Hiring a Nanny

Chcaggie1 · August 2014

Good Morning Ladies!

So I would love to hire a nanny for our lo when he/she arrives. The primary hesitation at this point cost. I am very aware that prices vary from one region to another but I'm curious about one thing. On care.com in my area (Plano, TX) the average pay that the nannies list on their profiles seems to be $15-20 per hour. I would want someone for a minimum of 40 hours per week. So that would be $2400-3200 per month which seems really high to me. My question is do the rates on care.com usually reflect an hourly rate that would apply to part time positions and a full time position the hourly rate may be lower? Especially if we are providing some "benefits" like paid sick days, vacation days, etc. What are ya'lls thoughts?

I don't want to waste our time or theirs with interviews if the expectation is $2500 or more per month b/c that is not even close to being in the price range we would pay. We can get our LO in a very nice daycare in our area for less than $1000/mo. On the other hand this is definitely my preferred option so I hate to rule it out entirely if those rates are hourly rates for shorter term jobs.

I'd love to hear ya'lls experiences with interviewing and hiring nannies as well and any tips that you may have!

mirigirl · August 2014

Hey! I live in Frisco =]

Chcaggie1 · August 2014

@mirigirl have you started thinking about childcare options yet? Do you know what you will do?

mirigirl · August 2014

I am interning right now for a company in Allen. The plan is right before the baby comes to quit and be a SAHM. However, if for some reason that does not work out, we have a lot of childcare options up here. There is all kinds of independent childcare facilities as well as places like Kids r kids. I would do some research and call around for quotes and such. It was always my understanding that nannys were fairly expensive, for a good one. Sorry I couldn't be more help.

Chcaggie1 · August 2014

Yea, I've started researching daycares already. There are a lot of good ones but I still just don't love the idea of leaving a 3 month old with a stranger whose tasked with watching lots of other little ones at the same time as mine. But I have lots of friends that have been through it so they are guiding me towards their favorite daycares. Still hoping I can find a sweet old lady in our church that will be willing to watch our sweetie for a reasonable price. lol. Unfortunately, we attend a pretty new, modern-ish church so not a lot of "old ladies". Anyway, I'm rambling. Thanks.

nbad311 · August 2014

No personal experience with nannies, but a co-worker of mine hired hers (stats: college student girl in her mid-20s, studying early childhood education) @ $12.50/hour, for 30 hours a week. And she lives in a nice area/town of Atlanta where I assume nannies would be more expensive. Maybe she's "cheaper" because she's so young and may not have the experience of an older nanny.

animalcrckr · August 2014

We have done both daycare and nanny. There are pros and cons to each. A nanny is going to be much more expensive, especially for the care of one child. It starts to make more sense financially the more kids you have and the wider range of their activities. I'm currently a SAHM but going back to work next summer/fall. We will have a 1st grader, kindergartener, preschool and baby. Between DH and myself, we cannot both work and get our kids to where they need to be, be home when school gets out, start homework, transport to extracurricular activities, etc.

When DS was an infant, it made more sense to have him in a daycare facility. When DS2 came along, the cost of two in daycare almost doubled and we decided to have someone come to our house.

We had a FT nanny for 2 kids and paid $14/hour but also had a very extensive contract. She got two weeks vacation/year, 1 of which was paid. 6 sick/personal days/year. We provided her with a car for the purpose of driving to/from preschool, swimming lessons, soccer training and emergencies.

We also provided her with health/dental coverage and a gym membership. My best advice is you get what you pay for. I have interviewed dozens of potential nanny's and they run gamut from awesomely overqualified but super expensive to downright scary.

jaztastic · August 2014

My mom is a nanny and depending on what the household she works for requires and years of service with them, she averages about $17/hr. She starts no less than $15 and has earned up to $22(plus PTO/Vacation & bonuses).

Thankfully I'll get the family discount!

[-O<

jennypolkadots · August 2014

I feel about the same as you. I have never looked at care.com, but know in our area there are ways to pay a lot less.

In home daycare with a stay at home mom. These are usually found through word of mouth or sometimes posted on craigslist. Get references and meet them beforehand, of course. This is usually the cheapest option because they have no overhead. They usually keep very few children so your child gets socialization with other kids but still a lot of one on one care with the same person every day. In a center, high turn over rates are common and every feeding/change/playing session will be different people usually.

Hiring a SAHM with a young child to work in your home 5 days a week. She is not going to be licensed, insured, etc. or have all the proper training and may take days off when her kid is sick or she takes a vacation so it is less convenient. Still, this is a lot cheaper than a true nanny because she is just looking for some extra money while caring for her own child. You can usually find situations like this through mother's groups or on Craigslist. Again, you want references and probably a background check.

