Summer Nannying - A Few Questions

[Staceisace]

Hello there,

For the past four years I've done some nanny work over the summer holidays. I've had mixed experiences but on the whole I've really enjoyed it and often babysit for the same families throughout the year.

I live in Glasgow (in the West End, if that makes a difference) and I've always charged a reasonably hourly rate that all families I work for are happy to pay when I'm babysitting however I've noticed in the past that they prefer to pay 'per day' when I'm nannying in the school holidays. That's fine with me as long as it's close enough to what I charge per hour normally but last summer I was getting paid far less than I should have been. I'm silly because I didn't say anything but it's because I genuinely liked the family and didn't want to upset things. It meant I was working for peanuts though and became very frustrating. I also had to pay quite high travel costs and spend a long time travelling to and from her home. Essentially, I could have earned a lot more in another summer job. I previously worked as a live in nanny and the wages were an absolute joke. That's probably because I'm British and had a flat in Glasgow anyway so I wasn't looking for somewhere to live. I'm more than happy to get stuck in with housework and providing a nice environment for any of the children I take care of but the really low pay was like a slap in the face. Anyway, I digress!

I'm graduating this June and am planning on looking for full time work but an offer came up from a family I babysit for (and really love, they're great!) for five weeks this summer, three days a week from 8-6. They have three children but only need childcare for one (aged 5) and I'm concerned for a number of reasons. I'm putting off looking for a full time job - or at least putting off the start date - to help them out as she seemed really disappointed when I said I wasn't sure if I could do it for that reason and the fact we're moving away from the area (it's still within train/bus travel distance though). My main worry is that I think it's going to be too expensive for them. I'm not sure how much nurseries cost per day (but if anyone can tell me, that'd be great!) but I imagine it might be less than I'm expecting to be paid for nine hours work. She's calling me later on to discuss a daily rate and I'm so worried about having to say no if they're not offering enough money. The main problem is that it's only for one child - if it was all three, I wouldn't charge a lot (if any) more because it's the same number of hours for me so I see it as the same amount of work.

I charge £7-£8 an hour for babysitting and I'm reluctant to accept anything less than £7 an hour for nanny work during the day but that would be £63 a day which is a lot for just one child from their point of view. However, for me I could be earning that/more than that in another job, so it's difficult! Last summer I got £40 a day and it just wasn't worth it for me - I ended up spending £6 on travel! There will be travelling involved with this job too. I should add that I also do any housework asked of me without asking for anything extra and I'm very flexible in terms of extra hours or time changes.

SO! After all that rambling basically what I want to know is:

1. would I be better off telling them to put her in a nursery? (they were considering this)
2. what is the maximum I can ask for per day based on 9 hours/3 days per week for five weeks? (I don't mean this to sound greedy, I just know she's not likely to offer what I charge)
3. how do I let her down gently if I do have to say no? I'd love to continue babysitting for this family in the future so I don't want to burn any bridges.

Any advice is much appreciated and I'm sorry if this is a bit all over the place!

Thank you in advance!

Stace

I think you need to just let them know what you charge then let them make the decision. What are they doing with the other two children. If it is holiday playschemes they won't be from 8-6, more likely 10-3 so you may have the others at either end of the day plus running around dropping them off. I don't think you are being unreasonable in what you are asking and I'm sure you can explain your point of view politely and nicely. Round here nurseries would be getting on for £60 per day and I don't know any that take 5 year olds in the holidays....

What is your qualification? I'm a qualified, experienced nanny in Glasgow and I would be charging more like £80 a day.

Unfortunately as nannies we can find ourselves putting families first but you need to think of yourself. If she can't afford you that is a shame but really not your fault. Just say I charge £x per day, you can think about it/chat to dh and get back to me.

I also don't know any nurseries who would take a 5 year old for 5 weeks.

Okay - I've got a bit of an update!

Cakeoholic - I don't have any formal qualifications, just a lot of experience! I have first aid and did mentoring schemes but no specific childcare qualifications.

I'm not sure what's happening with the other two children. I have a feeling they may be going to stay with her parents for the five weeks? It's possible that they are going to play schemes although she didn't mention that I could see why it'd be an advantage to have me around. Also because I've known the kids for a year or so, which always helps. I've watched them a few times during the day but mostly evening babysitting.

Anyway, as I said, there's been an update! The mum said that the nursery was going to be £30 a day so she was offering me £40 and I had to politely decline. I wasn't expecting her to offer so little...when I factor in travelling costs it works out at less than £4 an hour which is ridiculous for a 22 year old with four years of experience. I guess it's expensive for them to pay me a decent amount and I understand that so I said they should just go for the nursery option since it was cheaper anyway. It was also dropped from 16 days to 12 meaning I'd only just about make one month's rent on what they were offering. I hope they're not too annoyed about it...

I don't know an awful lot about nurseries during the summer but obviously if they were sending all three they'd have been more willing to pay me more. I mentioned that it's expensive to have a nanny with just one child.