Michigan Nanny Appreciation Week!

It is with great excitement and deepest gratitude that we thank

Governor Rick Snyder 

on behalf of the Michigan Professional Nanny Association

and on behalf of the extended nanny community

for naming September 20 - September 26, 2015, as 

Michigan Nanny Appreciation Week.

Michigan Governor Rick Snyder has proclaimed the week of September 20, 2015 through September 26, 2015 as Michigan Nanny Appreciation Week (MNAW).  This marks the first time any state has formally recognized the nanny profession with a week for appreciation, and coincides with National Nanny Recognition Week, an industry wide annual effort to shine a light on an oft misunderstood and overlooked profession.

"For the past two years, Michigan Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley has proclaimed a Michigan Nanny Appreciation Day, " says MPNA Director, Tara Lindsay.  "This year, we decided to seek a broader recognition with which to honor all of the hardworking, dedicated nannies in our state."

Lindsay was originally moved to seek the formal recognition after receiving a tearful phone call from a fellow nanny who was distraught.  "She was in tears because her parents had asked her to consider returning to teaching.  They were ashamed to tell their friends she was a nanny, even though she was earning twice as much money and was infinitely happier as a nanny," Lindsay explains.  "I realized that I've been incredibly blessed with family and friends who are proud of what I do for a living.  My dad brags about my work to his friends because he realizes the importance of helping to raise children.  Bu,t nearly every day I encounter nannies who are in the position of having to defend their choice of profession to their family.  That wasn't okay with me, and I knew we needed to do something to honor them for the love, effort, and expertise they share with the families who employ them."

Nannies serve an unknown number of Michigan families, estimated in the thousands.  These caregivers, mostly women, devote their days to the care, safety, and education of other people's children.  While a nanny is an employee, most nannies and their employers would agree that the nanny/family relationship often extends far beyond a typical employee/employer relationship.

Nanny Sarah Blower, of Lake Orion, works for Melany and Brian Bigham of Oxford.  She cares for their three young children on a full time basis, as well as raising her own daughter.  An active participant in the local nanny community, Blower provides her nanny family top quality care along with a preschool type curriculum complete with themed weeks, field trips, and playdates.  But, her job as  nanny goes far beyond lesson plans and nutritious snacks.  "I love these children so much, and I feel that love is reciprocated! It's an amazing feeling when a child who you did not birth reaches for you and seeks your comfort when they are hurting physically or mentally."  

Blower proudly shares a recent conversation with her youngest nanny child, aged 20 months: 

"I was talking with the 20-month old baby about the members of his family.
 'Who is in your family?' I asked. 
 He responded with Daddy.
 'Who else?' I goaded.
 'Mommy'
 'And who else?' I prodded. 
'Sarah!' 
 I was the third person that little boy mentioned. Third!"  

Blower's employer, Melany Bigham, delights in the closeness that her children share with the nanny they call "Ms. Sarah."  While at first nervous about moving their children from a wonderful daycare to being at home with a nanny, Bigham and her husband quickly realized that "it was one of the best decisions we've ever made in raising our children."  

While some parents might find the love shared between a nanny and child as cause for jealousy, Melany and her husband appreciate what a nanny brings to their family for what it is:  an added, priceless value in the lives of their children.  "A nanny, much like a teacher, cares for our greatest gifts in life, our children. And they do more than watch - they nurture, shape and encourage them during the most formative years of their lives. While our children may not remember the details - details like the days she took them to the zoo, or the day they learned the sign for "water" - they will always remember how they felt in her care, described in one word...loved." 

Bigham continues, "And, that's the difference when you have a nanny, a very special nanny. My kids know, it's not that Ms. Sarah is on the clock from 7am-4pm, then mom and dad from 4pm to 7am. It's that Ms. Sarah, along with mom, dad, grandmas, grandpas, aunts, uncles, cousins...we're all a part of the same community, cheering our kids on, and doing all we can to make them the best they can possibly be. The difference is that a nanny doesn't just watch the most precious gifts in my family - a nanny IS family."

Lindsay hopes that Michigan Nanny Appreciation Week will help to bring more attention to the thousands of incredible nannies in the state of Michigan, and even to those across the industry. "As nannies, we spend the better part of our day supporting, encouraging, and recognizing the efforts and milestones of the children entrusted into our care.  This week is an opportunity for us to do that for each other, as professional peers, and for those outside the industry to gain an insight as to the beauty that exists in the relationships between most nannies and nanny families.  We, as a community, thank the Governor for this recognition and opportunity."  

Michigan Professional Nanny Association will celebrate Michigan Nanny Appreciation Week with a full week of social and professional gatherings in the metro Detroit area.  Details for each event,along with the full Proclamation, can be found on the MPNA website or via our facebook events list.  We strongly encourage nannies, families, and agencies across the state to gather in celebrations and recognition of all nannies.  
  

