Having a good, educated nanny was important to DH and me even though he had started a PhD program and I was earning about 150k a year. We used our savings to pay for our nanny for those three years. By the time my DD started preschool and aftercare, she was leap years ahead of her classmates thanks to our nanny as well as being a very happy and secure little kid. Gratefully, our nanny has stayed in my DD’s life and is a beloved family friend.

So, yes - it can be done only if you have substantial savings and make it a priority.

You're right OP - it can't be done on 150k/yr.

Our nanny makes about 49k in salary for a 50 hr/week position. Add in the cost of taxes, payroll, bonuses, occasional overtime hours, health insurance premium coverage, etc... the total annual cost to us is probably $75-60k (I have never added every dollar up.)

Our HHI is approx. 400k and we live in Kensington.

Anonymous wrote:We make $600k/yr and still choose an au pair over nanny. Not only are they expensive, they are in fact full grown adults with their own lives. My au pairs are flexible and truly at my beckon call.

It is “beck and call” not “beckon call”, you idiot.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We make $600k/yr and still choose an au pair over nanny. Not only are they expensive, they are in fact full grown adults with their own lives. My au pairs are flexible and truly at my beckon call.

Not for more than 45 hours a week. You sound like a bitch.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington/550k/$20 an hour base/50 hours/1 baby

All in w taxes and benefits it’s close to 70k a year I think? So yeah, wouldn’t be doing this if we made significantly less.

Arlington at the moment; Our income is around 400k.

Its amazing how much your spending on a Nanny; I guess having a nanny is really a pure luxury (like a sports car).

Do you not think an experienced nanny should be making a minimum of $20/hr?

Truthfully no. They are blue-collar workers with very little college education. When I graduated from Law school, i didn't even make as much as some of these nannies do. Its surprising and sad. I guess if you can find someone willing to pay you the amount some of these nannies are asking for then.... good for them.

Maybe your job after college wasn't as important as a nanny's job. Dime a dozen people coming out of Law School while good nannies are hard to find. "Graduating law school" doesn't automatically mean you are going to make more than a nanny. Lots of assumptions on you part.

"Graduating law school" means one is graduating the actual law school. People are GRADUATED FROM an academic institution! Take a course in remedial English.

Anonymous wrote:We make $600k/yr and still choose an au pair over nanny. Not only are they expensive, they are in fact full grown adults with their own lives. My au pairs are flexible and truly at my beckon call.

Not for more than 45 hours a week. You sound like a bitch.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington/550k/$20 an hour base/50 hours/1 baby

All in w taxes and benefits it’s close to 70k a year I think? So yeah, wouldn’t be doing this if we made significantly less.

Arlington at the moment; Our income is around 400k.

Its amazing how much your spending on a Nanny; I guess having a nanny is really a pure luxury (like a sports car).

Do you not think an experienced nanny should be making a minimum of $20/hr?

Truthfully no. They are blue-collar workers with very little college education. When I graduated from Law school, i didn't even make as much as some of these nannies do. Its surprising and sad. I guess if you can find someone willing to pay you the amount some of these nannies are asking for then.... good for them.

Maybe your job after college wasn't as important as a nanny's job. Dime a dozen people coming out of Law School while good nannies are hard to find. "Graduating law school" doesn't automatically mean you are going to make more than a nanny. Lots of assumptions on you part.

I can't imagine being able to afford a (good) nanny with a 150K HHI.

To answer your questions, we're in Potomac. 2 kids. When it's all done we pay between 65K and 70K a year for the nanny. Sick leave and vacation. And she deserves every penny.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hiring a Personal Nanny is the most expensive form of childcare out there.

Bar none.

The reasons why are that the family does not have to wake their child up early in order to drop them off somewhere else.
And if they are stuck in traffic on the way home, they don’t have to be penalized for being late.

The child benefits by receiving personal, one-on-one attention + care.
They also get the luxury of napping in their own bed, eating their own food as well as playing w/their own toys.

The biggest benefit is that they are not exposed on a daily basis to unwanted germs.

I find paying the extra dollars is a great investment in your child.

But

So you’re the parent who doesn’t pay nanny when you’re late?!

Being penalized is not the same as not paying. And since some nannies are paid to be available, no they aren’t paid extra when the parent is late.

NP here. Legally, nannies are hourly employees and must be paid for every minute they are working, which certainly includes the times that you are late. Equally important, we are paid to be available for our scheduled shifts, but at your beck and call! Your attitude is insane.

I’m paid to be available 24/5, so when a parent is late, I’m not paid extra. I don’t think that’s insane at all. Neither parent has to worry about running out the door during a meeting or losing their nanny, or do they have to scramble to find childcare when their nanny says no to covering travel. It works for us

That is your regular shift, very different than just expecting that the nanny can stay late randomly without any thought to her schedule. Certainly you’re not too dense to understand that.

No, my base shift ends around 8pm, I’m paid to be available, not necessarily working. If I were working more than 60 hours weekly on a regular basis, I’d negotiate higher. I negotiated for an on call schedule and appropriate pay to go with it. My personal opinion is that families should always negotiate for the widest hours they need, and pay for that availability, then there aren’t issues later.

BEING IN CALL IS OART OF UOUR SCHEDULE! How do you not see the difference???

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hiring a Personal Nanny is the most expensive form of childcare out there.

