OP here. Thanks a lot for posting your replies! This is really helpful. Gave me some ideas.

Our nanny been with us for 3 years now. That's the only nanny we had. We started out on the high end with her and added some perks as we went. So, it is hard to keep raising her. in addition, we guarantee 50 hours which means each raise translates into a lot. Our nanny is good with our kids. She does a lot for us definitely and we try to reciprocate. Right now i am not getting real raises at work. i am not looking elsewhere though because it will be hard to match the salary to what I am making now for what the job is. I mean i will try to raise our nanny and offer more perks. At the same time, I do not think she will be trying to leave if she does not get a high enough raise because we generally get along and her other alternatives are not necessarily better

Our nanny has been with us for seven years, so I hear your concern. We have given a raise every year, and if I average it out, it has worked out to $1/hour/year, but we did not give the raise as a $1/year. (So our nanny started at $15 and is now at $22). The first year, I think we went up $17, because I felt like she was underpaid (she's awesome), and then we jumped to $18 when our second was born. Then we moved to a percentage based on where we were financially. We also give generous vacation benefits and we cover health insurance in full (we used to provide a stipend up to a certain dollar amount and now we just cover it in full).

A long winded way of saying, there is no automatic $1/year, but it worked out that way on average for us.

The challenge that we are facing seven years out is that our needs are changing, and the changes aren't attractive to our nanny. We still can guarantee a set 40-hour work week, but we need her assistance later in the day to cover later sports practices, and that is not desirable to her (which I understand). Those are the types of things that may require additional compensation.

No OP, you don't need to raise her EVERY year. But you can also give smaller raises yearly if you want to continue to raise.

Anonymous wrote:MB here who is worried about this very issue. I actually can see wanting our nanny to be with us for 10 years (we're currently in year 3). Obviously the nature of her day will change as the kids age, and she might choose to leave to work with younger kids, but all things being equal I very much hope she will be with us well into their school years.

However, while we have been able to give $1/hr raises annually, and add additional perks like health insurance coverage, I don't think we will be able to maintain that rate of increase for another 7 years.

I'm not sure how we'll handle that in a way that is fair for her, reflective of her changing responsibilities, and also affordable.

So I worry...

Consistant communication is key. You may very well be surprised with her long range priorities. Again, honest communication is essential.

Anonymous wrote:MB here who is worried about this very issue. I actually can see wanting our nanny to be with us for 10 years (we're currently in year 3). Obviously the nature of her day will change as the kids age, and she might choose to leave to work with younger kids, but all things being equal I very much hope she will be with us well into their school years.

However, while we have been able to give $1/hr raises annually, and add additional perks like health insurance coverage, I don't think we will be able to maintain that rate of increase for another 7 years.

I'm not sure how we'll handle that in a way that is fair for her, reflective of her changing responsibilities, and also affordable.

So I worry...

During the year that DH was out of work we gave our nanny an extra three days off instead of a raise, with the caveat she has to give us 2 weeks notice to use one of them.

MB here who is worried about this very issue. I actually can see wanting our nanny to be with us for 10 years (we're currently in year 3). Obviously the nature of her day will change as the kids age, and she might choose to leave to work with younger kids, but all things being equal I very much hope she will be with us well into their school years.

However, while we have been able to give $1/hr raises annually, and add additional perks like health insurance coverage, I don't think we will be able to maintain that rate of increase for another 7 years.

I'm not sure how we'll handle that in a way that is fair for her, reflective of her changing responsibilities, and also affordable.

So I worry...

A raise isn't a "sure thing" every year, and it isn't always by a dollar. It's important for families to avoid pricing themselves out. After my first year I received a $1/hr increase, but the second year I received extra time off vs a raise. Third year I received a raise of 50 cents.

We gave a $1.00 per year until our nanny was on the upper end of the range and then we went to a percentage that was more in line with what we received from our emitters (around 3%). That said, you provide a lot more perks than we do.

Families who keep full time nannies for 10 years are normally extremely wealthy, so yes, those nannies would expect a raise or some kind of extra benefit even both on occasion. Also, after a decade nanny prices do increase so it makes sense to pay accordingly.

Now, I'm assuming you don't plan to keep a nanny for 10 years full time. At some point one or all your children will be in preschool or elementary school? So it is common to give a performance based raise yearly and as the hours get cut, other benefits that might entice her to stay.

1) It's unlikely that a nanny will stay in the same job for 10 years
2) raises are earned based on performance, they are not automatic

to answer the question, nannies do not expect $1/yr raise every year for 10 yrs. You can give say a 5% raise, and extra vacation time or some other perk instead.

Anonymous wrote:How often do you and your spouse expect raises at your job? What's your income range?

Since you asked I will tell you. My husband is furloghed one day per week now meaning 20% reduction in his earnings. Although my last annual raise was 3% I had a baby this year which means a reduction anincome for the time I was out on maternity leave. We did not decrease our nanny's hours so she could keep her income. What else? I had a bonus paid out this year and half of it went to the nanny. I pay her share of Social Security taxes and no, I do not expect my employer to do that. I drive her to the metro after work to save her time. No, I do not expect my employer to do that for me. I completely reimburse her transportation costs which I would not expect from my employer. So, please think twice the next time you are about to respond to someone's question

If the nanny doesn't want an annual raise, maybe you can get her to get excited about some other perks instead. GL.

How often do you and your spouse expect raises at your job? What's your income range?

From reading this forum it looks like it is customary to increase nanny's salary every year. So, if a nanny is with a family for a long time (10 years for example) does it mean her hourly compensation will increase at least by $10 over 10 years.? Am I expected to raise hourly compensation each year?