Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:$14.54 per hour. You can get a warm body for that.

$14.54 is a hell of a lot more than you can make in fields that require education, certification, lisencing, regulation and relevant background. Nannying requires none of that, yet you expect to make more than a first year teacher with a degree? You women have some very over inflated senses of self worth. It is child care, not rocket science, and should pay accordingly. This is just becoming a joke.

Please don't feed the troll, folks.

Anonymous wrote:OP, you'll never get a good answer to your question from DCUM. I would talk to people you actually know in your area. I'd say average is $15-$20/hr but I'm sure there are others here who would disagree.

I think it's hard to get an idea even from talking to people in your area, and also, $15-20 an hour is a HUGE range.

We pay $17.50 an hour (started at 17) for 2 kids in Arlington, part-time, with 1 kid being in school for most of the day. I think this is a pretty middle of the road rate, based on talking with friends--some pay more ($18 an hour for 2 in diapers) and some pay less ($14 an hour for one kid). Our nanny drives but there is currently no driving required/expected, is legal, has great experience/references, bilingual, some college education, minimal housekeeping duties (no laundry). I would suggest that you think about the whole package--are you expecting someone who will run errands (kid-related or not), clean and do laundry (again, kid-related or not), seek out activities for your kids, etc? All of these things will cost you more, which I think is fair since it means, for example, she might be spending nap time cleaning, doing laundry, meal prep, checking on library story times, etc and basically work all day with no break. On the flip side, if you're fine with someone who uses down time to read or watch TV, you might expect to pay less.

I would also suggest you think about the whole package you are offering. We included paid federal holidays and some paid vacation and sick days from the start. We had previously been paying for daycare where you pay 52 weeks a year regardless of closures, holidays, etc so it wasn't a big stretch for us. At least a small benefits package is pretty standard but if you are able to offer something additional (health insurance stipend, cell phone coverage) I think it makes for a more attractive position.

Yes OP, there is no way to know until you post an ad and see who responds. But you may find the rate you're offering only attracts desperate candidates rather than great ones, so try your luck and if you don't get suitable applicants, then you'll know why.