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| Stacey Torres |
We had been in the process of renovations which included a game room off the garage. We are turning the game room into a mother in law style suite with bathroom, cupboards, microwave, sink, refrigerator. The bathroom is being modified for handicapped usage. These modifications will be completed June 30. My mother may arrive in advance of this due to discharge from her rehab facility. She will continue in home PT once she arrives here.
We would like to continue the job description as is with regard to the nanny, with a few modifications. We would like the nanny to stand by/assist bathe my mother during the 15 month old's naps. We would also like her to do her laundry and prepare her breakfast and lunch. The nanny curently makes dinner for the whole family, so I don't see increasing the portion size as being extra tasking. We were thinking of offering the job to our current nanny first at a rate of $825 per week, to go to $900 after one month of making this work. If she is not interested, we were going to advertise the position at $700-850 DOE. Does this sound fair?
Question about what to offer? Email isynblog@gmail.com.
17 comments:
Are you insane??? No that doesn't sound fair, that sounds like a ton of work, not to mention, A LOT more energy taking care of your entire family for that much. Taking care of disabled patients takes a toll on the person taking care of them, they will likely burn out with all that work. Sounds like you hit the jackpot with your underpaid nanny as it is. If I were her, I'd be charging upward of $30/hr. But then again, I know my value.
No, it doesn't sound fair to me. It sounds like your nanny is really underpaid as it is. It would be worth it to have two people in the home if one of them is a professional elder caregiver and the other is a professional childcare provider. It seems as if you are trying to get away with paying the least amount possible. Your poor nanny.
Unfair. We're nannies not senior care aides. It's a different job. I hate to be rude but stop being cheap, pay your nanny more than $11 an hour if you want her to stay and hire someone for your mom. These are your family members. Either take care of them yourself or don't be so damn cheap
As a nanny I would not take a job watching a child as well as senior care at the same time. That is just overwhelming. If the chukdren were in school during the day and that's when I helped with the elder care than that may work but both at the same time....no way. We all know children don't always nap as they should so what if your mother beeds/wants something but the child is not napping. Or what if child or senior are sick one day and need more extensive care. Unless I was being paid around 25/hr I would t even consider a position like this.
No way! Your nanny is already underpaid! Elder care is haaaaard! She would likely have no interest in providing elder care. Also, she has had no training in that field. Can she even lift a grown up person enough to bathe them? Does she show any interest in doing so? It sucks that she'll either take on unwanted responsibilities or have to lose her job!
That is insane expectation of one person. I am not a nanny but a SAHM (which is basically the same thing as a nanny!). I would collapse with the weight of all that responsibility. You should pay her more for her current job and hire an elder care specialist in addition. What you are proposing is ludicrous.
Have you even checked with Medicare to see if they will cover someone coming in to bathe her and do her laundry? Worked for a family who had a grandfather living in. Would help occasionally with his care but they had people coming in. I have also done PCA work and I tell you that your asking a lot from the nanny on top of childcare. What if the baby is sick, or doesn't sleep? PCA workers get at least 12 an hour then put nanny pay on top of that your offering way to little.
Gag! You're the worst kind of boss! And person, actually. Not content with taking advantage of your poor nanny and paying her peanuts to care for your kids, now you want her to provide care for your ailing parent without proper training OR compensation?!?!! Yuck! I need to get my NF a card. I didn't know decent people were such a rarity!
While I am mostly a nanny, I have also done elder care and worked in an elder facility. My grand mother also had a stroke so I cared for as well but did not live with her.
You are absolutely clueless as to what kind of care and the amount of energy goes into caring for an elder, especially after a stroke. You avg like it's just another chore. Newsflash, is unpredictable and unending cares and attention.
Big only are you asking A LOT of your nanny but you are putting your children at risk as well. Should something go wrong with GMa, and there will be events, your children become a back burner to the unpredictable event at a super of a moment.
The pay increase is absurd..... And the audacity to only increase after the first month?????! That is asinine and on the verge of slavery. You are already under paying her at $11.18 per hour for 2 kids! She should be making between $825-935 AT LEAST for the 2 kids!
Bottom line...You can not and should not have one person for it all. These are two different professions and by combing then, you are plugging someone's life on the line at some point.
-Angi, nanny of 30 years
You ACT like....
NOT only are you asking....
