Anonymous wrote:OP, please do not listen to the nannies on here saying you should be paying $20+ an hour. That is crazy.

You could easily find someone for $15/hr-$18/hr...and I'm a nanny! The nannies on here like to go overboard with the hourly rates and it's just ridiculous. I was a nanny in Leesburg for twin 8 weeks old a year ago and I started at $17/hr and they raised me to $18/hr after a year.

I look after infant twin girls in Falls Church and I make $24 per hour.

You can easily find someone for cheaper but you get what you pay for.

$20 a hour is a fair price for twin newborns for sure!

This thread is 4 years old

no one will take care of twins for $20.. you should look at start at $22.. if she has experience

we pay $24 in Chevy Chase, DC. she has 15+ year of experience..

We pay $23 Gross in NWDC

I agree with 21:45. You need to find your own "right fit". It will ultimately be different than everyone else's.

So I'm the pp who posted the specifics of what I pay for our nanny and it seems to have really riled people up (which I don't get - but whatever. ) We love our nanny and she loves us. We all consider ourselves lucky. She's a citizen, has a great driving record, our kids are growing up bilingual, etc... For her we're guaranteed respectful employment, w/ babies (not older kids - babies were a huge "want" for her), extra perks (great benefits, vacation, commute, car provision, etc...), and lots of flexibility.

My point to the OP is to know what matters to you and trust your instincts when hiring. Our nanny doesn't have advanced degrees, or education in childcare, she's not fully fluent in English, and she really needs to feel like part of the family to be happy in her job. Some of those things might not work for you.

But, I trust her w/ my kids lives, unconditionally. I turned down more "professional" nannies for one I enjoyed having in my home. Does it work for us financially? Did we get lucky? Absolutely. And I don't forget that. Does it work for her also? Yes.

So do what's right for you and your family. Maybe it will cost more, maybe not. Fit trumps everything (within your budget of course). I hope you found some of the advice here useful. There's an awful lot of vitriol for no apparent reason - I was just trying to give you the specifics for our situation, not passing judgment on anyone else's.

Good luck!