Full-Time Nannies and Live-In Nannies

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Full-Time Nannies

Advantages of a Live-In Nanny

If you’re considering adding a live-in nanny to your home, you’ll find that there are some perks to having a childcare provider live with you. Though it’s not for everyone if you’re considering a live-in nanny, here are the advantages of live-in nannies:

  • Having a live-in nanny is more affordable than one that is live-out. You can negotiate a lower salary in exchange for the provision of housing arrangements for your live-in nanny.
  • You have more flexibility in working out a schedule that works. Having a live-in nanny means no commute time for your childcare provider and the possibility of creating a more flexible work schedule that works for both of you.
  • Your nanny can become part of the family. If your goal is to have a full-time nanny who is more like an extended family member than an employee, a live-in relationship is one way to facilitate this.
  • You can get a better idea of how your child interacts with your live-in nanny. Since you and your live-in nanny will likely both be in your home during the same time, you’ll have the opportunity to gauge how well she interacts with your child – more so than if you have a childcare provider who doesn’t live in your home.

Childcare Costs for Full-Time Nannies

Full-time nannies can make an ideal solution in homes where both parents work full-time. How much you end up paying in a full-time nanny salary depends on a number of factors, such as where you live, the amount of experience your nanny has, and whether she is a live-in or live-out nanny.

A nanny who lives outside of the household may get a wage of $350 to $800 per week. Full-time nannies typically receive less in wages when they live at your home. When you look at full-time nannies who get paid an hourly wage instead, wages may vary from $5.50 an hour to $20 an hour. Some full-time nannies get paid health insurance, as they are employees. Childcare costs can also include such on the job perks as gas mileage, food allowances, bonuses, traveling with the family, health club memberships, a car and tuition assistance. Learn about the average cost of a nanny in your area.

Creating A Great Working Relationship With Your Full-Time Nanny

If you’re about to hire a full-time nanny, it’s a good idea to think about ways you can maintain a positive relationship with her. There are several things you can do to make sure you and your full-time nanny are on the same page:

  • Get a clear idea of what you expect of your nanny and make notes for your own use.
  • Discuss the role you expect your full-time nanny to play in your child’s care. Talk about your childcare philosophy. Go over details like typical work hours, vacation days, pay, and daily duties.
  • Write out a nanny job offer that outlines the points you’ve discussed with your nanny, go over it with her, and give her a copy to keep.
  • Make house rules. Let your nanny know what you expect the house rules will be in your home, such as foods your child may eat, whether or not your nanny can have guests over, and whether or not she can use the house phone line for personal calls.
  • Keep lines of communication open once you’ve hired her. Whether it’s a quick chitchat on a daily basis or a more formal meeting every month, it’s a good idea to address any concerns you or she may have.

Full-Time Nanny Responsibilities

If you’re new to the world of full-time nanny childcare, it can be challenging to navigate through the process of figuring out what you can expect your nanny’s job will entail. In reality, the role your full-time nanny plays in caring for your child or children will largely depend on the full-time nanny responsibilities the two of you agree upon when you hire her. And as your needs change and your child grows, that role can change over time. This list covers typical full-time nanny responsibilities you can expect most childcare providers will offer.

Your full-time nanny will be responsible for taking care of your child in your absence during agreed upon work hours. These duties include care such as feeding, bathing, changing diapers, maintaining a routine, putting your child down for naps, and ensuring the well-being and health of your child.

Some childcare providers also provide extra services which not all nannies will be able to give your child. These include driving your child to and from school or other classes, teaching your child another language, errands and taking care of household chores.

If you’re hiring a full-time nanny, it’s important to know some of the legal issues surrounding your hire. For starters, the U.S. government requires that you check to make sure your nanny is legal to work in the United States. They either need to have a social security card or a green card so that they can pay the taxes required on the federal and state level.

One of the first steps you can take towards making sure you hire your full-time nanny the legal way is by getting federal and state employee numbers. You’ll need to go to the Internal Revenue Website and fill out the SS-4 form.

You’ll also need to verify whether your full-time nanny is authorized to legally work in the United States. One way of doing this is by going to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Website. The l-9 form lets you know how you can verify employment eligibility of your nanny.

If you'd rather spend time with your family than learning employment laws and filing taxes, Nanny Lane Payroll makes payroll processing, withholdings and nanny tax filing easy. Learn more about our payroll services.

