Friday

How Much Should Nanny Charge?

opinion 1 I recently got offered a postion in Bloomfield NJ. 3 children ages 12, 9, 7. It is a nanny share position between 2 sisters, the charges are cousins. It is 20 hours a week. I have a college degree in education and have about 10 years experience. How much should I ask when we discuss rates? Thanks.

17 comments:

Just My Two Cents Just Now said...

OP, this may be a little difficult for everyone to answer since nanny rates vary from state to state. The way I see it is when you decide on a rate, many things need to be taken into consideration. First, what is or are the ages of the child(ren?) The younger the child, the more manual labor/stress involved. The children you will be watching are going to be MUCH easier to care for than an infant or toddler as they can feed themselves, toilet themselves and pretty much bathe themselves. Also, they won't need you to watch their every move. I.e., you can go to the bathroom for a sec w/out worrying someone will fall down and break their skull. Second, what household duties will be expected aside from the common sense duties as washing any dishes used and/or picking up any toys played with? Do you have any laundry to attend to? Are you expected to vacuum or sweep on a daily basis? Finally, since they are older, you probably will be taking them all out during the day, or perhaps chauffeuring them to dance classes, soccer practices, etc. If so, you should expect not only reimbursement for gas (if using your own vehicle), but mileage as well since the driving will no doubt wear out your car more than if you didn't drive on the job,not to mention add miles which affects the re-sale value overall.
I just moved to San Diego last month and for three children, in that age group, I would charge $15/Hr if no chores or driving were involved.
If you want to know what the nannies in your area are making, go on either sittercity.com or Care.com. Browse the Nanny/Profiles and look at the rates listed for each caregiver. Also, browse the childcare section on Craigslist. You may even look at some Nanny agency websites as well, however Nanny agencies typically take out part of your pay so you may not get an accurate amount.
Good Luck. Hope this helps out a little bit! :)

Nanny nanny bo banny said...

$18 an hour. I also work in NJ

OP said...

Hi OP here, there will be no chores, no driving just walk down the block to pick the girls up (after school nanny position) help assist with homework, on occasion prepare dinner.

Just My Two Cents Just Now said...

OP as long as you do not have to prepare dinner for anyone other than your charges, I would say $15/Hr. But again..I live on the West Coast and San Diego is not a very metro city.

Nanny nanny Bo banny works in your area and if she says $18/Hr I would listen to her over me.

another nanny said...

I agree with $18. Although older kids are less labor intensive, there's more helping with increasingly harder homework, projects, and taking all over to activities.
Also, you need to keep in mind that this is a nanny share...so you need to work out what happens if one family doesn't need you for the day. $18 per hour is $9 per family, which is a good deal for the NJ area.

? said...

Why don't you be a teacher? Just curious.

stand up said...

Whatever rate you decide on, you should ask for salary: a flat rate no matter how many hours you work within that 20. If you work 15 one week, you should get the same as if you work 21. Agree on an hourly rate for anything past 20 hours.

Don't let them take advantage of you.

Manhattan Nanny said...

I would agree with $18 if it was for one family. Since it is a share, I say $20. There is some additional hassle with two families, and that would still be a bargain for them. As it is three children, the family with two should probably pay more than 1/2, but that is between them.

OP here said...

I appreciate everyones advice,
I don't want to be a teacher atm because I perfer the one on one time with a child(ren). Working as a teacher seems to me as a high stress job.

I also negotiated 18 an hour worked last night as a night time babysitter to meet the kids- I thought it went well until the youngest charge mentioned that mommy and auntie had 1 more nanny to interview. The mom called me today to tell me that they went for a highschooler who asked for 7 an hour so they are paying 3.50 an hour each! That hurt real bad! =(

The worst part is that the mom asked if I would be willing to work for 4 dollars an hour (2 dollars per parent) then I would get the job. It's BS if you ask me

Nanny nanny bo banny said...

Wow, I would never want to pay someone a total of $7/hr to watch my children. Don't they think their children's safety and well being are worth more than that. You will find a job. Like I said, I work in NJ and have never had a problem finding a family that will pay me $15+ per hour. Good luck as you continue your job search!

Just My Two Cents Just Now said...

Wow..OP..that family sounds like such jerks. Thank goodness you won't be working for them at all! How dare they call you and try to offer you a $4/Hour job. What an insult.
Like Anon just wrote..they will get what they pay for. A high schooler of course will work for $7/Hour..but what can she bring to the table? Not much since she is probably only just a few years older than the oldest charge.
I think you should not give up. Sure there are many cheap families out there, but there are also some that understand that to get a competent childcare provider, one must pay a competitive salary to match. I hope you find one of those families OP.
Keep your child and head up. Times are tough, but not so tough that you must work for less than what you are truly worth.

Just My Two Cents Just Now said...

*chin

NOT child! Sorry.

nycmom said...

We live in nyc and all of my husband's family is in NJ. Of course, I don't nanny or hire nannies there. Our family is in Short Hills, which I *think* is a more expensive area than Bloomfield. No one we know would offer more than $15/hr to start. Many people go with high school kids for $10/hr simply because in the suburbs there are a lot of high school kids and they are often a good fit for older kids. My point being - don't take it as any kind of bad reflection on you. I think it is just the market out there. Honestly, $18/hr is high as as starting number in Manhattan also and I don't think the recession has recovered enough to make those wages common. I think the nanny share is a good point, but I'm sure the parents view it as an "easy" job given the age of the kids, which may or may not be true!

jojo bear your life is calling said...

Sounds like cheapskates. Too many kids, The twenty hours are probably after school which is going to screw up your day if anything else comes along. I wouldn't do it for less than $25 per- which is only $450 a week.

everywherenanny said...

OUCH!!!
I took my first nanny position in Stony Point, NY (Rockland County,) so it wasn't right in NYC... but an hour north.
I was a naive little 18 year old, who had NO IDEA what I was getting into. I was a live-in, no car, no insurance, no food and roughly 80 hours a week. While I was spending my weekend sleeping in-- they would throw the baby monitor into my room and leave without notice.

... I was paid 265/ wk. I was that high school student once.
Don't worry! She'll realize REAL quickly how terrible it is working for such little pay. It's not even about the money-- but she'll begin to realize how much she is VALUED by her employers. (yaknowwhatimean?!)

Good luck OP! I worked for a family in Norwood, NJ for several years. I still have connections;)!

bostonnanny said...

This is whats going to happen, when the girl's friends want to hangout or she has a "huge" class project, she's just gonna skip work. Then those children will be left without a caregiver.

You see unless your a teenager from a low income family and need to help support yourself then you won't take the job that seriously. Sure there are responsible teenagers but they tend to be egocentric and if their job interferes with having a social life, sports, school, or prom; guess what comes first.

Anonymous said...

NYC mom...I work in NYC as a nanny and the going rate, as I understand it, is 20 to 25 per hour..All of the nannies I work with charge within that rate.and there is NO cleaning involved at all.