Am I Being Paid Too Little for Watching Triplet Babies?

OMG... you are being paid WAY too little.

AND you are also having to be a house-maid too.
Nope. I would not do that.
They are taking advantage of you.

If you can, find another better paying job.
My friend has triplets... and well, she got them daycare... because no sane babysitter, would have worked for them at the rates THEY could pay.

Being paid that cheaply... is an insult.

Ignore the response that said there are plenty of excellent sitters for $8/hr & that you knew what you were getting. She clearly doesn't value her childcare providers & triplets is a huge job. You are underpaid & undervalued. I can't believe they are asking you to do dishes & laundry in addition to 3 babies for that pay! If you really like them, approach them & let them know that this is not working out for you at that pay. But I feel you're being taken advantage of & you'd be better off looking for something else.

I pay $367 a week for a 2 and 4 year old and I take them there. I would love to be able to have them stay in my home for care. Dishes and laundry would be a huge bonus that would be priceless! I can't tell you how much time I spend doing those!

Do some research and look for other opportunities. and then ask them for a raise. If they say no then begin looking and find a new job. Good luck.

Woow, they're totally not paying you enough!!! $8/hr to care for triplets all day and do dishes and laundry?!?!? Seriously? I would never have accepted that amount ina million years! This is at least a $15/hr job!

I would simply let them know that you are increasing the rate YOU charge for this service since the work load is so large. Write up a contract detailing exactly what you are going to be responsible for, including schedule etc.. Approach this as a business venture. Be professional. You are providing a very specialized service and you have the right to charge what YOU think is fair for the amount of work expected.

I would expect to be paid at least $15 an hour for triplets, and for having to do laundry and dishes. Now dish cleanup for meals you make for the kids should be expected, but if they are asking more that, it should be included in your pay.

I personally think it is too low for 3 babies. If you work an 8 hour day at $8/hr - you are pulling in $64 a day and $320 per week. I pay my sitter $160 per week for 1 child - so with my math, they should be paying you at least $12 per hour. BUT - then factor in the housework and I think you should make at least $15/hour. If this couple were to put their triplets in daycare - they would pay at least $600 per week - they are getting a steal with paying you only $10/hour. I hope that you can get up the courage to stand your ground and ask for what you are worth. Good luck.

The lowest rate that I found for someone whom I could trust with my child was $10 / hour. (Note I even work from home - so I am actually onsite in case anything goes wrong). He is an only child and this rate does not include ANY housework (that would have pushed it up). Seriously, when my child naps, my sitter reads, watches tv or talks on her phone. She has never even rinsed out his cup for example, let alone did any laundry etc. They are getting a steal with you.

You could make $8/hour flipping burgers at a fast food restaurant. They are definitely underpaying you. We pay $15/hour for a babysitter to watch our two children (4 and 7). Three infants? Plus housekeeper duties? Definitely at least $10/hour, most likely more, even in a rural area.

I guess a lot depends on how much you NEED this job. If you really need it, stick with the low pay for now and then after you've proven yourself after a while note how much you love your job and the children, but that you've heard from others you were underpaid so you researched (and do your best to track down real stats online as to what nannies make caring for three infants) and share what you've found.

Good luck!

I agree with Dyreka. I pay my babysitter $10 for a toddler and infant, and they are asleep most of the time while she is there. She also doesn't do laundry or dishes, and we feed her. I would definitely let them know that your rates are going up, and have a contract too.

You also may want to look at how much it would cost them in your area to put them in childcare. At my daycare, infants (up to 1 year) are $200/week, 10% off for the second sibling, 15% for the third. So, you are easily looking at $550/week, and you are only getting $320.

Yes, you are getting paid WAY TOO little, especially considering they expect you to do dishes and laundry. I paid $12.50/hr for someone to come to my home and watch my twins with no expectation of dishes or laundry. Even if you initially agreed to this price, you can still approach them about your pay. Find out what in-home nannies make in your area and determine what rate you think is fair. Also, decide if you'd rather have a reduced work load or an increase your pay. If you're prepared with the facts and you're fair to them, they'll probably work with you especially if they are pleased with how you are with their kids. Good luck!

I have never been in your situation, but I imagine that I would talk to them and be open and frank with them, but keep your language free of accusations.

