How can I make the best of a nanny job if I'm paid $30 CAD/day by the Mom of the 7 year old girl I'm considering taking care of more while she's at work?

Wait. per day? I hope you’re not doing more than 2 hours per day.
What’s the average rate there?
Also, the parents should be providing some funds for activities – not you.

Are you living with them?

Why would you pay for the children’s entrance fee to the museum? You shouldn’t even be paying for your own fee.

When I was in my early teens, I was paid 30 bucks if the parents went out for the evening.

Seems awfully low.

@tom_g On Friday, I watched her from around 9 a.m. until around 5 p.m. For now, she’s considering around 8 a.m. to 2 or 3 p.m. Previously she had told me it would be from Mon-Friday from 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. Just depends when she’s working. But yeah, a whole day…

@JLeslie No.

They are new to the province and the mother gave me permission to bring her daughter places to let her get to know the city. I wanted to be nice and show her around because she didn’t have a lot of the stuff we have here where she used to live.

@Mama_Cakes Apparently I’m supposed to be paid minimum wage if I work the amount of hours ideal for her, but this seems like it might only be a temporary thing… so I’m hoping that will make it okay.

@AnonymousWoman – That sounds like slave labor. Is this a favor for a friend? Do they have services like Sitter City and care.com in Canada? If so, you might want to go through there. You can set your price range and apply for babysitting/nanny jobs.

Slave wages. That is not enough money for a whole day. What is the minimum wage there? You definitely should not pay for anything while you are caring for her daughter.

@tom_g She is friends with my Aunt who lives in the Northwest Territories, which is where they moved from. That’s how we got in touch. Apparently domestic workers aren’t covered by minimum wage laws up there from what I’ve read. And I’m sure we do.

@JLeslie Minimum wage here is $10.25. If I shouldn’t pay for anything, I guess I can just bring her to parks or to the library. So far, I’ve only spent bus fare and bought some sidewalk chalk. I chose to do this, though, so I won’t make her Mom pay for those.

You’re living with them?

No.

Get another nanny job.

I’m thinking about it.

Ontario minimum wage and related to the topic links:

Minimum Wage

Domestic Workers

@AnonymousWoman You can take her to the museum, just tell the mom you want to do it and she should give you money for the adventure. But, if she is paying you so little maybe she won’t.

$30 means you are getting less than minimum wage. 8am to 2pm is 6 hours. That’s $61.50 for those hours.

The last summer babysitting job that I had, I watched two boys. Was paid 60 bucks/day. That was 25 years ago.

If you want to do it for low pay a couple days a week I have no problem with that really, but the money you are paid is yours. A couple days kind of helping a family friend is one thing. But if you are going to work 5 days a week, don’t do it. I assume you are paid under the table? If you got a regular job I guess part of the pay would go to taxes? Or, would you make too little to be taxed? I am just trying to figure out how much you really net in different scenerios.

I get the impression you think it will be fun to take care of the girl.

@JLeslie I don’t want to break the law, and I’m hoping to find a loophole in it. So far, I haven’t broken any that I know of because I only did a temporary shift. If I’m required to put this into my tax forms, that is what I intend to do. My preference is to work for a family who is honest on their tax forms and will do whatever is legally required of them if they choose to employ a nanny, so perhaps this isn’t the right home for me.

The part I’m torn about is the girl already loves me. She begs her Mom to see me again, picks flowers for me, wants to go to the library and the pool with me, etc. It would just be sad for her if it doesn’t work out. :( It would be easier to look for another nanny job if she didn’t enjoy my company.

@Mama_Cakes Hmm. From this, I’m getting that my initial suggestion wasn’t unreasonable.

@AnonymousWoman In the states your employer can pay out up to a certain amount of household help without reporting the money for taxes, but I have no idea the laws in Canada. People who earn under a certain amount total for the year in the US don’t have to file taxes either. It’s a very low amount though.

Does the person still count as an employer… or how does that work? I don’t understand. How much would you say you earned that year on your tax forms?

She is employing you, she is the employer. I doubt she is paying you enough to worry about it.

It’s great that you WANT to take the girl to special places but still, the mother should pay your way and the child’s way. At least at the minimum the mother should pay the child’s way.

[Link removed by Fluther] We’ve seen babysitters in the Ottawa area get paid anywhere from $10.25 – $13.00 per hour depending on the number of children they’re caring for and other responsibilities involved. Most parents don’t expect their babysitters to pay for activities for their children out of their own pockets. If you think of excursions and activities the kids might enjoy, suggest them to the parents outlining costs of tickets, entrance fees and even transportation. Parents always appreciate babysitters who think creatively about ways to make their children’s days more fun and engaging. [Links removed by Fluther]

I pay $37 per day for daycare. I don’t see what the big deal is.

Ask her to pay for your phone so that she can reach you and you can appropriately handle emergencies. Ask her for additional compensation when you do activities with the child that cost money.

My 19 year old is a nanny for the summer, for one child, and only makes about $30 per day. I don’t think it’s that unheard of. Still, I wouldn’t want her spending any of her own money to entertain and/or feed the child. The parents should be paying for that.

@AnonymousWoman: The fact that the kids like you should make the mother more willing to pay you for excursions and food.