I’m asked this question surprisingly often. Parents want to know if they can hire a great nanny for a low wage. It isn’t a simple yes or no question. I always need more details about their definition of “low wage” because that term means different things to different people. Kinda like the term “light housekeeping”.
The earning range for nannies is huge. Entry level caregivers in the Midwest can expect to start out at $10 to $12 an hour. Experienced nannies in large metropolitan areas can command $20 to $25 a hour plus a generous benefit package and a nice end-of-year bonus. That’s why the most common answer to the question “How much should I pay my nanny?” is “Well, it depends.” Because it depends….on the location, the job description, and the type of caregiver the parents want to hire. So low wages in one area can mean market value in another. That difference doesn’t affect the quality of care.
But there are jobs that pay so far below market value, the ones that pay $3 to $5 an hour or a weekly stipend of $50 plus room and board, that it’s next to impossible to find a quality caregiver to accept them. Why would she when she can go to an agency or online site and at the very least, double or triple her hourly wage? Remember, when I say quality care I’m not talking about a warm body that watches the kids. I’m talking about someone who consistently provides a high quality caregiving environment. In this case the age old adage “you get what you pay for” is generally true. In this case low wages generally mean low quality care.
That’s not an insult to the women working in low wage jobs. You can be an amazing person and not have the qualifications for a particular job. Or be caught in circumstances beyond your control that make finding a job equal to your qualifications near impossible.
It’s also not an indictment of parents that can’t afford to spend $25,000 or more a year on childcare. They’re only trying to do what’s best for their children. However the reality is nanny care is the most expensive type of childcare and it’s out of reach for many families. It’s a much better choice for parents with a limited budget to invest their childcare dollars into quality family care or day care rather than into a unqualified nanny.
It is an indictment of parents who have ample resources and choose to pay their caregiver $5 an hour. Shame on you. (Someone had to say it.)
As always, I’d love to hear your comments. ~ Lora Brawley, Nanny Biz Reviews
I seen an ad from a Parent who was looking for a Nanny who could work full time watching 2 babies under 2 for $5/hr. She was looking for someone realiable, active (”physically fit”), Energetic who could do ‘light cleaning’ which i can understand picking up after thereselfs and the babies but she was looking for someone to do the families laundry 1-2times a week, sweeping/vacuuming, the whole nine. It was RIDICULOUS. This was in New Jersey which isn’t too far from NY and we all no prices in the Northeast are alot higher then other areas. Just the fact that shes looking for a good quality ‘Nanny’ to do housekeeping and watch 2 babies for $5/hr was a absoloute joke. She should of posted an ad at the local middleschool but i’m not even sure a preteen would do all that for such a low wage. SMH.
Apparently all these parents child are only worth $5/hr, So sad.
>>>However the reality is nanny care is the most expensive type of childcare and it’s out of reach for many families.<<< I think some people don't realize this. I see ads online for people offering a weekly wage in the $100-200 range, which is as little as $2/hour for a 50 hour work week, and some even offer less. Some people specifically say that they do not want/are unable to pay daycare wages. I worked at 2 high-quality daycares for a while, and the monthly tuition for one is almost $1500/month, so yeah, daycare is expensive. But then again $1500 per month for a nanny is less than $400/week, and that daycare is VERY high quality and is open 50 hours a week – some nannies may be willing to make under $1500/month, but not the ones who could provide care as good or better than one of the best daycares in the area. But something like $100/week, while it is less than even the worst daycares, will get a sitter (not a nanny) who won't take your kid places because they can't afford to do so and will probably have the tv on most of the day…
I understand that plenty of people can't afford a good nanny or a good daycare at over $1000 a month. I don't know the range for home daycares or where to find out, but I imagine it's a little less, maybe about $700 a month – if that's what you can afford, then great – I'm sure there are good home daycares. People need to understand that that's not the kind of one-on-one attentive care your child will get at home with a nanny, and a good nanny can't take that kind of wage (and won't if she's offered something better).
It also bothers me when the online ads are very unspecific – they say something like, "We are looking for a nanny or a babysitter to come to our house and look after our 4-month-old son." This ad says nothing about hours, about what you want from a nanny, etc.