Point out that you're experienced, and that as an adult, you are better equipped to care for their children than, say, a teenager. Tell them you've done some research, and feel your skills are more valuable than the wages you already agreed to. Then give examples. I don't know that this would be a good example, but sheesh, I pay our 17 year old babysitter $6 an hour!!! Her 15 yr old sister gets $5 an hour, and my husband says I'm too cheap! I'd give them examples of the average wages for nannies in your area.

Tell them that when you accepted the job, you weren't expecting to have to do laundry and dishes (unless they told you about this before-hand, it's unclear from your post). Tell them that you're happy to do it, but you think that it's above and beyond childcare, and you feel you should be compensated accordingly.

Then say, "I may have accepted this job too hastily, and I need to make more money. I'm afraid that I may have to look for a different job."

I guess then you'll find out how much they like you taking care of their kids.

Good luck, it's a tough spot you're in, but nobody deserves to be underpaid!

I pay $5 for 2 older kids per hour, with no house work, and that is to teens. I would expect to pay a full time nanny, especially one that also does cleaning, a lot more. You are getting underpaid, question is will they give you more? Or is the only option looking for other employment?

Why don't you call some professional babysitting services and see what they would charge and follow their suggestions when you approach your employers. Small town or not they arre taking advantage of you as, they took advantage that you haven't sat for a while. 3 babies??? I'm thinking and I am LOW BALLING it big time , at least $15 and hour since you do laundry and dishes as well. good luck in talking with them.

Back 12 years ago I was making $235 per week for two kids. Any house work was extra money. You should be paid alot more!

There is no way that you can do laundry and the dishes and care for 3 babies. Are they nuts? We had an in-home care provider that wanted to do that for us AND I had no desire to have her do that because her primary focus needed to be my child(ren). She tried many ways to get more money out of us- and probably felt similarly that we lived in a bigger house, etc- which really irritated me because I sensed that. In my opinion a wage should be fare, not determined by our "social status", so do not let that come up in negotiations. We gave her a raise when we had our second child.

Are you ready to walk away from the job if they do not get more realistic is the first question you need to answer. If you are- then call a couple of the local daycares. In our area daycare for an infant was somewhere around $350/week without laundry or dish service. So that would be over $1K/week for them. That is a lot and I don't think you can expect that, but maybe somewhere closer to what you suggested- $10/hour.

If you need the money but don't want all that responsibility(and I wouldn't blame you!)- just go to a local store or something, they will probably pay you $8/hour and it will be a heck of a lot easier than caring for 3 babies and all the extras.

You could also take the job and continue to look for another one.... just a thought!

This is a tough one. You don't mention that I see if you have to do housework along side of the care of the triplets. If so you are not getting enough. They are new parents of triplets so they probably don't have much money, but they can't expect someone to happily take care of there kids and do housework for that amount of $$ To be quit honest I have three kids 4mo, 3yrs and 5 years and Yes they are different ages, but I stay home because I can't afford to pay someone the amount of $$ they would deserve to handle this full time task. And to have to take care of three infants needs at once. Whoa I can hardly handle one at a time. To be honest I would say $8 an hour for older triplets but infant childcare costs more for a reason. Maybe you can talk with them about getting more now and then less later...just like regular childcare goes. 3 babies is a lot of work. it is a great thing you are doing for them...but realistically I think they may be taking advantage of your work. Yes you accepted the job...but do you yourself have triplets, there is no way you could have known the task at hand unless you yourself had triplets so I don't think it would be rude to confront them about the pay.

my friend has 2 girls aged 6 and 8 and for the summer holiday paid a student $15 an hour - that will give you a rough guess that you are being paid slave labor.

approach them first, say you have been looking around and most other jobs of a similar nature are being paid at least $15.

really you could find a much easier job for that much money. if they refuse to pay you more then say you have to start looking around for another job as you can't pay your bills

It really varies by region. In my city a 40hr a week nanny to ONE child makes about 2000-2500 a month... which is 12.5-15.5 an hour. Group infant care (at a center) costs $1600 a month per infant.

edited to add... and TRIPS? I come from a family with multiples. With twins you *sometimes* get a break (rarely), and with trips and quads almost never. I've never known a family who EVER only hired one sitter or nanny for their trips, ALWAYS two. You're doing the work of two people for the price of 1/2 a person.

Wow! Your pay of $8 per hour is WAY TOO low. Oh my goodness, I KNOW that watching 3 babies is hard work because I went through taking care of 2 babies at a time. (One of my twins would go one way & the other go the other way, one crying & the other one throwing up, both fighting about a toy.... no other toy was good enough during the dispute, both wanting to be picked up and loved, etc.... while I tried to pick up toys, do dishes, do laundry, etc...

