I suppose it mostly boils down to how much you value the continuity of care? If you value this nanny I would suggest that you negotiate some reasonable additional duties for the time when the older child is at work. On PP suggested meal preparation, perhaps there are some errands that the younger child could accompany the nanny on that would free you up in your spare time like dry cleaning pick up/drop off, grocery shopping or perhaps some light housework or extra laundry (that can be done with a younger child).

If you are okay with the possibility of changing caregivers if she is unhappy with this (and to be fair I would be) then by all means let her know what you are willing to pay while your child is in school and play it by ear from there.

As someone already pointed out it's interesting that when there is an extra child the pay always should go up according to this forum, but if there is one less child it should stay the same. Umm, no. Discuss it with your nanny, if she is not receptive, then be prepared to hire a new one. If she cares for the school aged child occasionally simply pay X more on those days. If she doesn't want that arrangement then you have to decide if you like ther enough to pay for idling.

I think you're underestimating how much time the nanny will spend with both children, anyway.

As a nanny I would have to leave a position that cut my pay as my responsibilities naturally change and shift with kids getting older. Really, you just need to talk to your nanny and see what she says but, if you're planning on cutting her pay plan don't be surprised if she starts searching for a new position.

Anonymous wrote:if you cut her wages she will probably find a new job. if you like her and want her to stay you need to suck it up or see if you can do a nanny share so she can make the money she needs to support herself. think about it, how would you feel if your pay was cut at your job? would you want to stay or look for something else?

+1

if you cut her wages she will probably find a new job. if you like her and want her to stay you need to suck it up or see if you can do a nanny share so she can make the money she needs to support herself. think about it, how would you feel if your pay was cut at your job? would you want to stay or look for something else?

We also pay our nanny the same. She has about 6 hours a week with no kids (all in school/preschool). We asked her to use this time to cook dinner for the family, and then allow her to take some of it home for her family (while we pay for groceries). It is a win-win situation. She also uses that time to do kid related organization activities/errands.

I know it is expensive, and I struggle with the cost myself. However, I feel that younger children deserve individual attention that they rarely get, and I can't find affordable after school programs anyway. Plus when older kids are sick you don't have to count hours.

We pay our nanny the same amount. That allows us to keep a familiar and experienced nanny while having the backup in case the second one is sick or does not have school.

You are going to see the same responses here.

I posted this in the nanny section but that forum seems to only be nannies. I'd like to hear from parents who have been there done that. Our oldest child is going to school. We'd like to keep our nanny on to watch our youngest child, but we can't justify the cost of paying her the same amount to watch only one child. Of course we would pay her more on days when the older child is home from school but we don't anticipate that happening very often. I just want to know what other families do in this situation. Surely we're not the first people to go through this. Thank you.