Doing a nanny share with another parent. This will cut your costs a lot. If you can find another mom who needs a well qualified nanny for her young child... then get a nanny who will watch both kids for $15/hr... then you are only paying 1/2 of that yourself. That is a good way to cut costs. Of course the downside is logistics of figuring things out with the other mom - her schedule, who's house, etc.

There are just a few ideas! We are leaning towards working with a SAHM who cares for 3-4 children in her home. The cost is less than a day care but you get more continuous care. The downside is that there will be days off/vacations/etc. but we have really flexible jobs. Also I only work about 5 1/2 hours a day and will be hopefully swinging by to nurse around noon each day. I didn't want a nanny in my home becuase we have two dogs and I am worried about liability even though they are amazing animals. I just don't like people being in my house when I'm not there.

AnotherSun · August 2014

I pay our babysitter 15 an hour. I don't use her a lot, only eight hours a week, but she does make almost half of what I do, and it hurts. I agree, find a sahm. She will probably want to watch your lo at her house, but her kids will most likely be older and it could be a fun experience for all the kids.

nikajs · August 2014

I agree with finding a stay at home mom or small in home daycare. That's what I do to make extra money and it also gives my son friends to play with which he loves and I get the the practice of having more than one child around, which has prepared me for this LO a lot! I charge considerably less than majority of daycares or nannies around here (most charge about 15$ an hour if not more) at only 5$ an hour and no more than 30$ a day because I'm not licensed.. There are many upsides though I have a great relationship with the baby that I watch, he feels very comfortable here and I am able to have a good routine with him, and his mom (who is a single mom and working a ton) gets a huge break from what she would typically pay. We connected through craigslist.. It's not for everyone but it's definitely something to look into.

vpeazy · August 2014

I found my nanny on care.com. I contacted women that I felt were a good fit for my kids, and offered them an amount of money that I could afford while telling them the job description and asking them to get back to me if they would be interested in interviewing. Just because they have that amount does not mean it has to be that. 2 years later and she's still with me

Good luck!

vpeazy · August 2014

SAHM is a great option too if the hours work for you! It unfortunately did not for me. We needed someone at 5 am, and can you imagine getting 2 toddlers out the door plus yourself at that time? Can you imagine the moods of the children? ha!!!!

jmcgra06 · August 2014

We pay $16 for a nanny 16 hours a week - she works with another family the other days for the same rate. We will probably increase her rate a bit when #2 comes along. We also pay taxes for her, so we are able to get a $5,000 tax write off which is helpful. My coworker pays her nanny $22 an hour, and that nanny makes dinner, cleans, etc. We just wanted someone to be nice to our kid.

I put an ad on care.com with our desired rate and let people contact me. It worked well, and we got a lot of normal responses. I do think that $2,000+/month is pretty reasonable for a full time nanny, though. Lots of good suggestions on this post!

hollyisaunicorn · August 2014

Hi! As an expectant first time mom and a nanny I'm happy to answer any questions you may have! I live and work in the suburbs of Philly. I have 13+ years of experience so I am a more expensive nanny. I make salary, $700 a week plus my living expenses (rent, food, gas in my car). With that I work about 50 hours a week. Two kids. I do all errands including groceries, dry cleaning, cooking, bringing kids to activities, laundry for whole family, tidy bedrooms, kitchen, etc. we have a full time cleaner that comes (the house is 18,000 sqft). I get two weeks paid vacation, 5 paid sick days and if family goes away I generally travel with them. If I don't travel with them I still get paid.

Having a nanny is expensive however when you have the right one I find that it is priceless. You can have her do things for you like cleaning, grocery shopping, cooking so that when you get home you can enjoy being with your baby and partner.

Obviously the more experienced, the more you will pay. Having a salary position may be the way you want to go vs hourly.

baileylove22 · August 2014

We have been looking at child care and here in the Northern VA area we are looking at $15-$20 and hour for a nanny or around $2500 for daycare for twins. Will prolly go the nanny route because of the convenience and there is not much of a price diff. Still I was shocked at how much we are looking at. Ouch!

Chcaggie1 · August 2014

thanks all for the great feedback. I do love the SAHM idea. I will certainly keep an eye out. Wow, @hollyisaunicorn for everything you do I actually think that rate is quite reasonable! I certainly wouldn't need all those services but that is fantastic. I like the idea of offering someone a salary and hubby and I love to travel so ultimately it would be great to have someone that would travel with us.

