As I am a new nanny, I need advice. I am a college graduate with a BA related to childhood development, and have an extensive background in education. I took a job working for a family with two successful businesspeople - MB is in government business and DB is in pharmaceutical sales. I work full-time (live-out) with their amazing 2-year-old for $10/hour (not my ideal rate, but I negotiated a raise in my contract within the next 6 months and the family is very easygoing and flexible).
DB talked to me about possibly working on a weekend for his birthday party - and watching "about 30 kids". How do I even begin to negotiate a rate for this amount of children? I've worked in the educational sector for years, so I know that as long as I have age-appropriate, engaging activities planned, the kids should be OK (and I should have some hair left over at the end of the day), but I really don't know how much to put on the table as an asking price. Obviously, the regular rate of $10/hour is NOT acceptable in this situation. Please help! I love this family and recently started working for them, so I don't want to botch our working relationship, but I don't want to present the idea that I am willing to be taken advantage of financially. Any suggestions would be of help! Thanks!
20 comments:
Depending on how many hours it will be I would ask for a flat rate. That way if it ends up being fewer than 30 kids you still make a decent amount.
just to let you know the professional rate of an entertainment company for birthday parties - we would charge $150 for 2 hours to play games do crafts and storytellin, songs and more- in texas
Depending on the ages of the children I would personally recommend asking a friend to help you out if it will really be 30 kids (assuming you know other nannies/babysitters.) A 30:1 ratio is kind of insane if many of the kids are little guys...I agree with the other posters though, absolutely charge a flat rate for "up to 30 kids." If the party will realistically be lasting about 2-3 hours (children wise) maybe charge somewhere between $150-$200, $200-$250 if you are bringing a friend to help you.
I agree with Nay, both on the flat rate and asking to for another set of hands.
Charge no less than $200 with or without help. Don't see a problem babysitting for MB or DB. The # of kids is too much responsibilty 30! You should think twice before signing on if you want to keep your sanity.
H--l no!!! WTF "about 30 kids" you are being taken advantage!
For myself, I wouldn't do it for less than $300 total, with the understanding that I would bring a friend to help. Assuming the party lasts 3 hours, that's only $3 something per hour per child, which is really a bargain.
Of course, other details might factor into this, too, such as the ages of kids (if there's a lot of kids <5, you might need a higher adult:child ratio...where are all these kids going to be coralled? And are we talking day or evening? Would you be responsible for buying the materials for activities, or would they reimburse you?
What do you mean by weekend? A three hour party, a day long party, a weekender?
It's going to be big bucks, and the price needs to per child per about of time. I think for a one off, with so many various kids, I'd don't think I'd do it for less than $20 per kid or &600, for a typical party. If it's an all day thing, I want a grand.
And I wouldn't do it alone. I'd hire help.
I would definitely clarify just what role they want you to play at this party. Do they want you to be the sole caretaker, in a room separate from the rest of the party where parents can drop the kids off and not have to worry about them for the rest of the party? Or do they want you to be running child-friendly activities for kids to kind of come do as they please (with their parents maintaining primary responsibility for them).
If the first, plan on getting several extra pairs of hands, and base your rate more closely to the number of children. I expect this would run somewhere north of $400 (even $5/hr/child winds up being $450 for 30 kids at a 3 hour party, and I honestly think even that's low for this kind of service).
If the latter, you can probably manage that by yourself, and would suggest around $100-200 depending on the length of the party.
Wow! Thank you for your insightful responses!
I talked to MB about the details today, turns out DB was incorrect about me having to monitor 30 kids; I would mainly be there just to watch THEIR child and assist MB in a bit of cleanup. Obviously I'm not naive enough to think that others won't see me as the "party sitter" and drop their kids off with me, so I definitely need to negotiate a flat rate for the day depending on hours. Any suggestions on this new turn of events? Thanks again!
-OP
No only no...she is not being taken advantage of. She is presented with an opportunity which she can accept or decline. She would be taken advantage of if she agreed, but when it comes time to pay, the parents nickel and dime her.
