Do you have a nanny?

[wdwdancerwannabe]

I have a DS-6 months. I currently pay a daycare in town $560 a month!!

NOW they are upping the fees and blaming it on the minimum wage increase to $640 a month.

I feel like I can hire someone to come to my house, keep it picked up and cook dinner for that price!

Do you have an in home nanny? How much do you pay? What does she do for you (besides care of your child(ren)

Do you think $600/mo is satisfactory?
We live in a small town - about 17000...not a big city...w/ high cost of living.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[pearlieq]

What kind of hours are you looking for? Live in or live out?

Honestly $600/month sounds really low unless you're only looking for 15-20 hours per week.

Also keep in mind that if you hire any domestic employee for more than $1500 a year you'll be liable for nanny taxes. Here's a link with more info:

http://www.smartmoney.com/tax/homefamily/index.cfm?story=nanny

I know the daycare price sounds bad, but it's really pretty good compared to hiring on your own. Have you checked any home daycares in your area? You may be able to get a price break there without having to worry about taxes or liability.

 

[dreamcometrue]

I don't personally have a nanny, but my friend does! She pays her $15/hr. My friend leaves for work at 7am, so does her DH, and the nanny comes before they leave, gets their oldest (7) ready for school, cares for the baby all day (8 months old). She runs errands for my friend (drycleaner, gives her a list to go grocery shopping, etc.). They also have 2 dogs that the nanny cares for. She does laundry, picks up around the house (not sure how much cleaning is involved there), takes the oldest to school and picks her up, and also takes her to other activities. She cooks dinner for the whole family before she leaves! The nanny also has use of a vehicle, and a gas card!

This is in Southern California!

 

[Mickey'snewestfan]

I think that daycare price sounds incredibly low -- to be honest in my area I'd be suspicious of any daycare that charged that little -- there's no way they could afford to hire enough staff for quality care, however I know things can be different for different regions.

However, under federal minimum wage guidelines, $600 a month would cover at maximum 20 hours a week. Paying less than minimum wage is illegal.

eta: I pay my nanny $15 an hour -- he's a college student and only works a few hours at a time. He picks up my son at school (using public transportation) and any friends my son has invited over, comes home, feeds them a snack, maybe starts homework and supervises them while they play. Sometimes they go to the playground and shoot baskets or they go on a bike ride. My guess is that in my area if I wanted someone full time I'd pay about $12 an hour, plus taxes, SSI etc . . . A quality childcare program would be well over $1,000 a month.

 

[brasswillow]

When I nannied over the summer I got roughly $5 an hour, making about $600 a month [plus gas money]. I didn't live with them, but they always offered to let me use the spare bedroom [I was to be there at 7 and I lived 30 minutes away]. My duties included caring for two girls 10 hours a day, four days a week, house keeping [which they offered to pay additional for], laundry and grocery shopping.

I think $600 would be reasonable for just caring for DS, but I think you should offer additional pay for house keeping and cooking.

 

[dreamcometrue]

When I nannied over the summer I got roughly $5 an hour, making about $600 a month [plus gas money]. I didn't live with them, but they always offered to let me use the spare bedroom [I was to be there at 7 and I lived 30 minutes away]. My duties included caring for two girls 10 hours a day, four days a week, house keeping [which they offered to pay additional for], laundry and grocery shopping.

I think $600 would be reasonable for just caring for DS, but I think you should offer additional pay for house keeping and cooking.

$5/hour?? Wow, that is incredibly low! I pay my high school aged babysitter more than that!

 

[HeatherH]

This was over 13 years ago, but in a major metropolitan area...I paid a non live-in nanny $400 a week for one then 4-year-old. Yes, $1600 a month. And she ONLY did child care and light housework, NO cooking our dinner.

I'm sure the going rate is MUCH higher now here, but I can't imagine a living wage in ANY area is $600 per month.

How exactly are you expecting to find such a person?

 

[flying_babyb]

I have a DS-6 months. I currently pay a daycare in town $560 a month!!

NOW they are upping the fees and blaming it on the minimum wage increase to $640 a month.

I feel like I can hire someone to come to my house, keep it picked up and cook dinner for that price!

Do you have an in home nanny? How much do you pay? What does she do for you (besides care of your child(ren)

Do you think $600/mo is satisfactory?
We live in a small town - about 17000...not a big city...w/ high cost of living.

Thanks for any advice!

I would do it for that much! Im a nanny.

 

[aprilgail2]

Wow if we had daycare here for 560 a month people would love it! The place I had my daughter at was 1150 a month and that was just about average!!

