I will be babysitting (nanny) 4 kids for a 24 hr length of time. They also have a young puppy. The kids wake up as early as 6am and their bed time is 9pm and they don't fall asleep till midnight some nights.
What would you suggest is the pay? I talked to the father and he said only $200, but I think that is unfair. Even $300 would be nice but still under paid.
Ages of kids are:
7 almost 8 year old
Two twins just turned 5 years old
A little one just turned 3 years old.
And the puppy is under a year.
Help please!
Thank you!!!
Update: I called back today and asked for $250 and tried to even negotiate even lower than that! He doesn't feel the need to pay me more or even consider their kids don't sleep through the night (which would involve myself staying up) or anything else. He blew up at me, told me off and told me how things are done in the military. LOL. I am doing them tons of favors. I have paid for their kids food on numerous occasions. The lady once gave me $10 to take them out to eat for all four kids. I could not even buy all them food. I often have even brought over or gone out during the day to buy milk for their children, because they 'simply' forgot or tell me they should be drinking those body builder milkshakes. I am very appalled after I have to go teacher my dance classes and they insist I come for the day knowing I have dance to teach and I have no choice but to take all 4 of them to dance....they haven't even offered to pay for that.
Aside from all that, four kids for $200 for a 24 work day/night equals out to $2 per a kid, $8.33 an hour.
Thank you everyone for your advice. I doubt I will be working for them anymore. In case anyone was wondering, no they never pay for gas and they don't give me a car to drive or even pay for the van I drive. Never even offered to help with any cost, yet I am able to drag their children around in my car, that is insured and have no extra help. They have stiffed me numerous times. It's my fault for not speaking up, but when I do/did I get treated like a 4 year old from the father. I remember a long time we had agreed for me to watch 3 of their children for an 8-10 hour shift they would pay me $100. When summer time came along; all four kids were home for 8-10 hours a day. They still paid me only $100. I spoke up about that and just got backfire from that.
I'm not one to be strong about speaking up, but I don't like being taken advantage of. They know I will work for them because of the money and work. I guess they will have to find another nanny.
Thank you everyone!
P.S. I did ask for $250 and he said no to that as well. :( Says its ridiculous to pay that amount. An extra $50 isn't that much.
if you are so bitter and dissatisfied, why would you consider working for them? consistently they don't fit the bill. either accept what they offer or RUN
I have been a nanny to two families and I have worked for La Petite Academy...sorry sounds Very fair to me! I would take that job in a heart beat.
I'd be fine with $200 a day. Even if it were a regular thing that would total out to $1000 a week, or 4k-5k per month.
An agency that came highly recommended to me here in Houston would charge $180/24 hours for (4) children + $10 travel fee.
If you think it is unfair, either negotiate what you do think is fair or don't take the job. That is the beauty of a free-market economy.
Times have changed a lot since I used to babysit. I made about 20 bucks for the night for a family with three kids. I have seen on prior posts where people pay $5 per hour per kid. That seems crazy to me. How would you ever afford to go anywhere? If you are keeping four kids, that would be $20 per hour. I work with people who don't make that much after 5 years in a professional environment. Maybe I should moonlight as a babysitter. We have never had to hire a sitter since we only leave them about 5 times per year, and then they stay with grandparents. Maybe split the difference and ask for $250, but that is pretty good money for a 24 hour period, in which they will be asleep for at least a portion of the time. Good luck!
Eww! You couldnt pay me enough!
I am down with 200 for all that, they are naturally going to charge you less then it would be to have a nanny that has an agency representing them.
the tension lies between what you think is fair and what he thinks is do-able. i know when i offer a service i factor in all sorts of things that do affect me (time spent traveling there, prep time etc), but none of that means diddly if i can't find anyone who's willing to pay what i consider i'm worth.
you sound pretty resentful of them all round. i don't blame you! i wouldn't want to work for someone who ended up costing me money either. however, you can't base what you think your overnight fee should be on how much they've taken advantage of you in the past.
$300 for a night is probably just not in their reality. not many of us could swing that. so if you don't feel $200 is sufficient, don't take the job. i agree that $200 is on the low side, but i also know most folks simply can't afford $300 for a night.
there's no point in doing a job that you feel taken advantage of and angry about.
khairete
S.
umm page that is about $2 per hour per child...
$300 is still cheap for them.
PS what is wrong with these people 9pm is way too late for these kids to go to bed!