Your Full-Time Nanny: Judging Job Performance

When it comes to assessing whether or not your full-time nanny is doing her job well, you can always look for signs she’s doing a good job without being there the whole time she’s watching your child. Here are some ways to judge your nanny’s job performance:

  • Watch how your child reacts when he first sees her. When your full-time nanny is doing her job well, your child will look forward to spending some time with her.
  • Your full-time nanny is prompt and reliable. In general, your nanny should be arriving to work on time and working the days you have agreed upon. It’s not just a sign of job performance, but could be an indicator of how much she is enjoying her job.
  • Your nanny keeps you informed. One way to assess whether your nanny is doing a good job is to look at the type of feedback she gives you. Does she willingly volunteer information about how your child is doing and any difficulties she’s encountered? A diligent nanny makes an effort to keep the parent abreast of the child’s general well-being.
  • Your child and home are clean and well looked after. Your child should generally be in good spirits, have clean diapers, and have clean clothing. Your household should be well ordered, showing that your nanny is picking up after your child.

Live-In Nannies

Etiquette For Living With Your Nanny

Living with your nanny is a big decision – one that involves welcoming someone with open arms into your home. In order to make sure you keep relations with your nanny in good shape, follow these rules of etiquette:

  • Be clear from the start on all job duties and what you intend her role to be. That way you’ll run into fewer problems down the line with expectations from both sides.
  • Create clear ground rules about what is and isn’t allowed in the home. Ground rules may include anything from your stance on having guests over to using the kitchen supplies for personal use.
  • Respect her privacy and establish time with the family separate from the nanny. Although your nanny is living with you, it doesn’t mean she has to be involved in every aspect of your life. Some space and separation will make for a better relationship.
  • Be clear on your childrearing philosophy. This can include everything from discipline to maintaining a type of atmosphere and environment you want for your child.

Five Signs Your Live-In Nanny Needs To Be Replaced

If you currently have a nanny and have mixed feelings about whether or not you should keep her in your household, here are five warning signs to watch out for, any one of these should cause enough for you to give pause about keeping your live-in nanny:

  1. Your child seems apprehensive around your live-in nanny and is reluctant to go to her.
  2. You make repeated requests to your nanny and she doesn’t follow them.
  3. Your child seems prone to getting into accidents with your nanny, signalling a potential lack of attention.
  4. Your live-in nanny criticizes the way you raise your child.
  5. Your live-in nanny seems reluctant to share information about her day with your child or seems to be giving you contradictory stories.

Interview Questions You’ll Want To Ask Your Live-In Nanny

Once you’ve lined up a number of good candidates for the interview, make sure you’re prepared to ask the right interview questions that will land you the best live-in nanny for your home. These interview questions will help screen out the nannies you don’t want and narrow down your list to the nannies you do want to hire.

  • Ask a nanny candidate whether she is looking for full-time work as a live-in nanny. It seems obvious, but you’ll want to know right off the bat whether she is looking for the same living arrangements you are.
  • Ask a nanny candidate how much experience she has had with young children and what ages. How much experience you need to look for is a personal decision. However, you want someone with enough experience to make you comfortable. The more experience a candidate has, the more you’ll likely pay in salary.
  • Ask about her role in her previous jobs as a nanny. You’ll want to get a sense of how skilled she is at her job and her level of expertise.
  • Ask your nanny whether she has any specific training or certifications. This can include CPR training and early childhood development education.
  • Find out why your nanny is leaving or has left her previous position. You’ll find out a lot about a nanny candidate’s preferences and whether she’ll be a good fit for your home.

Things You Should Include In An Advertisement For Live-In Nannies

When you’re getting ready to put out an advertisement for live-in nannies, be careful how you word it. Putting in the right amount of information can make the live-in nanny search much easier. Here are some things you’ll want to include in your advertisement for live-in nannies.

  • Let potential nanny candidates know that you’re looking for a live-in nanny as opposed to a live-out situation.
  • Include a few sentences describing the live-in nanny’s role, including the number of children she’ll be caring for and their ages.
  • Let a candidate know how much experience you expect her to have.
  • Include your general location, so a nanny will know whether the job is somewhere she wants to be.
  • Make sure the potential live-in nanny candidates know how best to reach you, whether it’s by phone or email.

Who Makes An Ideal Candidate As An Employer Of A Live-In Nanny

Contrary to some opinions, a live-in nanny is not a luxury only for the wealthy – at least not anymore. The live-in nanny is a growing trend among homes across different demographics. Just because a family might not "seem" like one that needs a nanny, don't count them out.

So who is employing live-in nannies these days? It ranges from households with high incomes to families with both parents bringing in a comfortable salary and looking to maintain their careers.

Nannies are also hired by dual-income families with both parents needing to work to maintain their households and single parents who need an income as well as childcare.


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