pretty sure my friend is getting ripped off

3 kids
one 9 month old
one 3 year old
one who is in school until 3

2 dogs
one ankle-biter
one puppy (just added to the deal, soon to come)

30-45 minute drive to work
8am to 6pm 5 days per week
certified cpr and all that shit

what's fair? she's getting around $7-$8

[Edited on October 11, 2006 at 4:26 PM. Reason : i guess she's more of a "nanny" than a "babysitter," but whatever]

10/11/2006 4:23:47 PM

I'd say at least $10 an hour.

10/11/2006 4:25:32 PM

I'd say at least 12/hr

10/11/2006 4:28:40 PM

is she an illegal immigrant? if not, she's getting ripped off

10/11/2006 4:29:21 PM

I had a friend in a similar situation who was making around 45-50k/year + using their vehicle (Lexus SUV) + going on vacations with the family.

But it's all relative I guess.

10/11/2006 4:29:35 PM

no way, at least $15

I know people who get paid $30 for situations like that (granted it's a rich family in a country club)

10/11/2006 4:29:40 PM

well these people are well-off, N. Raleigh hood, etc...

and they really aren't the kind of people who need another dog, but that's a different story altogether

10/11/2006 4:30:52 PM

my wife was a nanny for a family with 3 kids between the age 11 and 15. She was paid $11/hr plus mileage.

10/11/2006 4:33:40 PM

she's getting raped with no lube.

10/11/2006 4:34:01 PM

I'd say at least $12/hour, $15/hour more like it

10/11/2006 4:43:15 PM

15/hr wouldn't be unreasonable - there is no way she'd find a replacement for less

10/11/2006 5:11:25 PM

my girl was getting paid 10 and 11 an hour for her last two nanny type jobs.

[Edited on October 11, 2006 at 5:19 PM. Reason : both for 2 young kids]

10/11/2006 5:18:58 PM

They'd probably pay $175-$250 per kid for the 3 year old and 9 month old to go to daycare and another small chunk of change for afterschool care for their other kid. I think your friend should be making more than that for all the benefits the parents get out of the deal (not having to drive them anywhere, more personal attention, etc.)

[Edited on October 11, 2006 at 5:21 PM. Reason : s]

10/11/2006 5:20:46 PM

id venture to say daycares (at least hte ones i have been) are a lot more safe/secure and have to cover a variety of overhead. id imagine theres decent supply of people willing to take care of kids, though 7-8 is a tad low.

10/11/2006 5:36:22 PM

I just started work as a nanny a little over a month ago and as a result spend a lot of time at the park talking to other childcare providers and parents, so I'm starting to get a feel for the pay scale -- she is definitely underpaid for her situation.

If she doesn't have a college degree (especially in a child related field) and she was only watching one child and not driving a great distance, her pay would not be unheard of even with her CPR certification. Lots of parents hire college students at that rate for one child.

However, with three children the rate should go up to something like $12+ an hour.

Shame on her for accepting a position that requires a 30-45 minute drive to work. She should have brought up her drive time to work when she negotiated her rate with her employers. If a family really wants you to look after their children, they will offer things to make the situation more appealing.

Now, if she has a degree in a child related field, then it becomes an entirely different ball game. First of all, she can demand a lot more. Then (with 3 children) she could definitely demand $15+ an hour. If she is not a student, they should also be withholding her share of her social security and medicare taxes from her paycheck and then matching her half and paying it to the government (this is known as the nanny tax).

Whether she is a student working full time as a nanny or a non-student working full time as a nanny, she should have sat down with her employers and talked business. It is a good practice to have everything in writing such as pay-rate, over-time, vacations (paid, unpaid), mileage compensation, notice/termination, changes in the agreed upon schedule, and a whole host of other things.

I actually learned some of these things the hard way through this first real-world experience as a nanny because I didn't sit down to have these discussions. Now I am working for a family that I love, but I am seriously under-paid for my qualifications and they are reluctant to fulfill their legal obligations as my employer (ie. nanny tax).

10/11/2006 5:38:42 PM

sociology graduate, now a nursing student

already has some type of nursing certification from working at an old peoples home



[Edited on October 11, 2006 at 5:42 PM. Reason : ']

10/11/2006 5:41:24 PM

^ dont know if that counts as a child related field (nursing) but she's still being heavily underpaid to sit 2 dogs, 3 children, and do a drive.

She needs to find another job and quit, or have them re-negotiate her pay.
I'm kinda wondering what kinda parents would think that is a fair wage at all considering.

[Edited on October 11, 2006 at 5:45 PM. Reason : .]

