(1)  Is $950 per week a good nanny rate for 1 child who still naps 1.5-2 hours a day, with the flexibility of having her own daughter there 3 hours of the day (all day on school holidays, much of the summer)? (2)  Is it reasonable to expect her to take on household tasks during my daughter's school hours?  If so - any thoughts on what that should cover?    

I really need some input regarding expectations for our nanny - I am finding it very difficult to get comparable information, especially for the Pittsburgh region.  I have a daughter who will be 3 in December.  She has had the same nanny since she was 1 month old.  She came to us with experience (about 4 years).  We currently pay the nanny $950 per week (50 hours) - declared (taxed) - so her take-home is about $790.  Our original arrangement was for $750 taxed, so we've given her some nice increases.  (note:  she originally told us she wanted $700 under the table).  Also - the original arrangement was that her daughter (now 7) would be in daycare, but when her daughter started 1st grade last year we agreed to let her bring her to our home in the morning, catch the bus for school from our house, and to be dropped back off and stay at our home after school. 

My daughter just started preschool - 3 days a week, 3 hours a day.  I have asked that she pickup some household tasks during those hours.  At this point she doesn't help around the house at all, apart from my daughter's laundry which was part of the original agreement.  She doesn't even unload the dishwasher which includes her and her daughters dishes.  She's proposed a list of what I consider fairly minor, non-time-consuming things, most of which she can do while my son eats lunch (like empty dishwasher, clean coffee pot), and thinks that should cover it.  I don't.  We are at a real impasse with this. 

Thanks for any help or insight!

Hi StephR,

Right now you are paying your nanny $19/hour which is about $14-$15/hour take-home pay (roughly). I find this in line with what I am paying my nanny and what my neigbors are paying.

I've hired several nannies and I want to stress the most important things are 1) do you trust her? and 2) do you and your family love her?  If these are both true, then you are indeed lucky because it is hard to get both.  Personally, I wouldn't push her hard on other tasks until your daughter is in school for a longer block of time, like all morning/day or every morning/day. If she does take care of some of these small tasks like emptying the dishwasher then your list is shortened and you know that she is doing her best to take care of your child and not feeling overwhelmed.

But it sounds like you are feeling overwhelmed. Do you have a housekeeper? If you do, you might want to think about making her list longer. If not, you may want to bring someone in every week or every other week.

Have you heard about Au Pair in America? Its a great program that brings child care providers from other countries to live with you for a year and care for your children. Its a flat rate of only $347 a week no matter how many children you have and they take care of duties related to caring for the kids. Its a lot cheaper than a nanny at less than $8 an hour you just have to provide a room for them. Check it out www.aupairinamerica.com