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How much money should I offer a nanny who will work 9-9 5 days a week, watching one baby starting around 4 months old?
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Nah. It's a bad economy, jobs are hard to come by, it's just one little baby. You could probably do $750 with the promise of an increase after 6 months. Remember that caring for one small baby is what all nannies are looking for.
[ Reply | Options ]$750? for 12 hours a day?? nfw. tha's like six bucks an hour. slave wages. no nanny likes changing crappy diapers on one baby enough for that!
[ Reply | Options ]I think $750 is good. BTW, 12 hrs/day * 5 days * 13 dollars = 780, so 750 is not so stingy. Especially if you pay holidays/vacations, that seems ok. You may even swing it with 700, if you do not expect anything else but nannying. Raises after 6 months are normal the first year, annually after that.
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those are awfully long hours -- why the 12-hour day? maybe you should try for live-in -- if you factor in a commute those are like slave hours
[ Reply | Options ]agree. op, are you a single mom? or why do you and dh have to both work twelve hours a day?
[ Reply | Options ]factoring in a commute, you are asking someone to work from 8 to 10. you will watch your baby for what hours when the child is not sleeping? i have nothing against nannies and working as a WOHM myself, but these hours sound too much. will you be home with nanny and you are afraid you can't handle it yourself, or are your work hours that intense?
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A lot of nannies like the long days, because they bring home more money. Especially immigrant nannies (and I do not mean illegally here) have left their families at home and they view their time here as a way to make good money to send back home. Many of them work 40 hrs for a family and then extra hours on the weekend possibly somewhere else. Provided that they are paid a decent hourly wage, I think that is the nanny's call. From a nanny perspective, if they have to come into Manhattan an extra day with the commute time, it's better to work a 10 day hour for the same weekly take home pay.
[ Reply | Options ]The other day I was at a park, and 2 nannies who were right behind me were snarking about how the parents they work for see the kids for maybe 30 minutes a day, and how that isn't even enough time to give their child a bath much less form a relationship. So before you go assuming that "the help" enjoys raising someone else's kid because they miss their "real" family, I'd consider what they are saying behind your back. Because it isn't very nice. But hey, if it makes you feel better about not seeing your kid...
[ Reply | Options ]I work PT and wasn't talking about my childcare situation. I never said the nanny would enjoy taking care of my family. In fact It must be emotionally difficult for a nanny to take care of someone else kids when herown are far away. All I said is that for a special, but fairly large group of nannies, working long hours, if paid resonably, is what they want. And if the job is represented correctly since the beginning -- and paid market rate -- it's the nanny's call.
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you don't know she isn't going to see her child. Just as an example, my friend is on the partnership track at a big law firm and so is her dh. They hired their nanny to work 8:30 - 8:30. But they try very hard to have one of them home by 6:30 every night. But they know they can't promise that and they want their nanny to be happy, so they pay her for 12 hours a day in case they need it. And on weekends they switch off which day each works so one parent is home each weekend day. They are great parents and have two wonderful, well adjusted kids.
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In my experience of employing a nanny for 7 years and having many, many friends who also employ nannies under varying circumstances, the longer the hours, the less you pay per hour. Part-time nannies get paid the most on an hourly basis, followed by nannies who work in the 40-50 hour range, followed by nannies who work 50+ hours. I agree with the poster who said most nannies want to work for a family with a first, new baby. They know that is the best chance for a long term job (and babies are WAY easier than toddlers or older kids). You also need to make sure you have room to give yearly raises and raises for each new child. I think you should start at $720, which is $12/hr. If you give a $25 raise each year and have one more child, by the time this child enters Kindergarten, you will be paying $900.
[ Reply | Options ]my friends have a live in and they pay $400/wk for 2 dcs in short hills. the nanny is very happy. only nannies themselves post those outrageous rates of $1000/wk. That is more than $50K/year - more than teachers make.
[ Reply | Options ]I was wondering who was posting these absurd salaries, if nannies in wishful thinking mode or parents clueless of market rates. As an indication, at my kids preschool, many teachers are happy to babysit. They all have BAs and many MS. The going rate is $15 to $17, this is for occasinal babysitting, which is the most expensive on an hrly base. The average nanny is not even closely qualified as they are. Another data point: ATs at the best public schools make 13-15/he, I expect the same at private. Again, BA and MS in vast majority of cases, working toward teaching credentials. So 13 to 15 for an average nanny is more than fair in this market.