10/11/2006 5:44:37 PM

i nannied part time in college for 2 kids age 8 & 10. i picked them up from school, made sure they did their hw and took them to soccer practice.

i got paid $8.50 an hour which i thought was fair bc the kids were older and only required supervision and not a lot of care

the parents rounded up the total at the end of the week to cover gas to their practices and such

10/11/2006 5:44:55 PM

^^well I was looking at that from the "can probably pull some lifesaving stuff in an emergency" point of view

[Edited on October 11, 2006 at 5:46 PM. Reason : arrowz]

10/11/2006 5:45:54 PM

^ a lot of folks these days expect a babysitter (at least to my knowledge) to have this (CPR certification, basic first aid, which admittedly she has more than that), but it's usually accounted for in a fair wage, which your friend isn't getting.

[Edited on October 11, 2006 at 5:47 PM. Reason : .]

10/11/2006 5:46:43 PM

Then they are ripping her off.

I think that she is definitely qualified enough to demand $15 an hour for 3 children.

She also needs to ask for her hours and her duties in writing -- and she needs to play a part in the process of writing her contract. Some nannies end up being expected to double as a maid or they end up working for free because employers ask them to get there a few minutes early or stay a few minutes late. She shouldn't be expected to take care of the dogs, especially if it involves house training a new puppy, unless she is ok with it and somehow being compensated for it.

And if she drives her own vehicle any distance while she is on the clock (not the 30-45 minutes to and from work), she should ask to be compensated for mileage or be provided a family vehicle. Mileage should run about $0.44 per mile, the current IRS deductable for mileage on a personal vehicle used for business purposes.

10/11/2006 5:55:45 PM

Thanks, good stuff

Just a note...the 30-45 minute drive isn't so much a result of distance as it is morning/evening traffic

[Edited on October 11, 2006 at 6:10 PM. Reason : ;]

10/11/2006 6:00:37 PM

As a side note:

I have noticed that parents require more of their childcare providers than they demand of themselves.

How many parents do you know are CPR and First Aid Certified, especially infant CPR?
How many parents do you know with 3-5 years of experience working with infants or toddlers?
How many parents do you know with a reliable vehicle or clean driving record?
Or non-smoking college graduates. . .etc etc.

10/11/2006 6:01:19 PM

wow! she is getting way under paid. we have an 8mo. old, 4 year old and a 6 year old. our babysitter gets 12/hr when all three are here, 11/hr when it's just two and 9/hr for just one. and what makes your situation even worse is the people she's babysitting for know they're ripping her off. she needs to ask for more $$$ asap.

shit, i'd demand a little back pay.

10/11/2006 6:07:14 PM

i got paid $10/hr when i was in highschool to watch 2 kids

then $10/hr my freshman year in college to watch a 7yr old

i'd say she's getting ripped off

10/11/2006 6:11:15 PM

^^ demand? she agreed to work for $7-$8 and has nobody to blame but herself.

10/11/2006 6:23:44 PM

its a tad low, but i would compare it to what she would be making otherwise and a different job she could get. I would assume that she would be making at least 10, but probably more than that. I only made 8 babysitting one baby, I thought it was fair since where I was working otherwise, I was only making 7 and i loved it, so it didnt really matter.

10/11/2006 6:29:18 PM

Quote :

"They'd probably pay $175-$250 per kid for the 3 year old and 9 month old to go to daycare "

hahahaha. yeah, right. daycares average from $800-$1000/month per child.

10/11/2006 6:58:26 PM

rip off. I would never even think about babysitting for less than 10 bucks an hour. When I was in college I did some babysitting on the side. (this was 3-5 years ago) I charged 10 per hour for 1-2 kids.

10/11/2006 6:59:37 PM

^^ That was per week.

10/11/2006 7:39:05 PM

my friend babysat 3 girls and a fairly rambuncious dog one summer. 40 hours a week (sometimes less if a parent decided to skip on work) and made $500/week untaxed. .....i think your friend is getting majorly screwed over.

10/11/2006 7:43:49 PM

ripoff

your friend is basically acting as daycare+ for this lady. figure out how much daycare would cost her for the three kids, and work off of a percentage of that i would think at least 60%-70%, but preferably more.

i would think her pay should at least be doubled. if it is all under the table though then that helps a bit....but not nearly that much.


7-8 per hour? Shit, thats under 20K for a 50hr per week job taking care of 3 kids (two of which crap their pants) and 2 dogs (at least 1 of which craps the floor). screw that.


why did she even agree to work for so little? I'm sure the kids are great and all but that shouldn't mean she works for 7-8 an hour.

10/11/2006 8:39:13 PM

Quote :

"I'd say at least 12/hr"

10/11/2006 11:49:47 PM

That's a rip off considering she has to drive 30-45 minutes to work... I know my brother used to pay our neighbors eldest kid like 15 bucks and hour to watch his daughter when we would go out on the weekends... And she lived 2 houses down!

10/11/2006 11:53:36 PM

you got to be kiding - thats at LEAST $12-15 an hour.....7 to 8 is ridiculous

10/12/2006 12:31:54 AM

i babysit for 2 families who have 2 kids & neither pays me less than 10/hr.... with 3 kids i think she should be getting at the very least 15/hr

10/12/2006 12:50:09 AM

5 bucks an hour for every human life she's in control of, and 2.50 an hour for each animal she's responsible for keeping alive.


