I'm a nanny with my own baby - what should I charge?

If there's an accident or your kid gets into the unsecured cleaning cupboard etc then who is culpable? The employer?

Do they have to install stair gates etc for your child to be present?

When I was looking for a nanny , I didn’t recruit ones who wanted to bring their kid. From my point of view I expected them to focus on my child and provide age appropriate activities etc; looking after one child vs 2 is very different especially if different ages.
one of my friends recruited a lady who came with her kid and regretted is- she’d bring the kid sniffly etc as my friend’s baby was sick way too often. On top of the additional chaos (let’s be honest however well behaved your daughter is when you’re with her, if you don’t pay attention to her but to another child for hours, she’ll act up). Also in the case of an emergency who do you prioritise- your own child or your charge? As a mom, it didn’t make me comfortable if my nanny faced that choice.

You could be a childminder but you will need to register

It just seems so odd to me although I appreciate I don't live in London. How does it work practically as I said in terms of child proofing etc? A house with a school aged child in it is well past thestair gates and child lock stage for example.

There’s no way I’d employ a nanny who brought her own child. I think you’ll have a very limited market. I don’t take my child to my office

We had a nanny with her own child who was the same age as my dc2. It worked really well and the kids loved each other - ready made playmates. I never worried about the nanny prioritising her kid - she was incentivised to plan lovely activities for both of them and if anything she prioritised my child as it was easier for her to tell her own to wait. Their needs were essentially the same so it was easy to keep them both happy.

We paid her 70% of the going rate but also provided all food for her child and paid for both of them to do activities that we wanted our dc to do.

I wouldn’t have wanted an after school nanny with a toddler though - too tricky managing different needs and a demanding toddler would always come before my primary aged kids. Plus we need our after school nanny to take the kids to their activities and that might not work well with a toddler. And I would absolutely expect the nanny to cook their dinner.

I think your expectations are unrealistic OP.

Also London based and people are desperate for after school Nannies, there aren’t enough post Brexit. I think it could work. Tbh I personally wouldn’t have been thrilled with the idea but I think if you offer a slightly discounted rate it could work.

I know lots too!

This is actually a thing in the Nanny world !

A nanny with own child would still be doing all nanny stuff if they Nannied another Toddler in toddlers home. Just with own toddler. So like they would if family had two children. So parents still wouldn’t have to get own child up early and drop to nursery and collect, nanny would usually cook for child, child’s laundry.
So it seems fair parents pay about 30% less to account for nanny not 100% being own own child, but nanny would still be doing 100% of cooking/ taking to classes/ laundry/ naps/ baths during those hours.

I think for a few days not full 5 day week it would be nice also for only child to get playmate. And parents make savings. If average is now £17-18net, then £13net an he would be a huge annual saving still

@SilverBirch4 so you would plan to pay LESS than the National M inimum Wage?

How would that work then?

I think OP meant that is her personal choice and she’s not judging others for their choices.

Parenting your own two children is completely different to paying someone, who brings along their own kid.

It's hard enough looking after two as a mum - I would not trust someone to give my child adequate attention with their own toddler in tow.

Nope, nope.

Not to mention running around my house.

We are London based and have used Nannies. If I only had 1 child I’d be more than happy with this arrangement - but I have 3! We pay £16/17ph - 3:30-6:30 but would want dinner cooked in this not just heated up.
I’d probably expect to pay more like £13/14ph partly due to to your toddler but also only having 1 DC as that’s clearly easier!

There is huge demand for after school Nannie’s so I don’t imagine you’ll have too many problems finding something.

I think it might work if you find the right family. I would want the nanny to cook the children's dinner from scratch though (not just heat something I've already made) and also be prepared to take them to their activities (eg their swimming lesson) so if your toddler would be OK with that great! Also not many parents paying nanny rates get back by 5.30pm/6pm. A more likely finish time would be 7pm. Also would you still show up for work if your kid was ill?

Surprised by this as Koru kids in London specialise in after school nannies and in my bit of London the rate is around £15-7/hr without them bringing a toddler along

The main thing for me would be the wear and tear on my house - I know from having had my own toddlers that they can be pretty destructive and it doesn't appeal to me to pay someone to bring one into my house regularly.

Same. Having a toddler whilst looking after another toddler is one thing but nannying for a family with only one school aged child would mean the property isn't toddler proofed.

Would the OP expect the parents to child proof the property and what happens if something gets broken by your child because let's be honest little kids are not known for being sensible no matter how much you think might think they are.

You sound like you have loads of great experience and I’d be really happy leaving my child with you and your baby.

Yes I can see that would be a consideration, as with a childminder it’s their house so I guess a nanny plus toddler in someone else’s home does have that potential for wear and tear. I’d still take it as I think the benefits would outweigh any potential negatives but I can see how it could be a deal breaker for some

I agree

How does NI/tax/pension work for this arrangement I wonder

Not cash in hand surely

You have a good point

The main thing for me would be the wear and tear on my house - I know from having had my own toddlers that they can be pretty destructive and it doesn't appeal to me to pay someone to bring one into my house regularly.

I would be more likely to consider a childminder with own children as it doesn't have that issue

I would actually prefer it if I was looking for a nanny! But I love the whole ‘it takes a village’ approach and kids of all ages being together and I would absolutely trust someone qualified to be able to look after both dc at the same time .

It depends on what your career experience before having your ds was.
You state in the title of your post that you are a nanny, but does that mean that you have qualifications, experience.
If you worked with children before having your ds then I do know quite a few former primary school teachers who have set up as child-minders of offered after-school pick ups and homework help.
Also what would happen if your ds was ill (because he has been home for 18 months, how would he cope with the infections that primary school children often bring home from school for example)? Would you expect your parents to help with that as well?

Given the endless desperate requests at this time of year in our local Facebook groups for after school nannies, I expect there’ll be quite a few willing to take their chances!

I think you’ll struggle to find families who want someone to bring a baby/ young toddler. You cannot give their child the same level of care with a baby in tow, you just can’t.

You’re definitely going to have to go in at a low price point in order to temp anyone.