[ Reply | Options ]ah, but teachers get benefits (health insurance, summer vacation, pension, etc) and nannies usually don't
[ Reply | Options ]No preschool teacher gets pension. They may have health insurance, but I would not be 100% sure either. And ATs at public schools don't either. The one who get pension are only public school teachers employed by the DoE. BTW, the majority of times nannies get paid in cash, that is equivalent to a pre-tax rate of approx 25% more.
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The OP is looking for someone else to raise her baby, 12 hours a day. A teacher is off work most days by 3 pm. The nanny OP hires, assuming she is qualified to handle such enormous responsibilities, should absolutely make more than a teacher. It is an absurd proposition, and quite frankly I don't think $1K a week is enough.
[ Reply | Options ]np Live in is a different thing altogether as obviously the nanny has no housing costs to pay out of her wages. Often no food costs, either. Expenses are next to zero.
[ Reply | Options ]Although this seems a reasonable assumption, at least in Manhattan, there is almost no difference between the pay of a live-in and a live-out. Many live-in nannies still keep a place of their own where they go during the weekend, vacation, etc. It may be different in the suburbs though.
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I have also employed ft and pt nannies for 1, 2, and 3 dc in Manhattan for 9 years. I agree with mom above that $720 or $12/hr is a very fair starting wage. I also agree with someone above that nannies ime care more about the absolute wage and making more money, and less about working the extra hours. $1K is a ridiculous number unless you are willing to pay on the books and that is gross. INA recently published their nanny salary survey which is very interesting as it's all nannies replying. A nice comparison to the PSP survey, and both give similar results.
[ Reply | Options ]Just out of curiosity (I don't have a nanny), why is paying on the books gross? Seems honest to me. And I've always wondered about liability - what if nanny falls down or something in your apartment - is she entitled to worker's comp?
[ Reply | Options ]np. I do not think it's gross, but it's very frequent. Many nannies want to be paid cash so that they do not pay taxes. And since that saves money to the employer, it's a win-win situation, except for the taxpayer :-) If they are paid on the books, they get workers comp and unemployment insurance. Benefits as health care are quite uncommon.
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Dear OP, as a nanny, i would say there is a lot of nanny's out there who would be happy being paid $13 per hr. but set a weekly salary for the 12 hr. work week, then if you need her for more hrs., then you will set a rate at the interview, what that would be.shonib7@msn.com
[ Reply | Options ]Well, here you have it people. Exactly what you get for your 13 dollars an hour. Good job having your children raised by this.
[ Reply | Options ]Oh please, give me a break. As if the writing skills of the average UBers were so superior! Grammatical mistakes, convoluted sentences, etc. are the norm here.
[ Reply | Options ]np LOL. Actually, the writing skills of *most* posters here are pretty damned good (particularly when compared to other moms' boards. At Pregnancy Weekly and Baby Center, the average poster truly thinks "pregnant" is spelled P-R-E-G-N-A-T-E.) Even the dummies here are whizzes in comparison, imo.
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I don't know why you even bothered having a child. What the hell is wrong with you? Since you're basically paying this woman to raise your child, you better pick well and hope she wants to be there for a long time. I would pay her enough to keep her around. And I would hope you pick someone educated. I wouldn't pay less than 1000 a week and I wouldn't hire anyone who wasn't college educated. This is pretty much the only person who will be raising this child. Ugh.
[ Reply | Options ]Actually a 4 months old needs affection and love, more than the nanny's education. So the first criteria should be to find a warm and loving person, possibly one that has had a child of her own, so that she has the right expectations. Better if her own children are grown up, so that she is not resentful of the many hours that she spends with the OP's child instead of her own. Of course, a college education would be preferred, but at that age is not necessary. Of course someone who loves books would be important, but that can be found even without a college degree. Then when the child is a little older and starts going to school, I think an educated nanny becomes more important, although UMC children do well b/c of their parents education, not their nanny. BTW, $13 to $14 is appropriate for a nanny with a college education, especially if benefits as vacations, hlidays, etc are fairly generous.
[ Reply | Options ]Ummm... how long do you think that this baby will stay 4 months old? If she is dumping her baby on someone for 12 hours a day, she better damn well, be looking for someone who will be there past the child's infancy.