Okay... now to factor in a third baby.... wow! Sometimes just thinking that there were stay at home moms of triplets who did what I did everyday, made it of some reassurance to me that I could get through another crazy day:-)
(Well... things are much calmer now that my twins are 8 yrs. old:-)

You should EASILY be getting twice that amount. Call daycare providers and daycare places and ask them how much money it costs to watch a baby at their place......you'll see just how little you are getting per hour. They are definitely taking advantage of you. Speak up in an assertive way about your hourly pay to these parents.

Good luck,

J.

We live in a suburb outside of Philadelphia. In our area a "Nanny" gets paid a minimum of $10.00 per hour. My sister was a full-time nanny and wasn't expected to clean or do laundry. Her sole job was to care for a 3 year old girl. She took her to school, picked her up, fed her lunch, put her down for naps and played with. She did 40-60 hours a week and got paid $10.00 an hour. I would say you are well within your boundries to ask for a raise now that you realize what the job entails. Now, also I warn you to be prepared that they may say no which puts you in the ackward position of telling them that you will no longer be working for them or that you will continue to work for them and they will know that you are not happy with the pay. They may also look for someone else to employ who is willing to do the same exact job at the rate that they are paying you and let you go.
Best wishes for what ever you do decide to do.

When we've had a babysitter for our two boys its been 10/hr and that was just go watch our 2 boys ages 3 and 8. They are both pretty much self sufficient. The only thing someone needs to do is heat their dinner and make sure they are in bed on time. To take care of three infants and do house work for $8/hr is crazy! you need to speak with them. You deserve more then that. If this job is set hours I would settle on a flat rate if its not on a regular basis it should be hourly and more then $8

That seems way low to me. I haven't priced Nannys, but I pay my teenaged babysitters $10 per hour for my two kids when my hubby and I go out for the evening. Triplets is a lot to keep up with in and of themselves, not even counting the dishes and laundry! I would have a talk with them. Sounds like you're being taken advantage of. I'm not sure why you would have agreed to that price to begin with, but if you aren't happy there, then you need to talk to them about it or try to find something else. Good luck!

Wow, you should get $15 per hour! I don't mean to sound negative, but those parents seem rather unsavory to me, asking all that for only $8 an hour in return. I think they ought to be ashamed offering that little!

Can you come babysit for me! I pay a teenager 10 an hour to babysit one child! You should be making $15 an hour. You can tell them that you have to make at least $12-15 an hour to stay with them. Taking care of three babies is a lot of work. You couldn't pay me 20 and hour to do that job! I hope you ask for more money! My sister pays $375 per week for an infant at a daycare. If she hired a nanny it would be $400-$500 per week!

I think you should make at least $12 an hour for 3 babies plus housework, personally. However you did accept the pay when you were hired. If they didn't explain about the dishes and laundry before hiring you then tell them that for the housework you either need to charge more or stop doing the extra chores. Just be prepared to be out of a job if you do this, it is possible that $8/hr is all they can afford. Don't assume a family's income just because of the house they live in, its very ignorant to assume that they can afford more. Appearances aren't everything. If they lived in a shack with triplets would you be complaining about your pay?

If they did not tell you before you accepted the job that you would be cleaning too, I would talk to them and tell them that since they have added more to your job, you feel they should pay you a little more.
If you're not comfortable doing this, I would do your research on what is fair in your area and look for a new job b/c I sense this is not going to end well otherwise. You're going to start feeling taken advantage of. You could probably go find a job watching one or two kids for the same pay. Good luck!

Wow, $8 seems way low. I was a nanny for twins. (this was 10 years ago) and I was given $12 per hour. I got $350 every Friday. I would ask them to increase the pay for having to do house work on top of child care. In the mean time, I'd start sending out some resumes in case they can't afford any more than that.

I think Triplet babies for one person is alot of work and they are probably lucky to get you. You are doing chores too!! I think that they are not paying you enough (just my opinion) Usually at a daycare center the weekly rate for one infant is about $150.00. At the least tell them you can't do the chores for that price.
However, If you just really need the work right at this moment I do think they will want to pay you more. No sane mother is going to let a good caregiver get away. One that can handle tripletts. It's not an easy thing for parents to find a reliable, dependable and trustworthy person to care for their kids. Once you find that person and and grow to depend on them there is almost no amount of money you are willing to dig out.
They may not want to give you more money in the beginning because they probably figured this is what they can afford to pay and you argreed to it. But after a few months of great child care they may change their minds because they are not going to want to go looking for someone else,

Did you agree to do chores also?? If I were you I would talk to them. I would tell them that you did't know how much it would entail to watch all 3 and do house work. I would ask for at least 15$ per hour and thats without doing the house work. With house work I would ask for 20$.

