm, most nannies will see that as petty. Say your older child attends school 10 hours a week. You'd be docking your nanny $20 a week for not having to care for 2 kids all the time. Can you see why this might cause an issue?

3) Determine your job description. Figure out what you would like nanny to do beyond childcare, and then determine what nanny will actually be ABLE to do beyond childcare. Be flexible. If nanny isn't willing to vacuum all kid areas 2 times a week, ask if she'd be willing to do that 1 time a week. Or ask if she'd go grocery shopping instead of doing any cleaning beyond basic tidying up.

3)A) Imagine your perfect nanny. Determine which of those traits you MUST have, PREFER to have, would LIKE to have, and what traits you can do without.

4) Write a good, descriptive and informative ad. Include a general idea of your pay range, as well as a brief job description and a few of the characteristics you want in your nanny. Have a few questions in the ad that MUST be answered for a candidate to move forward, and make it clear that all responses without those answers will be tossed.

5) Get ready to screen replies over the phone, and use that to narrow down your list of applicants to the ones you want to interview in person. Ask open ended questions, and listen carefully to responses.

6) Meet your short list of candidates in person, and have them bring resumes. Interview them, and once you have your top 3 chosen, ask those 3 for their references.

7) Call ALL references and ask as many questions as you need to ask. Screen carefully. Ask if the parent would re-hire the nanny. Check to make sure the references names match the addresses given. Use LinkedIn and Facebook to see if there are any oddities in the references.

8) Have a trial day with your top candidate. Pay her for her time, and consider this a final interview. See how well she clicks with you and your family.

9) If you want to offer her the job, start working on a work agreement that outlines her job description, her pay/benefits, and all the other little details.

As a nanny, I charge for my time, availability, and expertise. I therefore charge the same amounts for 1 child vs. 2 children when one goes off to school. I charge for the availability if the second child is sick. I do, however, pick up extra household duties once one child starts school usually.
I work for a work at home mom and it works out very well as we discussed everything up front as far as expectations while I am on duty. My biggest suggestion is to make sure everything is in your nanny agreement. Having everything in writing has saved me from any mis understandings or hard feelings with nanny families. Think about exactly what you want from your nanny going into it so you are all on the same page. good luck!

Please provide constructive feedback, I am trying to figure out how things work. I know people on this site say that you have to pay more if you have more than one child - which to me means you pay less if they are only watching 1 of the 2 children. However if my older daughter was sick and staying home the nanny would be paid to watch 2 children... If this isn't reasonable that is fine. I am just trying to figure out what I am getting into -> if I am paying a nanny the price of 2 children when just using her for 1 then I likely don't want a nanny.

I don't know many nannies who would take a pay cut after a year. Does this mean when your older child is sick or off school, you'll be staying home to care for her? Please Dobt be cheap.

OP here, thanks for the replies.

We are located in Oak Hill VA. Our current daycare is 381 a week for an infant. I think they have a sibling discount rate but I am not sure how discounted.

The other concern I have is that we might have our daughter go to Montessori school at about 2.5 meaning we might only have both children at home for a year and then have one at school for part of the day. Would you have different rates for when both children are at home verse when only one is?

Thanks!

Congrats on your upcoming new arrival OP!!
You sound like a very educated and informed individual who is not leaving any stone unturned here.

I personally think you should hire a nanny. Considering you will have two now, (plus a new baby!) it would make much sense to have in-home personal care esp. for the new infant. I cannot see any benefit of putting an infant in any type of out of home daycare at all since they do not need any social interaction aside from their mommies at this point.

If you can afford it, I would first and foremost go with an agency since they offer the best candidates. If you cannot, I would next go by word of mouth and get some good referrals.

If these options are not viable, you can go through a childcare website like Care.com or Sittercity.com, but just know that the girls on these childcare sites do not pay anything to post profiles on them so basically anyone can post here. Plus the background checks are pretty weak on them.

Good luck on finding someone for your family!
There are plenty of good nannies out there who will love your children as much as you do!

I'm not in DC but I used an agency. DH and I met with them, explained what we needed, and they sent over a slew of people. We picked the one who had the least experience on paper but clicked with the baby the best and that's how we wound up with a guy nanny.

DH and I sometimes work from home. The manny doesn't seem to care. He and the toddler spend the majority of the day out of the house though, so that may be why.

Congratulations on your pregnancy, OP.

It's difficult to ascertain whether having 2 kids in day care is more affordable than a nanny without knowing where you are and what the daycare rates vs nanny rates in your area are. If you give us more information, we might be more helpful with specifics.

As for your other questions, there are services to help you with taxes and such. Health insurance is a wonderful perk, but not required. If you choose to offer it, you should factor it into your total compensation package. It will definitely make your position more attractive to nannies, but it isn't standard or expected by any means.

As for where to find a good nanny, I have found personal referrals the best indicator of quality. There are some sites that are helpful (although the nannies who post here do not suggest that this site is a good source for good nannies), so, if you can, get recommendations from your friends and neighbors to generate a list of candidates.

A good nanny should not have a problem with you working from home if you are both clear upfront about the house rules and that you support the nanny being the caretaker in charge when you work, whether from home or offsite.

One of the more difficult questions to answer is rate. If you live in The DC metro area, you should expect to pay from $16-20/hr for two young children. You can find nannies for less, but a professional nanny who will take care of the children and all child related tasks (laundry and meal prep) and will cost you the above market rate. You will want to have a contract that specifies the benefits you are willing to offer. Guaranteed hours, two weeks vacation (one week your choice and one week hers), sick leave (5 days is very good), and whatever holidays you are able to offer make a good package for a nanny. Oh, and you must pay OT for any hours over 40. You'll need to be very specific about this in the contract. If a nanny gives you a specific weekly amount she would like to make, you need to break that down into an average rate and an overtime rate and make it very clear how their requested weekly amount translates into a specific hourly wage.

Don't be afraid to interview several nannies until you find the right one. You want someone with energy, commitment and a love of children. While she should have CPR and first aid training, it is not necessary for her to have other certifications unless they are important to you. There are many good nannies out there and I'm sure you'll find a good fit for your family.

Hello,

I have a daughter currently in daycare and recently found out I have another one on the way. I am wondering with 2 young children whether it makes more sense to get a nanny then to pay for both of them to attend daycare. I am wondering what I need to consider when deciding which path is right for us.

I know that I would have to look into the tax elements of having an employee and creating a W-2 and withholding taxes/submitting them... Do you have to provide nannys with health insurance under obamacare? Or is that non standard.

How do you find good nannies? Do you go by referrals, my sisters and her friends with kids are slightly older so they may have suggestions on nannies. But my friends don't use nannies and I have heard mixed reviews of some online sites...

I sometimes work from home, I have occasionally seen people on here who hate it when the MB works from home, is that going to be a problem for a nanny?

Any advice?

TIA!