[ Reply | Options ]Families need change, it's quite normal by the time a child goes to pre-K 9-2 or 9-3 (usually around 4 yo) to make a change in childcare, if nothing else because a family needs less hours and the nanny cannot afford a pay cut. At that point a nanny with college degree that can help with homework in the first years of elementary school may be a more appropriate choice, if the parents get home to late for that. BTW, I have never met any child that was confused between the role played by his mother and the nanny. In fact, IMO it takes a pretty horrible parent for a child to love and care for his/her nanny more than for the mother. Children love their nanny, and will miss them when they are gone, but they are not usually traumatized by it. Any family who has had a nanny knows that.
[ Reply | Options ]Give me a BREAK. This woman wants a nanny for 12 hours a day, five days a week. The nanny will be raising this baby. You can talk as much fairy magic as you want to try to justify your choices, however it changes nothing. The best thing for the child is to have as much stability in caregivers as possible. And if you're going to dump your child on someone else for most of his or her waking hours, you better damn well chose someone educated, loving, and commmited to the idea of a long-term relationship. And you better be willing to pay whatever you can to maintain that.
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I don't know if this is a fake post or not -- but 9-9 five days a week is not a sustainable way to raise a child. This is coming from a WOHM. If this is a temporary condition (i.e. for 2-3 years until you both complete residency or make partner) then OK, but once the kid is 4, 5, 6, 7 and really needs your guidance on stuff, those hours won't be enough. One of you needs to cut back, or else plan it so you're home with the kids from 6-9 and then work again until midnight after they go to sleep.
[ Reply | Options ]I don't know where the posters below live but almost ALL the women I know in the city work 12 hrs (include commute or 13 hrs with commute) with or without kids, as do their husbands. Most will stagger hours with the husbands, or work earlier hours (I work 7-7, DH 8-8). I've never heard talk about bad mom, bad parents, bad for kids etc in our circle at all. OP- please talk to women in your own area and you will get useful advice. Both on how to hire/deal with a nanny and on ways to spend more time with kids. Our kids go to bed at 9:30 and are up at 7am with long naps during the day. Talk to women in your situation if you want intelligent suggestions.
[ Reply | Options ]Did you notice how you just said that you stagger hours with your husband? Did you notice how this woman wants a nanny for 12 hours a day? One option is not pathetic. The other one is.
[ Reply | Options ]np: how do you know OP isn't staggering with dh also and, as someone above said, just paying for 12hr coverage to be cautious. Though since OP has not returned, one would have to wonder if this is yet another fake post.
[ Reply | Options ]I am the poster and I did respond above that my situation is similar to one described above- both lawyers. I am hoping to not need the nanny the full 12 hours and to be able to go home at lunchtimes and early evenings a lot of days. I just want the nanny just in case. My hours are extremely variable, and I do have some down time during the day and work 10 mins from home. We'll see how it works out in the beginning and if it doesn't I can try to cut back. I really like my job and will regret it if I don't try to make it work. Thanks for the supportive responses and the salary advice. The nanny we met is willing to work those hours but we haven't talked price yet.
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Of course not! You all have justified your lifestyles. Ask your kids how THEY like it, and I bet you'd hear a different story. Don't have kids if you are not going to be there for them.
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I am the poster and I did respond above that my situation is similar to one described above- both lawyers. I am hoping to not need the nanny the full 12 hours and to be able to go home at lunchtimes and early evenings a lot of days. I just want the nanny just in case. My hours are extremely variable, and I do have some down time during the day and work 10 mins from home. We'll see how it works out in the beginning and if it doesn't I can try to cut back. I really like my job and will regret it if I don't try to make it work. Thanks for the supportive responses and the salary advice. The nanny we met is willing to work those hours but we haven't talked price yet.
[ Reply | Options ]You do get what you pay for. I give my nanny lots of "extras" on top of her 1K a week for looking after my son. We pay on the books and include paid Christmas and a week in the summer. She accompanies us on vacations and never refuses our requests on her days off and gives us lots of "extras" in terms of housekeeping and cooking without being asked. She is an extended member of our family and my dc looks up to her as a second mother, which I am eternally grateful for. She is in essence raising my son and I would pay her more if she asked.
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