I watched my sisters 3 kids for 6-7 hrs 2-3 days a week I only watched them & my 2 I wasn't expected to do their houshold chores that to me is their buisness not mine i'm a caregiver not a housekeeper.I was pd.$150 a month for 3 kids the same rate they paid me for watching their 1 child at the time he was an infant.Your getting paid $8.00 an hour I would of walked if thye didn't agree to raise the pay to at least $12.00& cut some of the chores out.Your watching them in their home that's great but also doing their work that shoud be taken care of by them not the caregiver but can't say no now you have already agreed to the pay & additional chores yes your getting taken advantage of look for another jon that pays more has benefits..Good Luck

Wow. I think you are majorly underpaid! My 15yrd old niece gets paid $8.00/hr helping with the toddler dance class at her dance studio!

I do think you are under paid regardless of what the parents can afford. There are a few reasons. 1) You come to them 2) They have 3 babies. 3) They are babies. People pay more for babies. 4)They want you to do light household chores as well. If they were taking the babies to a center they would be paying a small fortune.
Now that the position is accepted, I think I would approach it from this manner. Ask for an evaluation meeting. This way they can be preparred and so can you. I would even type of my own performance evaluation and have them answer it prior to the meeting. GIve them at least a week to do this. Tell them it is so that you both have the opportunity to discuss what you are doing well and what you can improve on. Answer the questions yourself about yourself and bring this along to the evaluation. At this meeting, if they feel you are doing a good job, then you ask them if you can discuss your salary. You thn tell them the job is a lot more detailed than you originally predicted and that you know understand on a small level the challenge of parenting triplets. You then go on to say that you are happy with your job and love the babies but due to finacial restraits and travel; you need a little higher pay. Ask them if they could afford at least $11 an hour and that you would continue...... (list all of the points they feel you do well on the evaluation & work on ...... the things they felt needed improvement.)
Now when caring for multiples as babies, it is VERY important for sanity that a schedule is followed. It is actually a cooping skill taught. It makes things go so much easier. For you to do the dishes behind the babies and their laundry can also be espected. Now if you arrive to dishes from the night before of the family or they think you should be doing laundry for them as well, this is not the norm. If you are a valued caregiver to the babies in their eyes, they will meet your request. Good luck!

You need to research the cost of child care for one baby and youwill see that youare still asking for too little. Especially if they want you to do the dishes they dirty and the laundry. The size of you town doesn't matter, they are underpaying you and they know it. Unfortunately you accepted $8.00 per hour out of despiration and I am sure they knew you were out of work and needed the money. Once you have done the research and show them what they could be paying, I would pray they see the light and offer a raise. If not then I would not be doing dishes or laundry. I would only watch teh children and only while they are at work. NO pit stops before coming home. They should be ashamed of themselves and you should never accept less than you are worth. Always research before accepting job offers.

i agree. i think if you are the primary care giver, on your own, expected to care for the babies and keep house, that you should be looking at around $10 an hour minimum. However, it may be a situation where they just cannot afford that. I cant imagine they are rolling in money with 3 new babies! lol.

As someone who has hired a sitter for my 2 kids, and asked for her to follow a strict schedule including a very strict diet for one of the kids, and fold laundry every day, here's what I think from a parent's perspective: you accepted the job knowing what was expected of you and knowing the pay; they probably can't afford much more than that, and there are plenty of excellent sitters willing to accept $8/hour for the work you're doing (especially while the triplets are babies and can't go anywhere or wear you out demanding you play with them constantly).

Perhaps you can suggest that after 3 months, they sit down with you and review how things are going, in addition to reviewing your pay. Otherwise, yes, you might want to find another job if you feel you cannot survive on the pay or if you feel you will not be able to give the babies the best level of care possible.

