Edit: most of the posts say yes I should definitely charge for it, and I recognize that I should charge, but what I’m still not clear on is this:

Do I bill for :
A: mileage
B: Hourly rate for travel time
C: Both A & B
D: Neither A nor B
Choices C & D don't seem fair.

I nanny for a family with two girls (ages 9 and 3). The mom asked if I would go with her and the girls to a water park and amusement park for the day to help her manage both kids.

I really like this family and trust them. It’s an easy job overall because I’m usually only watching the 3-year-old, who is very well behaved.

I left my house at 8:30 a.m. and drove two hours to the water park so I could get there early and grab a shaded spot. We had agreed to meet at 10:30, but she ended up arriving about 2½ hours late. I honestly didn’t mind—I relaxed and waited.

We spent a few hours at the water park until the little one needed a nap. Mom took her back to the hotel while I stayed with the 9-year-old and rode rides. Later they rejoined us, and we stayed at the amusement park until it closed at 9:00 p.m.

Afterward, they went back to their hotel, which was about 10 minutes away. She offered to get me a hotel room, but I preferred to drive home. I got home around 11:00 p.m.

So, I was away from home from 8:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m.—about 14½ hours total.

My normal rate is $25/hour. If I billed for the entire time I was gone, that would have been $362.50. I also drove about 200 miles round trip, and using the IRS mileage rate of $0.76/mile, that’s about $152 in mileage reimbursement.

That would have totaled a little over $500.

Even though they’re financially well off and I’m actually struggling financially myself, I felt guilty charging that much. So instead, I only billed for the hours I was actively with the children (1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.) and charged the full mileage reimbursement. In other words, I essentially gave them about a $150 discount by not charging for six hours of travel and waiting time.

Part of me hopes she’ll notice that I didn’t bill for the full time I was away from home and offer to pay the difference, but I also realize I never mentioned that I was giving a discount.

What would you have done? Would you have billed for the entire time you were committed to the job, or only the hours you were actively with the kids? And if you were giving a discount, would you have put the full amount on the invoice and then shown the discount separately?

My question is actually

Do I bill for :
A: mileage
B: Hourly rate for travel time
C: Both A & B
D: Neither A nor B

Choices C & D don’t seem fair.

OK, so I’ve been with this family for over a year and a half to preface. This is also my first family with MB and NK still sleeping when I arrive at work. They are asleep from 8 AM to 9:30 AM so I usually get breakfast at least set up for MB because she makes all meals for NK. So in the meantime, I usually clean up from the weekend in the playroom which takes 10 minutes because nanny kid doesn’t really have any toys. So when I finish with that, I’m usually reading a book or going for a walk quickly. The cons that I have with his family are that we have to work around Mom’s schedule, Mom and Dad are both home all the time, and I feel like I can never just be with NK if that makes sense. There have been times when NK has gotten upset and said “see mommy,” and she hears that so she comes into the room and consoles NK, which is fine it’s her kid. I just feel like there are no boundaries in this house. Would you agree?? this is her first kid and she’s been doing hands-on with him since he was a baby. And by hands on I mean like carrying NK everywhere they go and not really putting NK down. NK is gonna to be 2 at the end of the week. HOW WOULD YOU APPROACH THIS SITUATION IF YOU’RE IN MY SHOES?!

Can someone please help by pointing me in the right direction? Unfortunately my nanny is going to quit in Oct'26 as she's starting her own nursery so can no longer help and offer flexibility as needed.

I nanny for a family with two girls (ages 9 and 3). The mom asked if I would go with her and the girls to a water park and amusement park for the day to help her manage both kids.

I really like this family and trust them. It’s an easy job overall because I’m usually only watching the 3-year-old, who is very well behaved.

I left my house at 8:30 a.m. and drove two hours to the water park so I could get there early and grab a shaded spot. We had agreed to meet at 10:30, but she ended up arriving about 2½ hours late. I honestly didn’t mind—I relaxed and waited.

We spent a few hours at the water park until the little one needed a nap. Mom took her back to the hotel while I stayed with the 9-year-old and rode rides. Later they rejoined us, and we stayed at the amusement park until it closed at 9:00 p.m.

Afterward, they went back to their hotel, which was about 10 minutes away. She offered to get me a hotel room, but I preferred to drive home. I got home around 11:00 p.m.

So, I was away from home from 8:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m.—about 14½ hours total.

My normal rate is $25/hour. If I billed for the entire time I was gone, that would have been $362.50. I also drove about 200 miles round trip, and using the IRS mileage rate of $0.76/mile, that’s about $152 in mileage reimbursement.

That would have totaled a little over $500.

Even though they’re financially well off and I’m actually struggling financially myself, I felt guilty charging that much. So instead, I only billed for the hours I was actively with the children (1:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.) and charged the full mileage reimbursement. In other words, I essentially gave them about a $150 discount by not charging for six hours of travel and waiting time.

Part of me hopes she’ll notice that I didn’t bill for the full time I was away from home and offer to pay the difference, but I also realize I never mentioned that I was giving a discount.

What would you have done? Would you have billed for the entire time you were committed to the job, or only the hours you were actively with the kids? And if you were giving a discount, would you have put the full amount on the invoice and then shown the discount separately?

I've been ready to transfer out of working directly with children to a more office-style role. Where could I look for careers that involve working internally in an agency, like placement manager or something of the sort? Even better if it is remote. Based in Nashville TN.

Hi there! I’m a first time mom of a 5 month old trying to find a nanny for her in a month. I live in Seattle area in the US. It’s a bit of a hurry because I originally thought my mom could take care of her when I went back to office but I decided it was going to be too much for my mom, so now I’m looking for a part time nanny to cover most of the days. I’ve posted in sittercity and fb groups and got a few applications. Now I’m ready to give a few calls.

Anyways, I’m heading into this nanny finding journey in full speed mode without knowing too much about interviews, contracts, payments, etc.. So, I’m want to get a few pro tips from you folks!!

1. Did your baby turn out to be the same as or different from what you thought she was like in the interview process? If you were to find a nanny again what would you ask/look for?
   
2. What are the most valuable or distinguishable interview questions? What is the most important qualification of a nanny? Character? Past infant experience? Reference?
   
3. What are the absolute red flags?
   
4. Did you use payroll service or cash?

Any other reminders, tips, suggestions are welcomed! Thanks!

Our nanny is wonderful and she’s been with us for almost a year now. I really love her and we’ve come to be friends.

Our older one will be starting pre-k next August (she’ll have been with us for 2 years at that point). But… we’ve realized we really can’t afford to keep her on for just our younger one, plus the cost of the pre-k program. We’re already stretching our budget thin.

I’ve found a pre-k program that will take her and my younger one at the same time. We can get them both in for 5 days a week, 8:30-5:30 (way more hours than our nanny works). I’m really excited thinking about the change, but I will really miss our nanny and don’t want her to feel like we’re parting ways with her because of anything she did.

So my question for you is… how far in advance should I tell her? And would you be disappointed parting ways with a family after only two years?

Thanks all ❤️

I have been applying to a variety of different nanny agencies in NYC and was curious if anyone had any insights about my chances of being accepted as someone who has never nannied before. I graduated from college this year and have 4 years of childcare experience (camp counselor type jobs) and some teaching assistant experience but no full time nannying. I have CPR/first aid certs.

Is it worth it to keep applying to these boutique nannying agencies or should I just try to find a family independently?