So, I just moved to Tucson a few months ago and I have no family here. I am still moving forward with my doula career and daycare is kind of an issue. I looked into a few nanny services and one that got back to me had rates that IMO, were out of control. I've done daycare in CA for many years and the rates over there are higher than in AZ, but this AZ nanny service must be for the rich and famous. They want a sign up fee, $13.50 per hour+$10 driving fee (just for the nanny to come to my home to do her job!) and require 4 hour minimum pay. Maybe I'm just having a bad day, but I really felt as though they were trying to take advantage of me. I am doing my current client's birth for free so there is no way I can afford to be out that kind of money. Does that seem kind of high to anyone? Keep in mind I only need a nanny to come by incase my client goes into labor until my hubby can get home.
Last edited by DL; 07-03-2007 at 10:15 PM.
Reason: Making title more specified
I pay my high school babysitters $15/hour lol. I don't go out much, obviously! For my doula work, my first babysitter is my parents, then my best friend, then my neighbour who I swap babysitting with, then another neighbour... 9/10 my parents can watch the boys.
WOW! I pay the high school kid across the street $4/hr and the neighbor boy who is a certified baby sitter (took a class) $5/hr. I always felt bad about charging $4 for the high school girls and wanted to pay $7 but her mom said that was too much. Now, if I drop my son off at a drop in center, I pay $7. $13.50 sounds sooo high!
WOW! I pay the high school kid across the street $4/hr and the neighbor boy who is a certified baby sitter (took a class) $5/hr. I always felt bad about charging $4 for the high school girls and wanted to pay $7 but her mom said that was too much. Now, if I drop my son off at a drop in center, I pay $7. $13.50 sounds sooo high!
If I tried to pay a high school kid around here $4 they'd look at me like I had 2 heads! And then wouldn't babysit! You're lucky!!!
Really, she lost me after she said $13.50/hr, but then to top it off, all the nickle and diming really ticked me off. In an absolute pinch, I sorta mighta could have swung $13.50, but the rest really rubbed me the wrong way.
WOW! As a preschool teacher who makes only $8 and hour (with 27 on my roll and 13 who can be there at any given time) I have to say I'd really like to make that kind of money!!!!! Especially if there are only one or two kids involved.
First, it sounds REALLY high. However, I have checked into WORKING for one of these nanny businesses and they are super thorough. A little too much for me (only because I'm lazy and don't feel like doing all this crap. lol but it is really a GOOD thing)....they require a background check, fingerprints, drug testing, many references and I'm sure the company has to have worker's comp insurance, etc. on these women and they do crazy advertising (at least here anyway which is probably where most of that $13.50 an hour comes from.) It's sort of like 'you get what you pay for' but it still sounds crazy. Only if it were in LA or NYC would I think that sounded 'normal'. Also, the girl probably only GETS $7-$8 an hour and the agency gets the rest.
As for the driving fee, well that is insane! No one else gets paid to drive to work. Lol And is there another option? Like is there a place you could take your kids where the nanny WOULDN'T have to drive? That's the ONLY way I can see how that even makes sense. Like if they have a daycare center but will provide inhome care at an additional cost. Although, maybe the agency has to carry some sort of insurance on her since she's driving to a 'job site'.
In home babysitters here charge $9-$10 an hour and I have to say I feel weird charging that much just because I'm from the old skool where I used to make $2-$4 so this seems like a lot! But the parents pay it and really I like the extra money in my pocket
How many kids is it for, and what are their ages? If it were for just one child, it would seem a tad expensive. Here we have three kids two of them are 6 and 9 and really only need basic supervision (make sure they don't fight and get fed, LOL) but we still pay $10/hour for a high school kid and that is cheap.
A professional nanny service would be way more!! There are some drop-in daycares around here that work 24 hours..most of them are in people's homes, and they are significantly cheaper so pehaps you could look into something like that? Also it is summer, so you could post an ad in your paper..perhaps there is a college student who wouldn't mind being on call for you for a lower price? I'd say put an ad on craigslist but our craigslist has a lot of shady people that you will get calls from, so I would be leary of that..
Check into a drop in home daycare, or a home daycare that takes drop in kids. I pay mine $11.50/hr for two kids. The nanny services I looked into were way too much $ for me at the drop in rate. The prices were similar to what you describe, maybe a little more, and I'm in CA.
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Jeanette
New doula and childbirth educator
As a nanny, and former daycare worker, preschool teacher, babysitter, etc...I think that childcare professionals are some of the worst paid workers around. My dp was astounded when I told her how much I made per hour--she couldn't believe I made that little working with children(and I make on the high end)--live little humans--and when she works on someone's computer, she charges 50/hr. She thinks if you are caring for someone else kids, you should be making good money!