Holy Cow!!! That is SOOOO ridiculous that I hardly have any words! Even the $10.00 an hour that you suggested is still WAY WAY too low! You should be making at least $15.00 per hour! MINIMUM! You could get a TON of other EASIER jobs making more than $8.00 an hour! Good Grief!!! Am I missing something here? Do you watch them only when they are sleeping? :)

Research what they charge at a daycare center, what other sitters get paid, and what a housekeeper makes in your city or county. Then make a fair decision on how much you feel you deserve. Daycare rates vary, and many places give rate breaks on families (ie: 1 baby = $300/wk, 2 babies = $550/wk, 3 babies = $800/wk or something like that....you don't pay as much for each child if all your kids go to the same place).

Housekeepers make at least $8/hr and they don't take care of PRECIOUS little ones!! Since you are doing housework ON TOP of child care, figure that in as well. You ACCEPTED the job of baby sitting, not of a maid. You should EXPECT to be paid more if you are doing two jobs! Why not $20/hr?!

I agree with making a contract outlining exactly what your duties are (and if you get vacation or days off, and if so when) or otherwise they will soon expect you to cook dinner too!! Remind them that while you may be charging about the same as a daycare, the daycare is a business and they pay their employees to take care of more babies (in my state the ratio for 6 weeks to 2 years old is 1 caregiver to 4 infants). You are offering personalized care IN THEIR HOME, so their babies are more familiar with their surroundings - and with you (the main caregiver takes breaks at a daycare - you are there all day - better for attachment).

They are not valuing you, they are taking advantage of you...because you are allowing them to. Put your foot down, nicely, and tell them you would need to be paid at least $15 an hour. I have 3 children, 5, 4 and 2 and we pay our college sitter 10-12 an hour for watching kids only.

When my trips were babies, we could not find childcare because no one would take $250 a week. That was only going to be from noon to 6 M-F and nothing but childcare--no laundry or anything like that. That was 11 yrs ago. Taking care of trips is work in itself. I think you should definitely be paid more. One question is are you paid cash or do they take taxes out of your pay and do you have any other benefits. I currently pay my sitter $10 an hour to supervise my older kids but mainly watch my 2 1/2 yr old. You could talk to them about what you currently earn and describe the job you are doing. Ask or you won't know.

I think you should get paid more! My daughter was being paid that for watching a 3 year old and she's a teenager! AND the family isn't well off... I didn't read your other posts but in my opinion...$10 is still not a lot for triplet babies and other duties. They won't find anyone else for that. Good luck!!

Watching the babies should be just that. Doing dishes that are not baby related along with laundry is another job altogether. Minimum wage in my state is around $7.50 an hour. I would expect to get paid more that that for 3 babies. It's 3 times the work.

You don't indicate how long you have been working for them. If you have been working with them for shorter than a week you may want to go back to them and renegotiate with the understanding the other job functions of laundry and dishes are more out of the scope than you had anticipated.

You should also start looking for another job and let them take advantage of someone else. In the future do your homework by knowing your value and worth before you say yes to a job. I always say mind your own business. Your rate of pay is your business and knowing all about what goes into that is up to you.

It sounds like it's time to sit down with them and talk about expectations (what was discussed as your duties) and what you're being paid.

Do some "homework" and find out what others are being in your area for the same services you provide, and let them know that while you like working for them, you feel you're being underpaid for the work. Taking care of triplets is not like taking care of 3 children of different ages. And if these are young babies, the work is really, really hard and stressful in some cases.

Say that you want to sit down with them and get in writing, for both your sakes', what exactly is expected and what they are going to pay.

If they won't renegotiate the pay (which they absolutely should, it sounds to me!), then ask them to pay for other stuff, like a week's vacation. In the meantime, start looking for another job, just to be safe, so that if they say no and you're feeling taking advantage of, you can walk out the door.

do you wanna come to my house?

3 babies the same age..definelty $10 an hr. They should get someone else to do the housework. If they are making you do it $8 and watching the kids is not enough.

$8 an hour!!!! They are taking advantage of you for sure. I look for the best childcare for my child and I would pay TONS just to know they are getting the best care. Not that you don't....just saying that they don't seem to care much about childcare. Seriously. $15 is even too low. I would say $20 minimum.

My sister is paid $10.75 an hour and has a kid that she puts on and off the bus and the other is in part-time pre-k. She also brings her 15 month old with her to work. You are WAY underpaid for triplet babies! If they went to a center, they'd be paying almost $600 a week!! Maybe you can show them the great job that you are doing and ask for more. If not, start looking for other work and be sure to give them 2 weeks notice!

This is close to minimum wage. You should be paid quite a bit more.