I agree with Karen A. regarding the hourly rate. I understand when you break it down for the entire 24 hour period it doesn't sound like a lot, but you've got to think of what most jobs pay per hour. Here's a hint, it's not 25 or 30 bucks per hour. When I get offered a job, any type of job whether secretarial or baby-sitting, if the money isn't there, as in not what I believe is actually fair for the work, I simply don't take the job. There's no point in complaining that they're not paying you enough because you're free to either take what they're offering or look elsewhere for employment, right?
I say it's fair for a 24 hour period~
I realize that when you break it down, it doesn't sound that great. But I think it really sounds very fair. Not great, not terrible, but fair. (I remember getting $100 for almost 48 hrs for 3 kids, and really thought it should have been more, but not necessarily $5 per kid per hour.) I pay my babysitter $5 for each kid for the first up to one hour, and $2.50 each following up-to-an-hour. So if I'm gone for 1 hour and 15 minutes, she gets $7.50/kid. My question is this: Why are you doing them so many favors if they take such horrible advantage of you? Do you have to do this for some reason? Are you in the military? I'm not understanding why you let them do this other stuff. Maybe you could do this last job as a goodbye job? They shouldn't be telling you you have to come and you have no choice when you're teaching dance. You should be able to say no. If there's something extra that isnt' letting you say no, you need to find a way to fix that. If it's yourself-that you have trouble saying no, that's called codependency, and you need to talk to a counselor about it, b/c you can't let people treat you this way.
When I nannied I would charge like this:
$10/hr during daytime hours (from the time the kids got up, until bedtime)
$5/hr during nighttime hours (bedtime until wake-up)
And to the person who thinks 9 PM is too latefor bed, that may be the case in your home, but that isn't the case in all home. Different children have different needs and different families have different needs.
Considering 3 of these children are old enough to play rec sports, its very possible they don't get home in the evenings until nearly 9 PM.
well I am paying a friend in a few days, 2.5 and hr per child (three total) one being a 5 month old, she will be working two 10 hour days, so 20 hrs, and she will be getting $214 for her service, she doesn't get to go overnight so she will be "working" the whole time and no sleeping. So I would say $200 for for kids, being older and more capable of doing things on their own would be a very fair rate. If you don't like that amount, ask for more or just don't do it. Any more then that I think would be greedy but that is just my opinion, Here 2.5 an hour for children is the going rate for a liscenesed day care providor that if which you are not. I pay the 2.5 for a friend because well she deserves it and to be quite honest she is a great mother and I know she will do well with my kids. But I don't have to pay her that much.
He should pay you a minimum of $250.00. I have a friend who watches kids and charges $12.00 per hour for 2 kids. Even if they are sleeping, you still have to be there and on full alert in case one of them wakes up or worse, all of them. Good luck!!!
Just with the fact that he "blew up" at you - I would never take that job!! How do you think he would react if there was an accident with one of his kids while in your care? I'd be paranoid! That said, I think $200 is a lot of money (but I'm not a babysitter, so what do I know?)
Wow, I used to make a whopping $1.75/ hr for 2 kids, one of whom was almost my age with severe mental and physical handicaps and whose diaper I had to change.
I also babysat for a family with 5 children for about 18 hours, and they paid me $5 per hour and I was more than happy with that amount (I was young.)
Are they a family that you care for often? If so, what do you normally charge them? I think $200 is a fair amount, but maybe you can meet in the middle at $250.
Because he sounds nasty, I wouldn't take that job. We paid my SIL $250 to watch my daughter, then 2, for a weekend. If you take all hours they will be awake and multiply it by your usual rate for 4 kids that is what you should charge, plus an amount for the hours you will be asleep, plus a petsitting charge.
I wish you lived a little closer. I would pay you when we need a sitter. We pay $10 an hour for our 2 yo and our 14 yo is frequently home to help! It sounds like this guy is trying to bully you b/c they are in financial trouble. He should recognize that's not your fault or problem and you deserve to be paid appropriately. I'm glad you are finding employment elsewhere.
Wow! When you break it down, it really doesn't sound like very much money. I have 4 children and have never left all 4 at the same time with my sitter although I know she could handle it. I pay her $20 hour whether the children are awake or asleep. I think the rates vary in different areas so this could be very reasonable in your area. I'm lucky that the grandparents keep the children overnight at no charge - otherwise, I'd never get a night out!
I guess you have to decide if this is a family you'd like to continue working for or not. It sounds like some of it isn't very ideal. Of course, in this ecomony, making $200 for an overnight babysitting job might be a great deal!! I don't know many families who could even afford that.
tell him no. Your time is worth what it's worth. You don't have to explain anything else. Find other kids to watch because they are not the only ones. That is, unless you really need the money. Perhaps say, this is the last time and then go from there. Stick to your guns about how much you need. Compare your prices to others in the neighborhood and make sure that you are priced competitively. Just my two cents.
