"Light housekeeping" and the example she gave was emptying the dishwasher not vacuuming. It hardly seems like it would be a ton of work. I agree it is best to include though since some sitters will do nothing whatsoever even if kid are occupied / sleeping. We have an evening sitter and she is acceptable for the rate (12) but it is really annoying that she does not even put the kids supper dishes in the dishwasher. She puts them to bed and then just hangs out.
That said - again these moms might ask for tr sun and moon and Stars. They also might actually get someone to come in and clean for them. My point re: keeping the kids alive was that sitters in this range are likely to be crappy with your kids. That may be tolerable while they sleep or for a semi older child for a couple hours but would be intolerable for young kids. So again - it is a different type of job market from what good nannies are shopping in and most MBs with little kids are advertising.

Anonymous wrote:But pp you are not offering the same service as a 16 yr old sitter or an adult sitter who is just in charge of keeping the kid alive. That is why you would not take that job. But not all MBs want a great nanny. Some simply want a "keep the kids alive for a couple hours" person. The latter approach might be short sighted unless it is just for night time sitting but it is a reality. The moms who need a good nanny are just not the moms willing to hire someone for 9 bucks an hour.

Moms looking for that are fine offering what they offer. What is offensive is moms looking for a taxi, tutor, maid, and sitter all in one, and offer $9/hour. OP had the gall to think she could include housekeeping in that rate. Are you freaking serious??

But pp you are not offering the same service as a 16 yr old sitter or an adult sitter who is just in charge of keeping the kid alive. That is why you would not take that job. But not all MBs want a great nanny. Some simply want a "keep the kids alive for a couple hours" person. The latter approach might be short sighted unless it is just for night time sitting but it is a reality. The moms who need a good nanny are just not the moms willing to hire someone for 9 bucks an hour.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The suggestion to nanny share Is a good one. Or drop one set if lessons to let you afford it. If the after care really is not good for your kid (each kid is different) then you need to find the money to pay a rate that can actually find you someone.

I'm a pp here from earlier in the thread (the one who mentioned that a 13 year old sitter wouldn't be able to drive OP's kid to karate and music classes.)

I guess this (what I bolded) is what bothers me about OP. Obviously it's not a situation where she "can't afford" more because every penny she earns is going to put food on the table--she just chooses to spend money on other things and wants to cheap on childcare. My guess is there are many areas in her budget that she could cut back on in order to pay a decent childcare wage, but instead she wants her childcare provider to just accept meager wages.

What I don't understand are posters like you who get so up in arms about this. If the rate is so cheap, then OP just simply won't be able to find anybody for that rate. She will either need to make more room in her budget or find an alternative? Hello - simple Economics 101.

Except with domestic labor, there is always someone willing to work for nothing. Doesn't make the wage right. You can (and people do) post a job offering $150/week for 50 hours, and unfortunately will probably find someone. So yes, OP could post this job for $9/hour and she would find someone. Will they be a quality caregiver? Maybe, but most likely not. It doesn't change the fact that its insulting to me and what I do that someone values it at $9/hour. Its insulting when anyone undervalues your work. And like I said, you brush it off the first, second, and fiftieth time, but at some point you get fed up. I made $9/hour scooping ice cream at 14, ten years ago. If you don't think the care of your child is worth more than that, you're damn right I take offense to that.

"Please, this is an anonymous listserver. OP is asking if the rate is unreasonable. People are saying yes. How is that insulting? "

agree. And the rate is above minimum wage so i do not think it's inherently obvious to moms w/o any exposure to the nanny market to realize that anything near min wage is just wage too low - even to attract teenage sitters - in this area. But how will they know that except by posting here if they don't know anyone who employs a nanny. OP's even trying to verify to see if she's off base before posting the job - all the more reason not to jump down her throat.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Pp - I am the one you replied to but dear lord this is why this board is just ridiculously antagonistic at this point. Of course OP is clueless about going rates. That is clear from her post. But she does not seem malicious - just uninformed. And she came here trying to GET informed. No need to paint her out as an evil cheapskate for not realizing that what she had in mind simply will not fly. She even seemed to readily accept that mid-thread. Jeez. I understand jumping all over MBs who know what is standard but try to take advantage of Nannies anyway. What blows my mind is how some nanny posters here treat most potential new MBs who lost here trying to get advice with the same sort of criticism and hostility. Get a grip.

I get what you're saying, but even an uninformed person should recognize its going to cost more than what you'd pay a kid to mow your lawn, to properly care for your child especially for a few hours each day. It really is just common sense, so I honestly don't believe for a moment that OP didn't know she was being cheap. Maybe she didn't know how cheap, but she was being cheap. Its insulting, and that's why you see nannies get angry and defensive. If someone was hiring people to do your job for half your salary, it might make you laugh or scoff at first. But the hundredth, or thousandth time it will make you angry.

Please, this is an anonymous listserver. OP is asking if the rate is unreasonable. People are saying yes. How is that insulting?