Finding the right childcare provider is so important. These are kids, and it makes me so sad that daycare workers, who are entrusted with children's lives, well being, and often learning, make barely above minimum wage. It doesn't make sense. I have seen ads where people are trying to find a nanny for 50 hours a week for $100 A WEEK. You do the math. I don't understand why they don't understand that childcare workers have to make a living too. Just because you love your job and enjoy working with children doesn't mean you shouldn't be compensated for it.
If you are paying for nanny, you are going to be paying much more than a daycare, just because it is a different type of care--completely one on one.
Now--nanny hat off. Around here, 13.50/hr for an agency is about normal. The $10 for gas thing is crazy--unless you live far away or something. I don't get that part. Generally, sitters who work for an agency are "professional" and will do much more than just "watch" children. If you advertised or asked around, you could proably find a college student who would charge around $10--that way you can cut out the "middleman". Also, I think adveritsing on craigslist is an ok idea. You just need to be very through with your reference and background checks. Do you know any grandmothers in town? That's a possibility. Are you friends with a SAHM that you could do some trade with? Many mothers will trade sitting. Do you have a drop in place? We have a nifty place here called Bizi Kidzs. It's not really like a daycare, more just like a giant play place. You can also advertise your needs on www.sittercity.com. You can make a profile and all the sitters can see up front what your needs are and what you are comfortable paying. Advertise at local colleges, if possible. s I hope you find what you need!
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"If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals". ~J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
My guess would be that the fee is higher since it isn't regular and guaranteed work. I can tell you that my dd makes about $10 an hour babysitting (for one child) and very regularly will get paid even more than that if it is for a shorter period of time.
As a nanny, and former daycare worker, preschool teacher, babysitter, etc...I think that childcare professionals are some of the worst paid workers around. My dp was astounded when I told her how much I made per hour--she couldn't believe I made that much working with children--live little humans--and when she works on someone's computer, she charges 50/hr. She thinks if you are caring for someone else kids, you should be making good money!
Finding the right childcare provider is so important. These are kids, and it makes me so sad that daycare workers, who are entrusted with children's lives, well being, and often learning, make barely above minimum wage. It doesn't make sense. I have seen ads where people are trying to find a nanny for 50 hours a week for $100 A WEEK. You do the math. I don't understand why they don't understand that childcare workers have to make a living too. Just because you love your job and enjoy working with children doesn't mean you shouldn't be compensated for it.
If you are paying for nanny, you are going to be paying much more than a daycare, just because it is a different type of care--completely one on one.
Now--nanny hat off. Around here, 13.50/hr for an agency is about normal. The $10 for gas thing is crazy--unless you live far away or something. I don't get that part. Generally, sitters who work for an agency are "professional" and will do much more than just "watch" children. If you advertised or asked around, you could proably find a college student who would charge around $10--that way you can cut out the "middleman". Also, I think adveritsing on craigslist is an ok idea. You just need to be very through with your reference and background checks. Do you know any grandmothers in town? That's a possibility. Are you friends with a SAHM that you could do some trade with? Many mothers will trade sitting. Do you have a drop in place? We have a nifty place here called Bizi Kidzs. It's not really like a daycare, more just like a giant play place. You can also advertise your needs on www.sittercity.com. You can make a profile and all the sitters can see up front what your needs are and what you are comfortable paying. Advertise at local colleges, if possible. s I hope you find what you need!
Yes, we are a very underappreciated and underpaid people. It really makes me angry that I could literally make more working at McDonald's than I can helping raise someone else's children but what can you do?
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Ugh, I don't even want to look up how much a nanny would cost HERE! Why not go with a babysitter? My view of a nanny is someone who not only helps with childcare but also cares for your home, run errands, and starts dinner before you get home from work. I may be off but that is what my nanny did when I had one...which was PRICELESS!
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I looked up what they are charging on that website posted. There were only 3. Two of them said $10-$20 which is not surprising, one said $5 which IS surprising.
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I did check craigslist, but none of the college students or other babysitters could be on-call or wanted to work during the day.
Luckily, a friend of mine in my moms groups that I literally just met a couple months ago is being gracious enough to watch my girls, but I need to check out drop in daycares in the mean time for future clients that I have.
I've done home daycare for a few years. While I believe they should make over minimum wage (AZ that's $6.75), they couldn't possibly charge $20 or so dollars an hour. That is most people's (or even less) hourly wage out here. Daycare providers that demand too much cause parents to have to quit their jobs. Daycare should support the working parents, not take all of their money.
I pay my high school babysitters $15/hour lol. I don't go out much, obviously! For my doula work, my first babysitter is my parents, then my best friend, then my neighbour who I swap babysitting with, then another neighbour... 9/10 my parents can watch the boys.
Quote:
If I tried to pay a high school kid around here $4 they'd look at me like I had 2 heads! And then wouldn't babysit! You're lucky!!!
Spring has sprung! 
s I hope you find what you need!