Geez @baileylove22 $2500 is ALOT for daycare! I would certainly choose a nanny if we had 2. @jmcgra06 I like the idea of an ad. I think I will try that. I need to revisit this topic with hubby to see how much we can realistically offer for nanny services.

megsehc · August 2014

I worked as a nanny for a few years in between undergrad and grad school. You should definitely plan on paying more obviously if you want someone with a child-related undergrad degree and some experience. I had a few super nice, smart nanny friends in boston who were from South America and were only paid around $12 per hour. Of course I wouldn't recommend this because I don't feel it's necessarily fair to that nanny... Good luck. As well as being in care.com and sitter city, you could check out craigslist and obviously screen very carefully for candidates.

cinderella4282 · August 2014

You should research all your options......

If you choose a nanny or in-home daycare make sure they are registered with the state as a licensed child care provider. If they aren't, they aren't monitored and you can't claim the money you spend on child care on your year-end taxes. The other thing that worried me about one person day cares was if the provider has an emergency or is sill, you are out of luck and have to scramble to find a back up or use a vacation day.

I did tours of about eight day care facilities in my town until I found one that I fell in love with. Now 2 years later, they love her so much. It's still not cheap - $170 per week for preschool and $190 for infants, but much better than $17-$20 an hour.

Good luck with your choice!!

cinderella4282 · August 2014

I am in WI - here it is one adult per four infants, so similar. We are lucky because daycare is somewhat affordable, but I am still looking at $1,300 per month for two kids even after a discount. That's like making an extra mortgage payment every month.

The cuties are worth it though

And DD at 2.5 already knows her ABCs, all her colors, and can count to 25. Plus she gets to be around kids her own age. All in all, totally worth it - but not if my job wasn't as good as it is!!!

hollyisaunicorn · August 2014

@Chcaggie1‌ I suppose I could make more and depending on the area I definitely would!

Some more tips-don't be focused on degrees. Experience, references and reliability are key. I don't have a degree but I am quite good at what I do

my tight knit and long term relationships with past families say a lot about that. I always find it silly when a family is looking for someone with a degree as their first requirement. Now that I'm expecting and will be getting a nanny myself as I'm going to head back to nursing school, the number one thing I will look for in a candidate is what experience they have, what were the circumstances of leaving their previous jobs and are they a smoker.

If you go the nanny route make sure she is first aid/CPR certified! They have courses that are specifically aimed at infants.

Sorry this is all over the place, just typing as I think of things!!!

CogDis · August 2014

I think if you expect your nanny to have any qualifications then you're going to expect to pay a livable wage. The questions I would ask myself is: Would I be able to live on what I"want" to pay? Followed by, "Would I want to, as someone who has training?"

My understanding is you get what you pay for with childcare. In many moderate or large cities, 1500 a month is going to get you a teenager, and unless you're a teen mom yourself, you'd probably find that unacceptable.

Good luck!

Biscotto · August 2014

I think you should consider that this is the nanny's job and deserves a salary she can live on. Her job is not easy and if you have a good nanny she will have a great bond with your child and you. She could do cooking, cleaning and shopping as well. I have been a nanny as well as a preschool teacher for five years and I find that some families really don't seem to appreciate how much a nanny works and don't want to pay them enough to live.

So that being said, if you don't think you can afford it, look into the other options PPs have said.

Savannahsmomy · August 2014

Are you not able to stay home?

Chcaggie1 · August 2014

@savannahsmomy I am able to stay home. We could afford it although it would drastically change our lifestyle. I am an engineer and enjoy working so I want to go back to work. In an ideal world I would probably choose to stay home with my new baby for 6 months or so but my company wont hold my job that long. And I would have to start all over looking for employment etc. Which I don't want to do b/c I like the organization that I work for.

If I change my mind after our sweetie arrives about working then we will re-evaluate. But I'm pretty confident I will want to continue working even if I end up going back part time.

tee18 · August 2014

I was a nanny, and was paid well in our high cost of living area, plus some benefits (2 weeks PTO, 1 week chosen by family, 1 week worth by me). I didn't request health insurance since I was under my husbands. They/I also paid into unemployment/disability/SS/etc. I drove my own car, but they of course paid for any activities we did. I didn't do family chores (although I wouldn't have been opposed), but I did do chores for the child - her laundry, cleaning her room, her dishes, sweep, etc.

If you do want to go the nanny route, but the cost is an issue, definitely look into a nanny share with another family like PP mentioned.

For those worried about socialization, I took the toddler I was watching out daily. Storytimes, parks, museums, grocery store. The best thing was the mom was part of a mom's group that I actually participated in during the day - lots of playdates and other activities. If you're ok with the nanny driving the kids around or live in a walk-able area, there are a lot of options.

tee18 · August 2014

I also wanted to add that I would expect the rate to be higher or the same for full time compared part time.

tee18 · August 2014

KristinMTBell said:

@tee18‌ did you mean you expect full time would be higher rate?