Gosh, I sure hope you're more certain than "doubt" you will be working for them anymore. If they are your full-time employer, you should be giving them your written notice of terminating your employment today, with no notice. They are completely stiffing you. The average hourly rate is $13/hour. If you go by the hour overnight, you reduce that by $1 or $2 per hour. Period. If they can't afford the money, then they shouldn't be going out. Period, again.The husband sounds like an a#$ and I feel very sorry for their children to be honest that they're being shown such disrespectful ways for handling money and treating others.
Get out once and for all, find someone who can appreciate the care you give. And for heaven's sake, stand up for yourself and what you feel you deserve. You've clearly not respected yourself enough to walk away before now...I hope you can show yourself that respect now.
Good luck to you.
What nuts would have a puppy with four children under 7that they obviously cannot take care of? Who are you -the Grandma? Please! Would your earnings be termed hazard pay? Are they paying your health insurance? Cell phone? Distance yourself from this family-they need to get it together and see what it takes not to have you around. I raised 5 children-7 and under-bedtime was 9 pm-after that it was going to get ugly! Dinner was at 5 pm-dishes were done by 6:30 and bathing began. Each child got a half hour one-on-one. It changed during the summer when the children weren't in school-and the older children had later bedtimes as they got older and had more homework and such, but we stuck to a schedule. It is imperative with even one child-they benefit the most by having structure-and it's not bad for the mom, I bounced back in the morning-refreshed and ready to take on the challenge.It doesn't always work. I can remember one night, in particular, when I was, as usual, home alone with the children. The middle child was barfing in the 2nd oldest child's room, the next to the youngest had let the iguana out of his tank-the oldest was trying to feed the little one-a turkey breast was incinerating in the oven and the Jehovahs Witness was ringing the door bell-meanwhile-they were never seen in our neighborhood again. Good luck, Dear!
You go girl! A good nanny is priceless, and clearly they don't understand that. For any future nanny work you do, write up a simple but clear contract to use. Make sure that when you interview them (not the other way around), you give it to them to read, and you all sign it. That way, they know in advance what you charge for everything, and if they balk, then you politely but firmly whip out the contract. If you are a good nanny, word will get around and you shouldn't have any trouble finding a new situation if the current one doesn't work out. Good luck!!
I think if you want to be a nanny you should try to get hired by a service. That way you will have someone to speak up for you. You should not work for them until you know they hear and respect what you say. Since the jerk brought up the way the military does things below is the prices for the base daycare and in home sitters ....... I think they are per child, but you can google " Child development center " and the base nearest you and call them and ask how much they charge for four kids and ask how much for overnights. I hope this helps.
Under the new fee schedule, families with a total income of $85,000 or less will see their child care cost rise by $1 a week. Child care costs for families earning more than $85,000 will rise between $10 and $16 a week. For a 50-hour week, child care costs will range from $1.12 to $2.74 per hour.
Here is the new fee schedule:
Category I – incomes of $29,400 or below – will pay $56 per week (no change)
Category II – incomes from $29,401 to $35,700 – will pay $70 per week (+$1.00 per week)
Category III – incomes from $35,701 to $46,200 – will pay $83 per week (+$1.00 per week)
Category IV – incomes from $46,201 to $57,750 – will pay $99 per week (+$1.00 per week)
Category V – incomes from $57,751 to $73,500 – will pay $109 per week (+$1.00 per week)
Category VI – incomes from $73,501 to $85,000 – will pay $122 per week (+$1.00 per week)
Category VII – incomes from $85,001 to $100,000 – will pay $131 per week (+$10.00 per week)
Category VIII – incomes from $100,001 to $125,000 – will pay $134 per week (+$13.00 per week)
Category IX – incomes of $125,001 or above – will pay $137 per week (+$16.00 per week)
I paid my sitter $10-$20 an hour. $10 for day and $20 for evening/overnight. For a 24 hour period that would be about $360, unless it's a daycare situation of course, but daycare's aren't open overnight so...... How do they intend that you get THEIR children to YOUR dance class? If they are giving you their car, full of gas then it's paid for if nothing other than a major inconvenience. However, all that aside, it doesn't sound to me like they are respecting YOUR time. I ALWAYS treat my sitter with respect and gratitude since she is the one taking care of the most important thing in my life, my child. I can understand being strapped for cash and such, but that is NO reason to treat someone like trash. It sounds to me like they are venomous, you are doing THEM a favor not the other way around. If they want time to themselves then they need to realize that your time is important too. I would walk away and say thank you but no thank you. If they can treat you the way they have then it's not worth it.
