I have a WONDERFUL woman that my little girl (8.5 mos.) adores and we are switching her from part time, 3 days per week 9am-3:30pm, to full time, 5 days per week 8am - 6pm. I was paying her $12/hour, but I just can't afford that. I am going back to work but getting paid much less than I had hoped. I was told by someone that $400/week with some paid time off is reasonable, and I am just wondering if that sounds right. She takes care of my daughter and cleans when she is asleep. I want to be fair but I can't afford to be overly generous at the moment.
Four years ago I was paying $250 a week for three kids. She made beds and fixed easy lunches. No real cleaning such as windows or laudry. I would say that if she is going to dust, do laudry, iron, toilets, cook etc then pay her. You will want to spend you time enjoying your baby and husband and not worry about cleaning toilets or laudry on your days off.
Agreed, 10-12 an hour is pretty normal. The whole one-uping issue is soooo true. But, stay firm. Keep in mind also, that this is the person you are trusting to not only care for your child..., but also about your child. Big difference.
We pay $580.00/week after taxes with two weeks vacation and a Christmas bonus. I also have a full time housekeeper and my children are in school. This amounts to about 13/hr but I trust her to drive my children.
Whatever you do, do NOT allow yourself to become hostage to demands. We are out here in West U and the nannies all get together on the playground and try to "better deal" one another. Then the nannies come home and make demands. The agencies will try to get you to think that $15/hr is reasonable but I don't know ANYBODY who pays this...even in River Oaks.
10-12/hour seems to be the (real) going rate.
Hang in there and I understand how stressful this is. Just be open and honest with your current nanny about your circumstances and hopefully you can reach a mutually agreeable solution.
That sounds VERY reasonable! You pay her very well already! I work in child care taking care of up to 18 children at a time and don't make that much, or anywhere close to that much per week. She should be happy to take it!
Good Luck!
