She Asked For A Raise Babysitting, And Instead, The Family Offered Her Less Than She Already Makes
I thought it was fairly common knowledge that babysitters adjust their rates based on the number of children they’re caring for. So, if a family has another kid, it’s only natural for the parents to start paying a higher price per hour, right?
Sadly, that’s not the case for this woman, who’s been a nanny for a family in her area for over two years. And after recently asking for a raise because she took on the care of another baby, the family actually offered her less than she already makes!
To give you some context, she was initially hired to care for just one toddler and received $25 an hour. Then, a few months ago, the family had a newborn.
“And over the past month, they slowly started slipping the baby into my care without any conversation about pay,” she said.
The worst part? She’s not just expected to care for both the toddler and newborn, either. She’s also tasked with deep cleaning their house, in addition to childcare.
She actually scrubs their bathrooms, organizes drawers, and folds and puts away the whole family’s laundry. This has made her feel like a nanny and housekeeper at the same time.
That’s why, about two weeks ago, she finally approached her employers and brought up her pay. She stated that she’d be happy to care for both kids, but her rate for two children is $30 per hour.
At the time, she thought it went fine, too, since the kids’ mother just replied by saying that she’d “keep it in mind moving forward.” However, the family then canceled on her last week out of nowhere, and the mom claimed the kids were sick.
“But now, I don’t even believe that was true. I think it was just a stall while they shopped around for someone else,” she admitted.
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Why? Well, eventually, the kids’ mom told her that $30 an hour was simply too much to “swing” since they had just purchased a house. Plus, the mom revealed that they’d found another nanny who was willing to care for both the toddler and the newborn for only $20 an hour!
So, the mom wound up “offering” to let her take that rate, which is $5 less than she currently makes, if she wants to continue working for them. Otherwise, they’d move forward with the other nanny!
First of all, she’s most frustrated that her employers didn’t even try to negotiate a fair raise with her. They just immediately wanted to lower her rate. Not to mention, since they lied about the kids being sick while they were actually searching for another nanny, they wasted her time and took away the opportunity for her to find another nanny position.
“After two years of loyalty, caring for their toddler, their new baby, and cleaning their house, instead of giving me a raise, they offered me less than I already make,” she vented, “I feel completely disrespected and blindsided.”
She realizes that perhaps trying to increase her rate from $25 to $30 truly was too much. Regardless, she just wishes her employers had been honest about that when she initially asked, or at the very least, given her some more notice so she could find another job.
Anyway, she still hasn’t responded to the family’s “offer” because of how hurt she is. And now, she’s not really sure if it’s possible to leave on a positive note.
“Has anyone dealt with something like this? How did you handle it without burning bridges?” she asked.
Do you think $20 is too little for everything that she does? Might it be time for her to find another family to work for? What should she say to her current employers?
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By Katharina Buczek
Katharina Buczek graduated from Stony Brook University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in Digital Arts. Specializing in... More about Katharina Buczek