I agree with a flat rate, and like student nanny said, make sure it's clear what you will be doing, I think $200 is low, whether they're babies or preteens. "Up to 30 kids"...whew!!
Sorry but 30 kiddos is way too many for any sane nanny to watch. You don't even know the kids, ages etc. I'd pass or run on this one. The headache is not worth the money. By the way are the parents crazy, 30 kids really?
I have done this type of sitting for events like Super Bowl Sunday, new years party, etc and girl trust me you will need AT LEAST one more adult with you. Then if you have any tweens you can make them feel important (and keep them occupied) by having them play assistant, ie pass out supplies/assist the little kids. My rates have always been 20$ a parent (if it's that type of drop off). I also haven't ever had children under two in this type of setting, I don't know how much I would want to charge for infant/toddlers. I'm not sure about a flat rate, however depending upon the number of kids you can make out pretty well. Oh and count on needing a glass of wine after, it's exhausting having that many kids of different ages.
I want to know how this turns out. Maybe MB thinks you won't get the other kids, but I'm not so sure. And when you get a gap between who is taking care of the kids, and who thinks is taking care of the kids, things can happen. ( What if DB has told all the other dads HIS NANNY is going to watch the kids, and the other dads tell the other moms, who are expecting their children to be cared for while they party.)
I think this has disaster written all over it. When a mother dumps four kids on you, are you going to ask for money? Who will you ask? After the fact, do you think you will be reimbursed? If you get majorly taken advantage of, will it affect your job and how you feel about your employers?
I'd go big or go home. I'd price myself out of the market. Why give up a perfectly good autumn weekend? If you want to do it that's one thing, but if not, I'd bow out. AND YOU KNOW THE BIGGEST RED FLAG? MOM AND DAD CAN'T AGREE AND DON'T HAVE ANY IDEA HOW THIS IS GOING TO WORK, so neither do you.
It's a 2yr old. The parents of 30 two yr olds are not all going to just leave you with their kid. You're an amazing sitter, but trust me they're not just gonna leave you high and dry with 30 two year olds! I've done something similar to this and I just kept my normal rate. The kids were highly entertained with each other, making my job a piece of cake. In fact, that's pretty much all I did do, serve cake!! The party is likely not going to be an 8hr event, a two yr olds birthday is maybe 3 hours, tops! Think carefully and make sure ALL details are worked out (duties, expectations, location, estimate of kids) etc before you start asking for an obscene amount of money!
Nanny C,
I don't know what post you read, but it's not a party for the two year old. It's a party for the dad.
Thank you for all the comments, they are definitely helping me figure out how to manage the situation. I want to make one thing clear, however: MB and DB do NOT nickle and dime me to death or take advantage of me. I have had my own nanny nightmare in the past (parents who REALLY weren't on the same page and who did give me two sets of directions) and they are definitely not throwing up any "red flags" like they did. Because I was in such a negative work environment I do appreciate the environment MB and DB have. The party is 3 weeks away, and they are both busy professionals. I think they (and I) will have lots of time to iron out the kinks before DB's birthday. :)
-OP
A birthday party or entertainment for kids usually starts at about $300 and goes up.
So i would start at $300 for the day.
But, most importantly make sure to get crystal clear details about what your role is to be.
Don't be shy about asking for a helper if it turns out you are expected to care for all 30.
Glad you have awesome bosses.
Whoa anon.. Not nice. You have no idea about all of the circumstances so please don't pass judgment OR call the OP names.
I'm actually very intelligent, Anonymous. Yes, they are successful professionals, but it's not my business to count other people's money. I don't know their financials. In my situation at the time, it was either $10/hour or $0/hour, so I chose to take the former option. An idiot would take $0/hour and keep looking while bills piled up for months. I also don't feel the need to mention the numerous other financial perks of the job, since they don't apply to the situation at hand.
I feel bad for whoever you work for; you certainly have no manners and therefore have no business being in charge of bringing up other people's children.
-OP
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