Anonymous wrote:Nannydeb, you seem to think 20 years of experience doing laundry, wiping things, making meals, and being able function on a schedule makes you worth so very much more. Frankly, there's by much of a value add after two or so years of experience, as long as the nanny has basic common sense.

OP has a nanny with minimal skills. She seems to NEED one with the skills to actually do more than keep her kids alive. That means she'll have to pay more.

And if you think all it takes to care for kids 10+ hours a day is what's in your little list, you obviously have no kids, and never spend any time with kids. There's a little more to it than wiping things, and the best nannies keep up with changes in the field, thereby giving them value added knowledge and experience.

How can you tell if your nanny stays educated? She doesn't ask why you put your baby to sleep on it's back, why it's not OK to let your toddler watch TV for 6 hours a day, and why your 2 year old is still using a rear-facing car seat. In fact, she might tell you some info you don't know about raising your child(ren)!

I do wish OP would come back and give us a full job description as well as say what she pays and her general location.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nannydeb, you seem to think 20 years of experience doing laundry, wiping things, making meals, and being able function on a schedule makes you worth so very much more. Frankly, there's by much of a value add after two or so years of experience, as long as the nanny has basic common sense.

+1

I can't stand the snotty, arrogant tone in NannyDeb's posts!

Yes, she has pretty much steered me away from ever considering a candidate with "deb" in her name. Just in case it's her.

Haha, nice retort PP. You got me.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Nannydeb, you seem to think 20 years of experience doing laundry, wiping things, making meals, and being able function on a schedule makes you worth so very much more. Frankly, there's by much of a value add after two or so years of experience, as long as the nanny has basic common sense.

+1

I can't stand the snotty, arrogant tone in NannyDeb's posts!

Who cares? I don't know of anyone who loves you either.

Anonymous wrote:Nannydeb, you seem to think 20 years of experience doing laundry, wiping things, making meals, and being able function on a schedule makes you worth so very much more. Frankly, there's by much of a value add after two or so years of experience, as long as the nanny has basic common sense.

+1

I can't stand the snotty, arrogant tone in NannyDeb's posts!

Nannydeb, you seem to think 20 years of experience doing laundry, wiping things, making meals, and being able function on a schedule makes you worth so very much more. Frankly, there's by much of a value add after two or so years of experience, as long as the nanny has basic common sense.

OP, not knowing what your job description is, or where you live, it's hard to guess what you mean by middle of the road wages. I'm guessing you pay $16/hour or less though, if you aren't attracting competent, professional nannies who can handle the job you want done. It sounds like whatever you pay, you are only attracting people who can keep your kids alive each day.

Let me tell you what I would do for you, assuming your needs match the questions I asked you last week that are quoted below.

Arrive at 8, make breakfast for whoever needs to eat, clear/clean dishes off table and load dishwasher. Get younger 2 ready for the day. Toss load of laundry in before we leave for the daily outing or preschool drop off. Go to activity (music/gymnastics/library/playground) or stay home to accommodate 1 yo nap. While 1 yo naps, transfer laundry to dryer, start second load if needed. Learning activity with 3 yo. Prep lunch for 3 and 1. Have a little "free play" time with 3 and 1 after 1 wakes up, preferably outside. Change diapers/help with toileting as needed. Lunchtime, then dishes cleaned up, and time to clean up toys before naps. Get both kids down for nap, then sweep floors as needed, do snack and dinner prep, fold laundry/shift loads, then take a break while waiting for older kids to get home. When 7 and 5 arrive, give them snack, wake 3 and 1 for snack as well, then everyone outside for 30 minutes before starting homework. Supervise homework, keep 3 and 1 occupied. Take out any trash, load any dishes in dishwasher, keep kids focused on their homework/play. At 5, everyone joins in to tidy up the house before you get home, and I make sure dinner prep is set for you to finish as needed. Once everything in the house is done, head outside to play until you arrive home.

I'd charge you between $24 - $27/hour plus OT. I have 20 years of experience, I am fully capable of doing what needs to be done as it needs doing, and I will return your kids and house to you in good shape at the end of the day.

If you can't afford a great nanny for 4, you might want to consider having your older 2 stay in extended care after school. If I was managing just 2 kids for you, I would charge $20 - $23, depending on how much laundry was the norm and how much other stuff you wanted done.

nannydebsays wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We are having a hard time finding a nanny for our four kids, and I come here to seek advice from others who have successfully done so (or nannies who have worked in similar situations). Our situation is this: two school aged kids, 7 and 5, full day school. One 3 year old, part day preschool 2x/wk. One 1 year old, at home. Nanny works from about 8-5:30/6. School aged kids get home at 3:00, so she's responsible for them for 2.5-3 hrs of after school time. No significant cleaning tasks or anything, other than kids laundry and keeping up with kids toys (directing older kids, assisting younger kids). No dinner prep, etc. - just feed them an after school snack, maybe oversee some very limited homework, and let them play.

We are finding that it's just about impossible to find a good nanny who can handle this set of kids and won't flake out on us. We're paying pretty middle of the road rates - definitely not low, but also not premium wages. I am reluctant to pay a premium wage when half the kids are gone for the majority of the day. The nanny currently has about 1.5-2 hours in the morning of complete quiet (youngest napping, 3 yr old at preschool), and a good 2.5 hours in the afternoon of quiet time (both younger kids napping). This doesn't seem like an insanely heavy workload to me, but maybe I'm underestimating.

Our problem seems to be attracting decent candidates who are confident enough to handle four kids, including the short term burst of energy that comes through the door at the end of the school day. Many are fine with two kids, or three, but the idea of four seems to scare them off before they even give it a chance.

Help me out here - what to do? Suggestions other than "throw money at the problem" would be helpful.

So, other than laundry for 4 kids (6+ loads a week, I would guess, more if she also washes their linens.) and "toy management" (tidying and supervising on a daily basis, with 2 reluctant-to-clean-up-kids under 4 and 2 over-wrought-from-school-kids ages 5 and 7), what else do you expect from your nanny in the way of light housework? Does she serve your kids the meals/snacks you made the day before, or does she have to make meals and snacks? Does she leave the dishes they use in the sink or on the table, or do you expect her to clean up after meals? Do you expect her to make any beds? Is she expected to deal with the dishwasher at all? What about keeping the floors clean? Do you expect her to empty diaper genies and household trash? Are there any family pets she is expected to care for? Does she have to drive any kids anywhere for school or other activities? Do you expect her to grocery shop or run any errands?

What are nanny's hours? What benefits do you offer? How do you show her your appreciation for a job well done? What expectations do you have of her regarding your children's emotional, physical, psychological and social development? What do you ask of her when it comes to their education?

I'll return to offer advice later. I hope you'll have responded to the questions above so that I can tailor my thoughts to your actual job description and needs!

I am taking care of 3 boys. Are you asking the nanny to give a bath/shower to each kid or a least to supervise it. Let me tell you that, that alone, is exhausting at the end of the day. To choose their PJ is also a task, without talking about the running around in the hallway, fighting, screaming, laughing, etc. I charge $27/hour. Washing, drying, folding, putting away clothes takes easily 2 hours/day (of course, this includes the parents clothes). Kids change clothes at least twice a day, this is not including sports stuff, socks to match and undergarments to organize by size and this do not includes the clothes they re trying BEFORE going to school, of course, left on the floor for you to pick up. Have you done it ? I have, and I am not a lazy bone. Just something to think about.
How much is this worth?
Besides, you are asking for 5 days, each 10 hours...
But, I do it and I love those kids.