And to answer your question, for most professions there is a pretty decent range of acceptable salaries based on experience, education, etc. What nannies want to pretend is that such ranges (even the low ones) don't apply to you. You get furious any time a person even suggests that some nannies are not worth $15/hour. Getting insulted by this is just ridiculous.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The suggestion to nanny share Is a good one. Or drop one set if lessons to let you afford it. If the after care really is not good for your kid (each kid is different) then you need to find the money to pay a rate that can actually find you someone.

I'm a pp here from earlier in the thread (the one who mentioned that a 13 year old sitter wouldn't be able to drive OP's kid to karate and music classes.)

I guess this (what I bolded) is what bothers me about OP. Obviously it's not a situation where she "can't afford" more because every penny she earns is going to put food on the table--she just chooses to spend money on other things and wants to cheap on childcare. My guess is there are many areas in her budget that she could cut back on in order to pay a decent childcare wage, but instead she wants her childcare provider to just accept meager wages.

What I don't understand are posters like you who get so up in arms about this. If the rate is so cheap, then OP just simply won't be able to find anybody for that rate. She will either need to make more room in her budget or find an alternative? Hello - simple Economics 101.

Anonymous wrote:Pp - I am the one you replied to but dear lord this is why this board is just ridiculously antagonistic at this point. Of course OP is clueless about going rates. That is clear from her post. But she does not seem malicious - just uninformed. And she came here trying to GET informed. No need to paint her out as an evil cheapskate for not realizing that what she had in mind simply will not fly. She even seemed to readily accept that mid-thread. Jeez. I understand jumping all over MBs who know what is standard but try to take advantage of Nannies anyway. What blows my mind is how some nanny posters here treat most potential new MBs who lost here trying to get advice with the same sort of criticism and hostility. Get a grip.

I get what you're saying, but even an uninformed person should recognize its going to cost more than what you'd pay a kid to mow your lawn, to properly care for your child especially for a few hours each day. It really is just common sense, so I honestly don't believe for a moment that OP didn't know she was being cheap. Maybe she didn't know how cheap, but she was being cheap. Its insulting, and that's why you see nannies get angry and defensive. If someone was hiring people to do your job for half your salary, it might make you laugh or scoff at first. But the hundredth, or thousandth time it will make you angry.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The suggestion to nanny share Is a good one. Or drop one set if lessons to let you afford it. If the after care really is not good for your kid (each kid is different) then you need to find the money to pay a rate that can actually find you someone.

I'm a pp here from earlier in the thread (the one who mentioned that a 13 year old sitter wouldn't be able to drive OP's kid to karate and music classes.)

I guess this (what I bolded) is what bothers me about OP. Obviously it's not a situation where she "can't afford" more because every penny she earns is going to put food on the table--she just chooses to spend money on other things and wants to cheap on childcare. My guess is there are many areas in her budget that she could cut back on in order to pay a decent childcare wage, but instead she wants her childcare provider to just accept meager wages.

Yeah this bugs me too, but inevitably we will get flamed, as it isn't our business how employers spend their money lol. That's fine, just don't feed me bull about not being able to afford to pay any more. "Afford" refers to ability, what you don't have is a desire to pay more. HUGE difference.

^post. Not lost. Darn phone.

Pp - I am the one you replied to but dear lord this is why this board is just ridiculously antagonistic at this point. Of course OP is clueless about going rates. That is clear from her post. But she does not seem malicious - just uninformed. And she came here trying to GET informed. No need to paint her out as an evil cheapskate for not realizing that what she had in mind simply will not fly. She even seemed to readily accept that mid-thread. Jeez. I understand jumping all over MBs who know what is standard but try to take advantage of Nannies anyway. What blows my mind is how some nanny posters here treat most potential new MBs who lost here trying to get advice with the same sort of criticism and hostility. Get a grip.

Anonymous wrote:The suggestion to nanny share Is a good one. Or drop one set if lessons to let you afford it. If the after care really is not good for your kid (each kid is different) then you need to find the money to pay a rate that can actually find you someone.

I'm a pp here from earlier in the thread (the one who mentioned that a 13 year old sitter wouldn't be able to drive OP's kid to karate and music classes.)

I guess this (what I bolded) is what bothers me about OP. Obviously it's not a situation where she "can't afford" more because every penny she earns is going to put food on the table--she just chooses to spend money on other things and wants to cheap on childcare. My guess is there are many areas in her budget that she could cut back on in order to pay a decent childcare wage, but instead she wants her childcare provider to just accept meager wages.

I would try and find a college student with some schedule flexibility for this job. If there's any way you could offer $14-15 an hour and guarantee 3 hours per day, this would be attractive as a part-time job. Otherwise, as the PPs have suggested, I think you're going to have a very difficult time finding someone to set aside that time for that little pay.

The suggestion to nanny share Is a good one. Or drop one set if lessons to let you afford it. If the after care really is not good for your kid (each kid is different) then you need to find the money to pay a rate that can actually find you someone.

Unless you can find someone who is retired who is willing to do what you need for a little "pin money", you're going to have to raise your rates a good bit. 15 hours a week at less than $9/hour isn't worth it for many people seeking PT work