PP here (11:31) - I mean we want nanny for #2, but want to give #1 preschool experience. sorry, typing fast

PP here who was going to do daycare and the preschool - no time to type a lot but ballpark I was thinking (and these are low rates, I get it, we are assuming we will pay more)

Calcs include OT, but not taxes (no time right now)

12/hr for one child nanny, 1 child FT preschool - $960 ($660 week for 1 child)

$15/hr for two children - both children home, PT preschool - $1025

Difference per week - $65

So the $155 difference makes sense per week if you include taxes.

I agree if OP is looking at budget, 2 kids in daycare is cheaper than 1 with a nanny, but my argument was that by giving #2 SOME sort of preschool (which we want), it's not worth it for us to pull her out of FT preschool. The other issue with PT preschool is that then you have to find a nanny who can drive (we don't have a PT preschool walking distance from us) and mileage, additional car insurance and general headache is also worth $$ to us.

we want a nanny for #2 because of the convenience it provides but also want to give #2 preschool experience.

if we go a share (ideal, and will look for it, but we want to host so looking at things if we don't find someone to share), we will try for $16/hr, meaning $500 a week (50hrs a week).

btw, this is a PP, not the OP. I was just sharing what we plan to do, at least for the first year.

Anonymous wrote:Where Are you getting 4 kids from? Op's oldest would be I preschool most of the time since most Montessoris are 9 to 3. Having a kid for a relatively small part of say does not translate to the same work burden of 2 kids full time so why would rate be the same? And presumably other famt would also pay about 8 an hr - maybe 7 - on average so you are still in the 750 range at least per week. This might be a terrible wage in close in spots but it is a decent weekly amount out where I live.

Well, a nanny share would mean either 3 or 4 kids, right? The 2 kids from the poster's family plus a kid or 2 from the other family. And if the poster is paying $8/hour for 2 kids, it's logical the other family would pay $4/hour if they had one kid or $8/hour if they had 2 kids.

And Montessori programs for 2's can be 2.5, 3, or 4 hours or they can be longer which means the kids nap for 2 hours then go home at 3.

All of which still boils down to how is the OP saving money by doing a share and preschool? The math makes no sense based on my guesses, and since OP hasn't answered any questions, I guess we'll never know.

OP it really depends on rates in your area for nannies and daycare and how many hours you need. For us a nanny was cheaper than an infant and 2 yr old in daycare. Our daycare was 425 a week for infants and 350 for the 2s room or $775 a week or 40K a year. We live right outside the beltways and its pretty easy to find an excellent nanny for $12-$14 an hour average. We needed 45 hours a week.We started our nanny at $12 an hour which was 540. If you factor in 10% for taxes, workers com, gas mileage, extras it was about $600. This was a $175 a week or 9K savings over daycare. We also avoided needing to have the kids in the commute into work where the daycare was located. The 9K savings really off set adding in half day Montessori for the oldest later on.

We did Montessori preschool too but started when the oldest was 3.5 not 2.5. The Montessori program starts at age 3-6. If the child isn't 3 by Sept they usually don't go into the primary class until the next Sept. While some Montessori programs have fine programs for 2 year olds it isn't really Montessori. We also did half day for the first year for my oldest which reduced the added cost. The following year when the youngest was 2.5 and the oldest was 4.5 we switched both to full day Montessori and the Montessori 2s program (9-3) with aftercare 3-6. The cost was around 32K a year a little more than the nanny for the prior time.

In Oak Hill nanny rates are probably no where near what you hear on this board. The rates quoted by nannies on this board are even high for the metro area! However, you may not be paying much for daycare or you may need more hours which changes the equation.

My suggestion would be to 1.) never listen to the nannies on this board 2.) identify a rate that will make it work for you and 3.) search for a nanny at that rate.

Where Are you getting 4 kids from? Op's oldest would be I preschool most of the time since most Montessoris are 9 to 3. Having a kid for a relatively small part of say does not translate to the same work burden of 2 kids full time so why would rate be the same? And presumably other famt would also pay about 8 an hr - maybe 7 - on average so you are still in the 750 range at least per week. This might be a terrible wage in close in spots but it is a decent weekly amount out where I live.

nannydebsays wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pp with the math...I do not have a calculator I hand to double check and agree that if it is for 50 hrs then OP likely cannot get a decent solo nanny at a lower coat than daycare. But she may only need 40 hours or she may live in say LEESBURG. It is hard to say for sure what math works without knowing the hours total and where OP is located.

I think a nanny share plus preschool combo makes the most sense and is what we did. Also disagree that An average hourly rate of 8 for 50 hours is too low for a share. That would be a total of 800 a week for the nanny which is a pretty good amount for most places although perhaps not NWDC.

Yep, location has a lot to do with it, but IMO, unless you are willing to settle for a MUCH less experienced nanny, offering $8 for 50 hours of work (and that would have to include $12 for 10 hours of OT) for 2 kids is crap wages, because in this nanny share, the other family would, logically, expect to pay only $4/hour if they had 1 child, or $8 if they had 2 kids.

So you'd be asking the nanny to care for 3 kids for $12/hour, or 4 kids for $16/hour, 50 hours a week. Nanny would have to be able to transport at least 1 child to and from preschool 3 or so days a week. No nanny with any savvy and experience will take that job, when they could earn more money for fewer kids and not have to deal with 2 sets of parents. Not for $880/week or less.

Agree with NannyDeb - any nanny worth her stuff can earn that (or significantly more) with fewer kids and only one set of parents. You'll be able to find someone, sure, but adjust your expectations accordingly because when you pay crap wages you can't be picky.

Anonymous wrote:Pp with the math...I do not have a calculator I hand to double check and agree that if it is for 50 hrs then OP likely cannot get a decent solo nanny at a lower coat than daycare. But she may only need 40 hours or she may live in say LEESBURG. It is hard to say for sure what math works without knowing the hours total and where OP is located.

I think a nanny share plus preschool combo makes the most sense and is what we did. Also disagree that An average hourly rate of 8 for 50 hours is too low for a share. That would be a total of 800 a week for the nanny which is a pretty good amount for most places although perhaps not NWDC.

Yep, location has a lot to do with it, but IMO, unless you are willing to settle for a MUCH less experienced nanny, offering $8 for 50 hours of work (and that would have to include $12 for 10 hours of OT) for 2 kids is crap wages, because in this nanny share, the other family would, logically, expect to pay only $4/hour if they had 1 child, or $8 if they had 2 kids.

So you'd be asking the nanny to care for 3 kids for $12/hour, or 4 kids for $16/hour, 50 hours a week. Nanny would have to be able to transport at least 1 child to and from preschool 3 or so days a week. No nanny with any savvy and experience will take that job, when they could earn more money for fewer kids and not have to deal with 2 sets of parents. Not for $880/week or less.

Pp with the math...I do not have a calculator I hand to double check and agree that if it is for 50 hrs then OP likely cannot get a decent solo nanny at a lower coat than daycare. But she may only need 40 hours or she may live in say LEESBURG. It is hard to say for sure what math works without knowing the hours total and where OP is located.

I think a nanny share plus preschool combo makes the most sense and is what we did. Also disagree that An average hourly rate of 8 for 50 hours is too low for a share. That would be a total of 800 a week for the nanny which is a pretty good amount for most places although perhaps not NWDC.

OP -- I have a DC who will be going to full day kindergarten this fall. I did not cut my nanny's rates -- because I agree that would be a very bad thing and she'll end up taking care of DC on a lot of days anyway -- but I also didn't offer a raise on her anniversary.

Plus if your nanny ends up driving the oldest to preschool, she'll have increased responsibilities.