I would - or most likely the same; I don't think it would be less. I think the variation of pay is going to be based on experience rather than # of hours.

tee18 · August 2014

I should add, what I said is based on those who are seeking either full time OR part time. I guess if someone was looking for full time, and you offered a part time position, you may offer a higher rate to make up for it I suppose. But, I don't know how likely it would be for someone seeking full time to take a part time job, unless they were needing something right away. In the end though, it will all depend on experience.

jmcgra06 · August 2014

Agree that you get what you pay for, but we have a nanny on the lower end of the price range for our area ($15-$25 an hour) and she is fantastic. The amount of money someone charges doesn't dictate the kind of person they are. We had a fill-in nanny who charged $25 an hour and I hated leaving DD with her because she was crazier than a shithouse rat. (Forgive that, it's our family phrase for her!) Our normal nanny charges $15 an hour, and we pay her $16.50 to make up for the fact that we take taxes out and she refuses to be paid on government holidays when she doesn't work.

Chcaggie1 · August 2014

@Xoxolicia I agree 100% a church/Christian daycare is definitely my no. 2 or I guess I should say no 1 choice at this point. Can u give some examples of the websites you're referring to with reviews??? I've started preliminary research and have run across any sites with reviews. That would be very helpful.

agm04 · August 2014

Question for those of you with experience. Would day care even be an option for us with schedules like this? I have to be at work by 7am. I can usually leave by 5 if things are relatively slow, but it can be unpredictable. My husband...not that much help because his hours are horrible. Usually 7 am or so until 7pm if he's lucky, last night it was like 11pm. Maybe we could work out him dropping her off and me picking her up?

I'm rambling, but my question is about normal hours at a day care. Is a 6:15-30 drop off normal or out of the ordinary? What about pickup?

wendy46001 · August 2014

agm04 said:

Question for those of you with experience. Would day care even be an option for us with schedules like this? I have to be at work by 7am. I can usually leave by 5 if things are relatively slow, but it can be unpredictable. My husband...not that much help because his hours are horrible. Usually 7 am or so until 7pm if he's lucky, last night it was like 11pm. Maybe we could work out him dropping her off and me picking her up?

I'm rambling, but my question is about normal hours at a day care. Is a 6:15-30 drop off normal or out of the ordinary? What about pickup?

Yes, it depends on the center. I'll also add our current daycare is affiliated with the hospital i work at so they have longer hours. Drop off starts at 6:30 but the center opens at 6 so arrangements can be made. Also pick up is between 5 and 6. After 6 you start getting charged extra. They know how hospital work is and how we all can get stuck so its a great fit for us.
When we were originally looking though we found several centers with hours from 6 to 6 or even later

Chcaggie1 · August 2014

@agm04 In my area (for the daycare centers I've looked at so far) the listed times are drop off btwn 6:30-7 and pickup btwn 5:30-6. This wont really cause any issues for us b/c the our commutes aren't that long but I would think these hours would be challenging for ppl that work longer than 8 hours or that have longer commutes.

If you need extended hours perhaps consider in-home daycare. I've seen several listed in my area with flexible hours. Also a child care center that keeps older kids will probably be likely to have extended hours/after school care programs that may be beneficial to you.

agm04 · August 2014

Thanks ladies!

jennasnipes · August 2014

I was a nanny all through college. In my area the going rate for a nanny was somewhere in the 20/hr range. I ended up working for 12/hr, and that included everything from carpooling, cleaning, doctors appointments, laundry for the whole family, and meal prep. The family was great to me as far as "benefits" (gas gift cards and gift cards to get my car detailed, extra cash when they knew I had special plans over the weekend, going on all the family trips, etc) and they really treated me like family. I was with them for 5 years and the girls were mine and DH's flower girls last year!

It really is a special bond that you have with your nanny. I truly love the family I worked for, and I would have done anything for them- much more than just a job. A good nanny who loves your child is worth the money!

KMommytobe · August 2014

Friends of ours had their neighbor as their nanny and paid her $1000 a month. They were friends with her prior and I think she had experience as a nanny, but hadn't worked that field in a while. She worked 5 days a week and they live in Massachusetts. This was about 5 years ago.

The mom told me at the time that she had researched daycares as well and at the time a "decent" daycare in that area was $1600 a month. It will obviously vary depending on where you live. GL

delaneykai · August 2014

I think @jennypolkadots ideas were really great. Looking into sharing a nanny with another mom or looking for a SAHM who would bring her own LO with her could cut costs without cutting quality.

And now after seeing all these hourly rates I think I need to make a job switch to being a nanny.

I currently teach Kindergarten and it appears that nannying even just 1 child would pay better (plus I have all kinds of certifications!).

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