$21-25/hr in DC.

Anonymous wrote:You can expect to pay $25-30. Many three baby shares pay $9 per hour per family, though your job is not a share so you may pay less as a concession. You will also may to verify that your nanny wants the added responsibility. Do so by acknowledging that you will give her a great reference either way, not punishing her for being forthright in your dealings. It may make sense to set a guaranteed hourly rate for the times she has 2 vs 3 kiddo, it could save you some money.

It simply isn't a given that she should expect to pay $25-30, unless she's in Manhattan.

In DC central she's probably looking at low to mid twenties. In close-in suburbs like Chevy Chase/Great Falls she's probably looking at $20. Every mile or two farther out she is will decrease the hourly rate she needs to offer to be competitive.

I think it would be pretty shameful to offer a job w/ a toddler and twin infants at anything less than $18/hr but I would fully expect to have lots of applicants with decent experience at that dollar level. What it will take to retain and please the nanny she already employs is a different question. We don't know where OP is located or the current compensation level.

I also wouldn't recommend the tiered rate structure to her. Preschool is only part-time and the nanny will have all three kids a lot of the time. It's a hassle to try to count hours and manage different levels of pay. Far better to come up w/ a flat rate with which the nanny is satisfied and the family is comfortable. Get the money stress out of the way - there'll be plenty of child related stress to handle!

Anonymous wrote:How much would you pay for all 3 in daycare? Don't go below that.

3 kids is where the nanny is usually the same or a little cheaper than daycare. Especially at infant rates.

You can expect to pay $25-30. Many three baby shares pay $9 per hour per family, though your job is not a share so you may pay less as a concession. You will also may to verify that your nanny wants the added responsibility. Do so by acknowledging that you will give her a great reference either way, not punishing her for being forthright in your dealings. It may make sense to set a guaranteed hourly rate for the times she has 2 vs 3 kiddo, it could save you some money.

MB here. You don't say where you're located OP - which helps in trying to give comparable market ranges.

I do think that your best approach is to think about what you can afford, what it would cost you if you went with a daycare/preschool approach, and what your comfortable range is knowing those numbers.

Try to figure out what the top end of your comfort zone is. How far above what you're currently paying your nanny is that?

For instance, if you're currently paying $16/hr (base), but you could find a way to afford $22/hr if you had to, then you have a lot of working room. If your absolute ceiling would be $19/hr then you have less wiggle room.

To preserve your sanity, and increase the chances of a stable, happy, long-term relationship with this nanny, you should try to be generous, but also preserve some room for raises and bonuses. So if you could go to the $22 level you might offer $19 or $20 - knowing that still leaves you room to give her raises for a year or two without putting you in an uncomfortable financial situation.

If you don't have that much wiggle room then you offer as much as you can (I would try for a $3/hr raise).

Then talk with your nanny. Be candid about the thinking you did, ask her first of all if she's up for the challenge, and then see if the rate you can offer is attractive to her.

Good luck!

FWIW, I found that handling twin infants was actually significantly easier than twin toddlers. It's labor intensive, but they're stationary and it's pretty straight-forward. Our baby whisperer nanny was astonishingly good at multiple infants, but she's struggling more now that they're mobile maniacs.

So it sounds really intimidating, but if your oldest child is in preschool some significant chunk of time, and if your nanny is experienced (and if you're willing to be a bit flexible to let her manage the twins' schedule in a way that makes sense in order to allow for caring for the older child also) then you will probably be fine.

Be prepared for your nanny to not necessarily have time to do all of the same things she might do now. Laundry, tidying, maintaining of kids' areas, etc... all might be a little tougher for a while when the twins arrive.

Congrats and good luck!

Anonymous wrote:I would expect between $25-30 for twins and a toddler!

At least.

How much would you pay for all 3 in daycare? Don't go below that.

I'd probably giver her a $3 increase.

$2 increase.

Maybe a little more if she is an experienced infant twin care giver. If she isn't you may want to look into hiring someone else at least part time to give her a hand.

You say she's been with you for over a year -- have you given her a raise up to this point? It's standard for nanny families to offer an annual raise of $1/hr (or more if warranted). In addition to that annual raise (consider it cost of living or performance based; clearly you must be happy with her to keep her on, especially with your expanding needs), you should also add more for the additional responsibility of the babies. $1.50-$3 more per hour is standard for /one/ additional baby. In your case, if you haven't previously given an annual raise I'd offer no less than $2.50 more per hour.

Honestly, if she's a great nanny you're lucky to have her. And if your rate was on par with what other nanny families in the area offer for the care of one child, offering any less than $3/hour for the addition of infant twins will make your compensation lower than similar jobs (two infants plus preschooler) in the area, and you'll risk losing her to either a similar paying job with fewer charges or a higher paying job with similar responsibilities.

I would give her a raise of $1-2 an hour more than what she is making now.

$25 an hour but you could offer health insurance too and offer less. Twins and a toddler is a lot !!

I would expect between $25-30 for twins and a toddler!

If you really want to know what she's expecting, please ask her.

We are trying to figure out what to offer our nanny. But totally unsure of the market. We have a three year old in part-time preschool and twins on the way. The nanny is full time. What is the going rate for three in this situation? Any comments are helpful.
We have a great nanny and she's been with us for well over a year now.