With your budget, even if you expanded your hours to 6am - 3pm, you could definitely get a good quality nanny. I would NOT try to do 3 different rates. Instead, choose a rate that feels fair to you and nanny for the workload, remembering that school holidays/summer will change the hours kids are home.

45 hours/week at $18/hour plus OT would be $855/week.

Nanny here who works for SAHM. My MB NEVER interferes in our day. She treats her work day the same as if she were not home. Even when DC has had two hour long screaming fits she waits until the end of the day and simply asks how our day went. I love Her for it. Basically, you need to set the rules and back your nanny up when she has to enforce them. If you can do that then you will find a good nanny.

Since you would still like to have your privacy (and I cannot blame you OP), then a full-time nanny is the best option for your situation.

The hours are doable and while there are some nannies that wouldn't take a job w/a parent who is working in the home, there are some who would consider it so if I were you, I would start the process as soon as you can.

I want to give you some advice as I have been a nanny that has worked alongside a parent who telecommutes.

It is a challenge for the nanny since the children always behave differently when they know Mom is still in the house. It totally changes the dynamic for everyone and to make this situation a win-win for everyone involved it would be best if you stayed out of the way as much as possible.

If I were you, I would encourage the nanny to take your children out of the house often and take daily outings. When in the home, make sure you focus entirely on your workload and let the nanny focus on hers. It may be tough hearing your child cry in another part of the house and it will also be tempting to interfere if you feel the nanny is not doing something the way you would, but nothing will make this situation fail worse than micromanagement, trust me.

All in all, I wish you the best of luck in your search for your dream Nanny!

I would love those hours! You're in a great position to hire a nanny, and with that pay combined with your cushy hours, you could find a very highly qualified candidate.

My 3 kids are similar ages, two are in elementary school, and 1.5 y.o. is in preschool for 8 hrs per week. We agreed on a flat rate with the nanny, regardless of a number of children she might be watching (I commend the previous poster for keeping track of all the children*hours). Current nanny has not complained. I did feel that my previous nanny frowned every time I made a decision that an older kid is too sick to go to school and was always trying to convince me that they are making up symptoms ;( maybe if she got higher pay for those hours she'd be happier.

As someone who has to sometimes get on important calls at 8 sharp and whose nanny starts at 8, I would recommend you try to start nanny at 6:45 am ish. I feel that too many times I don't have enough overlap with the nanny to start the day on a right note (nanny might be late by a few minutes, or kid decides to make demands), so having a buffer is good. Some folks are early risers and they would love those kind of hours and having afternoon off.

Good luck!

Military day care

I would loooove a 7am-3pm job! I hate working late, and I'm sure the are others who feel the same as I do on that so I don't think that's a problem. I think it also makes it a good fit for someone who wants to take classes in the afternoon or evenings or who has a child of their own to pick up from school.

That price range seems totally doable for a nanny. There are 3 kids in the family I work for and since I only have all 3 of them for an hour a day I have different hourly rates. I make $16 for 1 child, $18 for 2 and $21 for 3. It does get a little annoying to have to keep track of my hours but it was the fairest thing we could come up with.

OP here. No more than $1000 per week (including taxes/benefits).

What is your budget?

I've been a SAHM for 3 years and need help figuring out childcare. My new job is a FT contractor position in which I will primarily work out of my home. I will have about a dozen early morning meetings per month (starting at 7 am). I have a 5 year old in FT kindergarten, a 3 year old in PT preschool 3 mornings per week, and a 1 year old. DH works from 6:30 am-5 pm everyday and doesn't have a flexible job (military). My goal is to work 7-3 each day and spend afternoons with the kids. With 3 kids, is my best option an Au Pair? We have a 4 bedroom house so the au pair could be accommodated but there wouldn't be much privacy (all bedrooms and baths are on the same level in our house). If we went with the traditional US full-time nanny, would anyone want an early morning job with a WAHM? Also, how could we structure the pay to reflect the shifting number of kids (5 year old for 1 hour, 3 year old for 5 hours, etc.) I'm excited for this new job opportunity and would really appreciate any insight.