I'd say 15-20 an hour.

10/12/2006 4:05:20 AM

you are getting raped like a hoodrat in the ghetto

10/12/2006 4:09:34 AM

I have done a ton of research on daycare prices lately and she's getting totally screwed. I pay 250ish a week for my toddler to get SAFE and DECENT care. You can swing a daycare for 200 a week but your kid is going to pay for it. My daughter's first daycare was 210 a week (3 star place) and she came home bruised up to hell and they said she wouldn't ever eat. At her new center (4 stars) I pay 244 a week and she's eating perfectly, only gets hurt in the normal walking toddler ways, and talks and laughs more than she ever did at the other place. And that's for a toddler. Infant daycare prices are much more expensive due to the higher level of care required and the federal requirements for a smaller teacher:child ratio. So really for a 3 month old and a 9 month old if they were in daycare they would have to pay around 2000 a month at least. And that's not one on one care like they're getting with a nanny. Factor in the dogs and the afterschool care and she should be making a lot more.

10/12/2006 4:29:56 AM

I wouldn't do that job for under $10. I mean, she probably deserves more.

They can't get decent childcare for less that that.

10/12/2006 7:35:07 AM

probably deserves more, but she is still doing it isnt she

[Edited on October 12, 2006 at 7:48 AM. Reason : most day care rates are like $15-30 an hour for decent ones, but that was a few years back]

[Edited on October 12, 2006 at 7:49 AM. Reason : per kid]

10/12/2006 7:47:29 AM

^When you work as a care provider for a family, you end up in a tough situation because you feel that the family depends upon you and you become emotionally attached to the family/children. Even when you know that you are being treated unfairly, it can be really difficult to stand up for yourself and especially difficult to quit because you're so involved in the family's day-to-day lives.

I worked every summer for 3 years for the same family until they moved to Florida. It felt like they were taking my children away from me when they moved. In fact, when my husband and I went on our honeymoon, we took a day out to go visit them.

10/12/2006 8:38:02 AM

I've done quite a bit of research on nanny rates. Locally, there are many wonderful people willing to come to my house to take care of two children, even babies, for $10 per hour. You can even go through a nanny service and get someone on demand (with the service doing the references and criminal background check) for that rate. I just looked at the rate for 3 children through the service I've used, and it's $11 per hour. I'm not saying that no one pays more, but that is definitely the going rate. There are many highly experienced grandmothers who are happy with this pay rate.

I did interview one person who was asking $8/hour, and she had been watching 3 children for a few years (the youngest was entering preschool, so she was looking for a new family.) So, while that was the lowest rate I was quoted, it's not unheard of around here.

The distance she drives to and from work is irrelevant to the employer.

10/12/2006 8:55:32 AM

Yeah, the commute doesn't matter. Is she reporting her earnings to Uncle Sam? If not, I don't see any problem with $8/hr.

10/12/2006 9:00:22 AM

^^ see that was my point. i dont know where everyone in this thread got 15-20 unless they have some lucky nanny friends. my girl (previously mentioned working for 10-11/hr) was also working with a nanny service. particularly in a college town, it isnt hard to find a slew of decently qualified candidates.

Quote :

"How many parents do you know with 3-5 years of experience working with infants or toddlers?"

haha anyone with more than 1 kid?

10/12/2006 9:10:49 AM

Your friend is definitely getting ripped off-- All the time on the NCSU website parents offer $10/hr for someone to pick up their kid from school and stay with them until the parents get home. A nanny position where she does not stay at the home & getting paid 7-8/hr is ridiculous.

On a side note, basic CPR/First Aid certification is a huge joke-- anyone can get it-- and just because you've seen it once doesn't mean you'll be able to perform in an emergency situation. I'd consider the family to be lucky to have a nursing student.

10/12/2006 10:03:31 AM

id imagine they'd have to pay more for a shorter period of time (like afterschool till dinner) because no one would take a job for 7 bux an hour, 3-4 hours a day.

10/12/2006 10:25:52 AM

you can check here under "Child Care" and see what sort of wages people are offering, for how many kids. It's usually $7-8 for one kid, or for only a few hours.

but if it's a big time investment on the sitter's part, or there are 3 kids, it'll definitly be over $10/hr

http://www7.acs.ncsu.edu/student_jobs/selectjobs.html

10/12/2006 10:27:29 AM

I nannied 2 kids 3 and 5 from 2-8 everyday and I got $12. The younger and more experience she has, she should ask more, and add more on for eveyr extra kid.

She should be getting at least 11, minimal.

10/12/2006 10:46:48 AM

all you people crying ripoff

it sounds like the girl never learned how to negotiate

not the families fault.

10/12/2006 12:43:18 PM