Bar none.

The reasons why are that the family does not have to wake their child up early in order to drop them off somewhere else.
And if they are stuck in traffic on the way home, they don’t have to be penalized for being late.

The child benefits by receiving personal, one-on-one attention + care.
They also get the luxury of napping in their own bed, eating their own food as well as playing w/their own toys.

The biggest benefit is that they are not exposed on a daily basis to unwanted germs.

I find paying the extra dollars is a great investment in your child.

But

So you’re the parent who doesn’t pay nanny when you’re late?!

Being penalized is not the same as not paying. And since some nannies are paid to be available, no they aren’t paid extra when the parent is late.

NP here. Legally, nannies are hourly employees and must be paid for every minute they are working, which certainly includes the times that you are late. Equally important, we are paid to be available for our scheduled shifts, but at your beck and call! Your attitude is insane.

I’m paid to be available 24/5, so when a parent is late, I’m not paid extra. I don’t think that’s insane at all. Neither parent has to worry about running out the door during a meeting or losing their nanny, or do they have to scramble to find childcare when their nanny says no to covering travel. It works for us

That is your regular shift, very different than just expecting that the nanny can stay late randomly without any thought to her schedule. Certainly you’re not too dense to understand that.

No, my base shift ends around 8pm, I’m paid to be available, not necessarily working. If I were working more than 60 hours weekly on a regular basis, I’d negotiate higher. I negotiated for an on call schedule and appropriate pay to go with it. My personal opinion is that families should always negotiate for the widest hours they need, and pay for that availability, then there aren’t issues later.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Arlington/550k/$20 an hour base/50 hours/1 baby

All in w taxes and benefits it’s close to 70k a year I think? So yeah, wouldn’t be doing this if we made significantly less.

Arlington at the moment; Our income is around 400k.

Its amazing how much your spending on a Nanny; I guess having a nanny is really a pure luxury (like a sports car).

Do you not think an experienced nanny should be making a minimum of $20/hr?

Truthfully no. They are blue-collar workers with very little college education. When I graduated from Law school, i didn't even make as much as some of these nannies do. Its surprising and sad. I guess if you can find someone willing to pay you the amount some of these nannies are asking for then.... good for them.

Many blue collar workers make a good wage. We shouldn’t be able to support ourselves because we enjoy working with children? That is insane! And when nannies first start in their field, they make less, as with any job. How do you feel about preschool teachers; are they also too far below you to make a living wage?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hiring a Personal Nanny is the most expensive form of childcare out there.

Bar none.

The reasons why are that the family does not have to wake their child up early in order to drop them off somewhere else.
And if they are stuck in traffic on the way home, they don’t have to be penalized for being late.

The child benefits by receiving personal, one-on-one attention + care.
They also get the luxury of napping in their own bed, eating their own food as well as playing w/their own toys.

The biggest benefit is that they are not exposed on a daily basis to unwanted germs.

I find paying the extra dollars is a great investment in your child.

But

So you’re the parent who doesn’t pay nanny when you’re late?!

Being penalized is not the same as not paying. And since some nannies are paid to be available, no they aren’t paid extra when the parent is late.

NP here. Legally, nannies are hourly employees and must be paid for every minute they are working, which certainly includes the times that you are late. Equally important, we are paid to be available for our scheduled shifts, but at your beck and call! Your attitude is insane.

I’m paid to be available 24/5, so when a parent is late, I’m not paid extra. I don’t think that’s insane at all. Neither parent has to worry about running out the door during a meeting or losing their nanny, or do they have to scramble to find childcare when their nanny says no to covering travel. It works for us

That is your regular shift, very different than just expecting that the nanny can stay late randomly without any thought to her schedule. Certainly you’re not too dense to understand that.

Income is $300k+ a year. Our nanny works for us full time (40+ hours a week). She watches our 5 year old and 1 year old. She gets all holidays paid, 2 weeks of vacation, 3 sick days. She makes $23/h. We live in Los Angeles

We make $600k/yr and still choose an au pair over nanny. Not only are they expensive, they are in fact full grown adults with their own lives. My au pairs are flexible and truly at my beckon call.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hiring a Personal Nanny is the most expensive form of childcare out there.

Bar none.

The reasons why are that the family does not have to wake their child up early in order to drop them off somewhere else.
And if they are stuck in traffic on the way home, they don’t have to be penalized for being late.

The child benefits by receiving personal, one-on-one attention + care.
They also get the luxury of napping in their own bed, eating their own food as well as playing w/their own toys.

The biggest benefit is that they are not exposed on a daily basis to unwanted germs.

I find paying the extra dollars is a great investment in your child.

But

So you’re the parent who doesn’t pay nanny when you’re late?!

Being penalized is not the same as not paying. And since some nannies are paid to be available, no they aren’t paid extra when the parent is late.

NP here. Legally, nannies are hourly employees and must be paid for every minute they are working, which certainly includes the times that you are late. Equally important, we are paid to be available for our scheduled shifts, but at your beck and call! Your attitude is insane.

I’m paid to be available 24/5, so when a parent is late, I’m not paid extra. I don’t think that’s insane at all. Neither parent has to worry about running out the door during a meeting or losing their nanny, or do they have to scramble to find childcare when their nanny says no to covering travel. It works for us