Weekly nanny rate?

hansa11

We had plans to send our three-month-old to a daycare center, (where his older brother goes) but it's so expensive and all our baby needs at this age is loving, individualized attention.  We asked a family member who's in between a job and school if she could nanny for our son.  She's in her early 20s with a little bit of nannying experience and would come to our home for about nine hours a day.  Aside from taking care of the baby, the other main responsibility may be to pick up our older child at daycare at the end of the day since the daycare center is out of the way for my husband who'd otherwise have to do pick-up since I work later.  By picking my older son up, she'd be finished for the day about a half an hour earlier since my husband could just head straight home from work. 

We think our relative nannying would be the best situation for our baby, but what we're really struggling with is what a fair weekly rate would be.  And with a short-term (until August) informal set-up, we don't know if we need to provide sick/vacation days or if we just pay her for the days she works.  When I provided childcare in my home for a friend's child, our agreement was that I was only paid for the days I watched him, so that's why I ask.

Thanks for your feedback!

 

JessJ222

I don't have any feedback for you, but you might want to post this on the working moms board.  I see post like this on there all the time.

 

hansa11

I'm new here and didn't realize there's a Working Moms board, but I just reposted this there.  I originally posted here because I know that rates vary by region and I wanted to know what nannies locally make.

becky679

Nannies average around $9 an hour for middle income homes- goes up if you are in the upper middle class areas. I knew a nanny that did it for $7 an hour though. Personally I would have your husband pick up your child- the newborn might be in the middle of a nap, weather issues, and really 1/2 hour is really not that much time to keep her home. Who knows what type of car insurance she has and though you trust her they are ding bats on the road all the time. 

We have a pay when you work Nanny that we found on Craigslist of all places- yes I checked out her references. She is great, but very cheap since she wants flexibility and brings her own kid and eats at the house- we pay her $38 a day- no cleaning or dishes.

Good Luck 

matzke227

I nanny for a lady who has a 4 1/2 month old and I watch the little girl some days from 9:30-about 5:30 and some days 7-5:30/7 and get paid 40 no matter which one it ends up being. I stay at home and have my son also there so it is nice for me to stay at home and make a little extra money.She will be in your home and and eating your food so you can pay a little less because of that. I think that you could either say a hourly rate or you could just negotiate a daily rate. Both places that I have been a nanny at have done daily rates. I think that anywhere between $5-7 dollars is a fair amount at that age. The age of your child doesnt require a lot of energy and work, it is more cuddle/down time. Also, children tend to sleep a lot at that age still so the person who will be watching your child will have alone time where they are not doing anything. As the child gets older and it takes more work to watch the child you guys could re-negotiate a rate if you wanted also.

I also agree with the PP about having you DH pick up the child from daycare. This is minnesota and it is getting to the time where it will be getting nasty outside and the relative who would be picking up your older child will have the younger one in the car. Not saying that your relative is a bad driver, but a lot of Minnesotans seem to have a hard time driving in the winter. Just be safe and dont put that stress on the relative. Hope everything works out for you! 

ilovebijou

becky679:

Nannies average around $9 an hour for middle income homes- goes up if you are in the upper middle class areas. I knew a nanny that did it for $7 an hour though. Personally I would have your husband pick up your child- the newborn might be in the middle of a nap, weather issues, and really 1/2 hour is really not that much time to keep her home. Who knows what type of car insurance she has and though you trust her they are ding bats on the road all the time. 

I agree with this. I would ask her what she would like to be paid. I can't imagine her doing it for less than $7 or 8/hr. Even though your child will be sleeping a lot, infants are a lot of work and she willl still need to be available at your house during those hours when there is down time with the baby sleeping. From my experience, most people who hire nannys pay the same or more than they would pay at a center but you get a 1:1 ratio for your child vs. 1:4. Hope it works out for you.

bakemeacake

As a former nanny (almost 10 years) I can say that $7/hr is incredibly low pay for a nanny in the metro area.  I'm not speaking for nannies in other parts of the state, but for the twin cities a nanny with any meaningful experience or education can make at least $14/hr with benefits--and that includes working for a family with only one infant.

It's great that you are using a relative who is someone you trust with your baby, but keep in mind that this person may realize that you are significantly underpaying her (especially if she has previous nanny experience).  You may be looking more for a SAHM or other person who would care for your child in their home, instead of yours, at the rate you stated.

Or you could consider hiring a nanny at a standard wage to care for both your children and take your older child out of daycare.

Abjurback

I would charge at least 9/hr. But this also depends on her experience. Remember she also has bills so pay. As a PP stated, you are having a 1:1 ratio. I have been a nanny for the past 10 years. The family I am currently with has 2 children. When I started they were 2 1/2 and 3 months. I make 11/hr (I lowered my rate of $12/hr bc I love the family). There are 2 children....with just an infant I would say $9-$10/hr, especially if there is required driving. This could be lower depending on your expectations of her though. I have 15 yr experience in childcare/degree in early childhood ed, plan outings for the children, clean up after the children, when the youngest was an infant I made her baby food, and do weekly lesson plans. This would all factor into the cost.