Top Seven Issues Nannies Care About Most – Episode #1: Fair Pay

Happy Spring! It’s Laura back with my next video.

Today, I am launching a new series titled, “Top Seven Issues Nannies Care About Most”.

It’s critical that parents understand these issues as they can greatly impact your working relationship with your nanny and the quality of childcare your family receives. Over the next couple of weeks, follow along as we dive into the mindset of a nanny to discuss what matters most.

Let’s get started with Episode #1 where we will discuss the topic of fair pay. This is a hot topic currently for nannies and differs depending on variables such as location, experience level, job duties, and many other variables.

I hope you find this video useful and don’t forget to check back next week for the next episode!

P.S. If you haven’t checked out the results of our 2023 Nanny Pay Survey yet, click here.

Click Here To Watch!

A transcript of the video can be found below: 

Hi everyone! It’s Laura back with a new video series. Over the next few weeks, I will be covering the top seven issues nannies care about most.

These issues include Fair Pay, Workplace Security, Respect and Recognition, Clear Communication, Benefits, Workplace Safety, and Continuing Education.

As a family, it’s important to understand these issues, because they can greatly impact your working relationship with your nanny, and the quality of nanny care that your family receives.

Many nannies watching this video will already know the ins and outs of all of these issues, however many nannies newer to the industry may not.

Today, we will discuss fair pay and why it’s important.

Nanny pay is a hot topic currently and it can vary greatly from region to region around the United States.

Fair pay can mean different things to different people, and it can have a lot to do with factors such as a region, which I just touched upon, cost of living, inflation, supply and demand, the nanny’s experience level, the nanny’s education level, the job duties expected of the nanny, and the number of children being cared for.

For families, fair pay can directly impact the quality of nanny care you receive, because if you aren’t offering commensurate pay with the level of experience, job duties, number of children being cared for, etc., you likely are not going to find the quality candidates that you desire.

If this is the case, you may have to settle for a nanny that is just not what you’re looking for.

For nannies, this is about understanding the current job market as well as the value they bring to their nanny family.

Geographic Region

Nanny care is typically the most expensive on the west coast as well as the east coast, and it tends to be less expensive in the midwest and the south.

This is because of factor number two: cost of living.

Child care is the most expensive where the cost of living is the highest, which tends to be along the coasts of the United States.

Nannies need to be able to afford to live in the areas they are working in.

The cost of living in major metropolitan areas such as Seattle, Los Angeles, Boston, New York, Miami, Washington DC, etc is going to be much higher than it will be in more rural areas such as Montana, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Colorado. As a result of the high cost of living, nanny care will be more expensive in urban areas than it is in more rural areas.

Inflation

Inflation is an issue because goods such as groceries, gas, and clothes cost more.

The buying power of the dollar doesn’t get you as much as it used to, and this in turn drives nanny pay up.

When the cost of living increases due to inflation rising, nannies need to raise their hourly rates. We saw this happen last year as inflation started to dramatically increase.

Supply and Demand

When the demand for nannies is high but the supply of nannies is low, nannies are able to charge a higher hourly rate.

Families are willing to pay more for nannies when there aren’t as many nannies available.

This is a factor of simple economics.

Experience Level

Nannies with more experience will of course be able to ask a higher hourly rate due to their expertise. Just like in any other industry, with more experience and training comes higher pay rates.

Education Level

As is the case with a more experienced nanny, a more highly educated nanny will also be able to ask a higher hourly rate due to their expertise.

Job Duties

Nanny industry standard job duties include anything that is directly related to the care of the child.

This includes things such as meal and snack prep, tidying any dishes, picking up any spaces used throughout the day, helping to keep children’s areas organized, changing bed linens, emptying diaper pails, and also washing bottle or pump parts.

Generally, a nanny should be returning the home to the condition they found it in each day at the beginning of the shift.

When the family asks extra job duties of the nanny such as family meal prep, family laundry, help with family dishes, pet care, running family errands, or help with grocery shopping, you can expect the nanny to charge a higher hourly rate for these additional job duties.

This of course moves the position from a strictly “nanny” position into more of a nanny and household assistant position. You can expect most nannies to increase their rates by a minimum of $3-$5 per hour or more depending on the exact job duties.

Number of Children Being Cared For

Many nannies will charge an additional $2 to $5 dollars per hour above their one child base rate for any additional children in their care during the day.

Nannies will typically factor in all of the responsibilities of the job duty when figuring out their hourly rate that they would ask. Which means if you have one child in preschool for part of the day, you wouldn’t be paying separate rates when one child is in the nanny’s care versus two, you would just be paying one hourly rate that accounts for that additional child who is in their care for part of the day.

It’s important to have a good understanding of all of these aspects of fair pay if you are a family, so that you can attract the caliber of nanny that you are seeking for the position with your family.

And nannies, it’s important for you to understand how all of these aspects of fair pay can affect what you should be asking for each nanny position.

To get a good sense for current pay rates, please check out the results of our 2023 Child Care Pay Rate Survey.

Thank you so much for joining me as we dive into the top seven issues nannies care about most.

Please make sure to return and join me next week when we discuss job security for nannies.

If you like this video please click on the like button, subscribe, or ring the bell so that you can be notified when more of these videos come out in the future.

Thanks everyone, bye!