 

[Rachie0507]

My mother works as a nanny two days a week. She probably makes about $600 a month doing that, but for only about 15 hours a week. She does clean and cook IF the little boy naps. If he is fussy or not feeling well, the parents do not require her to do anything additional.

I work in child care also. I run a home daycare and I charge a lot less than daycare centers around here. I think your fee in right on target, with what is expected in my area. I don't know what your hours are, but I would be charging $600 a month for a full-time infant. The centers around here charge around $1000.

 

[ducklite]

I don't see how you expect to find a nanny who is in the US legally, speaks English, can pass a drug screen and criminal background check, has a clean and valid license, and knows CPR for what you are offering. And frankly I wouldn't hire anyone that didn't fit all of those criteria.

Twenty years ago I had a live in nanny with use of a car and room and board for $150 a week. This was in a small upstate NY town, not a major city. When I was away on business she had to cook and clean (but not my bedroom and bath)--for herself and my son. When I was home she had to take care of her own bedroom and bath, share in other housekeeping, and help with cooking.

You are getting an incredible deal on your day care costs, and I just don't see you finding a remotely qualified nanny for less.

Anne

 

[shirleyb]

$600 per month is $150 per week, and most in home centers around here charge at least that much. Daycare is expensive, it's a fact of life. My kids are past the daycare stage, thank goodness, but it was a big chunk of change.

 

[Hannathy]

I will never understand something, it is the most precious thing in your life and you are trying to save money and go cheap? I'll save money on cereal or coffee not my child's care. Maybe you need to really look at how much you are making a month vs what you are really paying out, you may be surprised.

When my 14 yr old babysits 2 older girls (both in school) on Saturdays for a Mom who has to work she is there from 7-2 or an early3 and she gets $30-35 and that is only for getting them lunch and picking up toys, etc. That is more than you want to pay a nanny for an infant.

 

[Bob Slydell]

I will never understand something, it is the most precious thing in your life and you are trying to save money and go cheap? I'll save money on cereal or coffee not my child's care. Maybe you need to really look at how much you are making a month vs what you are really paying out, you may be surprised.

I didn't read the OP and think she was trying to "go cheap", but rather, thought maybe she could hire a nanny for what she's paying for daycare. I'm with most people on this thread in agreeing that it's highly unlikely that she'll find a nanny for that price (the agency fees just to locate a good nanny would kill that budget), but that maybe she could find in home daycare for that price.

I also would be thrilled to pay $600 a month for daycare -- ours is nearly $900 a month. We've looked into a nanny, but haven't pulled the trigger yet on hiring anyone.

 

[PlaneJoy1]

Is there another family that you can "share" a nanny with? If both of you paid $600/month (total $1200/month), that sounds more reasonable. I used to know some families that did the "co-op" style nanny. It worked well for them.

Just a thought!

 

[Minnie824]

I just wanted to suggest that if you really do want to find a nanny, try enannysource.com. Instead of paying all those fees for agencies, you pay $150 to register, place an add, and you even get 1 background check. Nannies don't pay to put their add online. You then can search thru profiles and find someone in your area, send them an email, set up interviews, etc. The sight also allows you do to a free search, you just can't view their contact info, so you could always see if there is someone that sounds interesting in your area before you register. There are many people online asking many different prices, so it wouldn't hurt to look.

 

[DVC Jen]

Maybe you should think about it this way. You are basically paying someone minimun wage to care for and love what is most precious to you.

And givin the liability most day care providers, preschool teachers and even public and private school teachers are subject to - I wouldn't do it for minimum wage - and I would be willing to pay my child care provider more than minimum wage - to take care of my child (if I had one that age and needed child care) - because NOTHING is more important in this world than your precious child. Right?

 

[lindakmonty]

When ds5 was born I paid a family friend to come to our home to watch ds. I paid her $140 a week and she was thrilled w/that. My next door neighbor ran a daycare out of her home and she only charged $70 a week, but I felt more comfortable that ds didn't have to leave his own home... until he was a little older. I started taking him next door when he was 2 and could talk well and needed to be around other kids more. Mansfield isn't a tiny town (where I live)...but here in Columbus where I work its very common to pay $700-$900 for daycare! Good luck and check around. Paying more money doesn't necessarily mean your child will be taken care of any better

 

[sewer]

If I could have Fran Dresher.....

 

[claudia]

you are getting a great deal.....16 years ago I was paying $150 a week for my son to be taken care of.