A Cautionary Response to the Care.com Babysitter Wages Survey

Flaws in the newly released care.com babysitter wages survey.

Making waves today are the newly released results of a care.com survey on babysitting wages. However, there are several reasons why these results should only be taken as a very loose, somewhat inaccurate guideline with regard to what a babysitter or nanny should be paid. On behalf of the Michigan Professional Nanny Association, we offer parents and caregivers the following critique and advice:

First and foremost is the sample size. 1000 families nationwide cannot provide a substantial enough sampling to accurately reflect wages in individual cities. Even though care.com claims to use internal data, there is no revealing of how that data was collected. Considering that families are not required to report back to the site what they pay the caregivers they hire, and that a family can enter a range of pay rather than an exact amount, it begs the question as to how, exactly, the site was able to use this internal data to accurately assess what caregivers are actually being paid.

Second, a national average is simply that. A national average. Like housing prices, there is a great range from coast to coast on sitter wages, even within each metropolitan market. In the metro Detroit area, wages vary greatly even within a single suburb. Parents and caregivers are wise to realize that the average rate may not be anywhere close to the actual going rate in their locale. You wouldn't take the national average for the cost of a house and insist on paying that, and only that, on any house that catches your eye, would you? Neither should these average wages be taken as what a sitter MUST be paid, regardless of any other factors.

Third, there is no information on whether or not the survey made any distinction between babysitter and nanny.  The infographic gives no definition for what consititutes a babysitter vs. a nanny, although there is a brief mention further down in the article that the two are different.  The article gives false information in stating that the law requires all babysitters be paid at least minimum wage.  In fact, the article they link to for this, of their own publishing, even contradicts that point.  According to the IRS, a babysitter, an occasional as needed caregiver in the child’s home, is not subject to minimum wage laws. A nanny, that is, a regularly schedule caregiver in the child’s home, is a non-exempt employee. Under federal law, a nanny, as a non-exempt employee, must be paid for every hour worked, at or above minimum wage, with overtime in accordance with state law. Yet, the infographic offered claims that all babysitters are subject to minimum wage laws. This can be confusing for parents, especially those who might hire younger, inexperienced minors as occasional babysitters in markets where the going rate is far lower than what the study states. Nannies, in general, make several dollars more per hour on average than babysitters. In fact, the International Nanny Association recently released the results of their 2014 wage and benefits survey which showed that nannies in the U.S. make, on average, $18.66/hour.  (for information on Michigan nanny wages, please see our article here.)

Fourth, there seems to be little to no accounting in the infographic or published results for the wide variance in age, training, and experience of caregivers. To put it frankly: What you plan to pay the high school student from down the street to babysit your children is not what you should plan to pay the babysitter with 10, 15, 20 years experience in childcare who may also be a teacher, professional nanny, or early childhood educator. If care were to separate out wages by the experience and education of caregivers, they would find what the INA found: The more experience and education a caregiver has, the higher the wage. Several other factors also affect what constitutes an appropriate wage for a sitter, including location, number of children, extra tasks involved, the length of time, additional required qualifications, and more.  While the article states these things should be taken into consideration, there's no breakdown of the actual numbers on how these factors affected survey results.

The overall response among the national nanny community, from those who babysit, is that the results of the survey are lower than what most professional caregivers are making. This survey absolutely should not be used as the rule of thumb for figuring nanny wages, which are typically several dollars higher per hour as a base rate. So, how is a parent to know what a fair, going rate is for a sitter in their area if this survey isn’t the be all end all final answer?

Check with your neighbors, or at least people within your own zip code. When you ask what they are paying their sitters, be sure to clarify that it is an occasional sitter who comes to their home, whether it is a teen, a college student, or another adult. Ask how much experience/training that sitter has. The reason for the extra questions is simple: What is fair for a teenager is not necessarily fair for a 32 year old nanny who picks up babysitting on the side. Their experience level, training, and judgment level are different. In the metro Detroit area, date night babysitters are making anywhere from $5/hour (high school students, lower income neighborhoods) to $25/hour or more (highly experienced caregivers, higher income neighborhoods).
 
Check with the sitters, to see what they are paid and what they will charge. Be fair…if your neighbor has one 8 year old, and you have twin infants with a toddler and a preschooler, expect to pay the sitter more than your neighbor does.

And if the going rates for date night sitters are too high for your budget, or simply too high for your liking? Consider swapping care with another family for date nights, hiring a less experienced sitter, or sharing a sitter with friends for an evening. Typcially, in a sitter sharing situation, each family will pay the sitter 2/3 to ¾ of what the sitter normally charges, lowering the amount a parent pays but increasing the overall amount the sitter earns. Thus, a deal for the parents *and* a win for the sitter.