SPUR of a moment....
and by COMBINING THEM you are PUTTING
Aside from agreeing with everyone who says that caring for an elder is not only a different and difficult job, but more work for your nanny, I'm assuming that while the little one is sleeping, your nanny tends to chores around the house like dishes, cleaning up toys, etc that she probably has limited time to do when the child is awake? I'm also assuming that you will still expect her to do all of that stuff on top of caring for your mother, and that you would be unhappy with her if she simply were unable to get it all in? Yes, the best nannies can clean as we go, but sometimes, we also mentally set aside those "free" times for certain chores. So by throwing your mother into the mix, you're setting your nanny up for failure by giving her more work and less time to do it all in, which of course, will only make you unhappy with her, which will be no fault of her own. Think about this - would YOU find this acceptable, if your employer were to ask the same of you? I'm guessing no. And I will reiterate the fact that caring for an elderly person post-stroke is a huge job, with many considerations; are her limitations purely physical? I'm guessing no, that even if she did not experience major cognitive loss, with most strokes, there is SOME cognitive effect, even if it's temporary, and the subtle effects are often more difficult to deal with because the person is more aware of their limitations and can become easily frustrated (for example, short-term memory loss, or difficulty sequencing habitual tasks). Not to mention that development of depression in people with stroke is pretty common. Long story short, for everyone's sake, you are better off hiring two different caregivers.
No. Unfair! Currently your nanny is making just over $10/hour for the first 40 hours, then OT for the last 15 hours; even that seems to be underpaid for a nanny who also cooks you dinner. I make 15-17 for one child.
Elder-care, is a lot of work. Its cruel of you to even ask for the nanny to help with her bathing, would you, I wouldn't. Your proposed rate of 900/week is only $14/hour before the OT. That is insanely low for 2 jobs.
My mom too had a stroke, a mini one. Here is what care looks like: Help with balance, so she doesn't fall; Help getting in an out of tub/shower; Medication reminders, and keeping track if she 'took' them without your knowledge; watching symptoms encase she did take 'too'much meds; Deal with adult temper-tantrums. A stroke messes with your brain, in my mom's case she has a slight limp on her whole left side, forgets important things often, and parts of her are child like; she has a hard time understanding things and will have a tantrum if she doesn't get her way.
My sister does this kind of work, she makes 15-25/hour depending on the level of care that is needed. She also does physical exercises with her clients. Her last stroke patient was bed bound when she started, this woman can now boil water, make a sand-witch, and go up/down the stairs!
Hire a second person. This is too much for one person. Trust me I know. My family tried caring for my mom together on our "off days/times" it was too much.
"We don't want two care providers in the house." Because?? I have to assume it's a money issue, since you're already underpaying the nanny. Look into Medicare paying your mom's needs, as someone suggested. By trying to load this all on one person, you are risking the safety and well-being of both your mom and your baby.
It seems like most commenters are nannies. I am not a nanny, nor a Home Health Aide, never have been but I have employed several nannies over the years for my, now grown, children. Approximately 5 years ago my father had a stroke requiring 24/7 care. He lived with me for a month after getting out of rehab and the home health aide we hired was great, but there was no way she could have cared for him AND 2 kids. Impossible. You want the nanny to help bathe your mom? It's just not feasible. A prior commenter said that home health aides burn out. This is very true. This is because the task of caring for a stroke victim is very difficult. If you value your nanny at all, hire a separate person to care for your mother. It's the right thing to do.
No. The nanny would be stupid to take that offer.
Also- any person you hire for that rate will quit. Quickly. Especially if your Mother is seriously impaired, to the point that her health declines at any point and/or god forbid she pass away.
That is a HEAVY toll to take on anyone. And in the case of that happening, you should be offering severance pay.
It sounds like you cannot afford a nanny, or a home health aide alone. I'd advise contacting Medicaide as well, and hiring a second person to deal with your Mother instead.
Nap time is sometimes the only time the nanny gets any mental down time. It sounds like she is already overworked and underpaid.
If you were to do this, I would pay her a LOT more and allow her extra hours to do it - not already built into her job.
However, that would bring her to sixty hours a week more or less, which is just begging for burnout.
I have worked both in elderly patients homes and in nursing facilties as a CNA and i currently nanny and work at an animal clinic. This is going out to everyone who think that adding care for an elderly family member or a sick pet is just another task. These are not to be taken ligthly, these are your family members. Dont burn out the nanny to the point that she is neglecting your poor mother and child because one person cant do all of that work and keep the same compassion and care that we need to uphold. You should hire someone trained to work with the elderly, the interactions are totally different. And its alot different having baby poop on you then an elderly persons. Its not fair to fire your nanny if she isnt willing to take on these tasks. You need to staff properly and pay them well. Cant live on champagne taste with a beer budget ya know
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