OT- What do you think is fair?

I am interviewing with a local family to be their "nanny" for their 3 kids, age 13, 11 and 7.  It's 3-4 days a week, 3 hours a day, running them to practice, helping with homework and feeding them dinner.  Then in the summer when they are off school, 5 days a week, 4 hours a day.  It would be a lot of running in my car.  She is asking me what I think is fair for compensation and I have not a clue.  I don't want to go to high or low.  What do you guys think?  I was thinking like 80 a week?? or no?  that works out to almost 9 buck an hour??

in order to tell her what you would like to get paid factor in the cost of gas and how many miles youll be driving each week. 80 a week to me sounds fine if you werent driving them anywere and just keepig them at home. i was a nanny for a little boy for 3 days a week and got paid a 100 bucks a week and that was just her offering. so i say go with what you feel comfortable asking for considering what youll be doing for the kids considering the age. hope that helps.

Thanks Apryl.  I am not exactly sure where their practices are yet but I am assuming they are local.  Their house is about 8 miles from me which is not bad but they have dance, soccer, field hockey. So maybe 100 a week.  They live in a very rich neighborhood but I don't want that to influence my decision.

Years ago I had a similar position and role, and what we did was log my hours, and I agreed to an hourly wage. If that week included travel the family would add $1 an hour to whatever hours I logged. It worked out well for us, and the family said ti worked for them because they saved on weeks they didn't need me as often. That was 9 years ago and I received 9 an hour.

IMO 9$ per hour for three kids is NOT enough. That works out to 3$ per hour per kid, which is not even minimum wage. I would ask for at least 15$ per hour. Around here we pay babysiters 6-8 dollars an hour for one kid. If they were to hire a nanny that had went to school for early childhood development, they would be paying way more than $15.00 per hour (and I'm sure they know that).
Don't forget, they are asking for a big commitment. Someone to be reliable every day, be there to take care of their kids, and chauffer them around. Don't be surprised if they aske you to coo****asionally or do laundry either. Don't let them low-ball you, it's a big commitment from you to be there when they need you and you're not some 16 year old co-ed looking to supplement an allowance :)

I'd go more in the ballpark suggested by Chelle...and I'd tack on for the chauffering in your car a per mile charge (ie go by the federal guidelines of 0.51 cents per mile per the IRS - http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=232017,00.html)  Don't forget this is wear and tear on your car, insurance for your car, gas for your car.  You also need to check your insurance and make sure they would cover if your car is being used for business purposes.  You don't want to have an accident and then find out they're not going to cover it b/c you were using the car for business...and technically, chauffering the kids for work would be for business purposes.  Also, b/c you have your own daughter in the mix...tell them if they needed you for an evening while they went out to dinner or a party or something - that there's a higher rate for evening, b/c that would mean either bringing Sage w/you and having to disrupt her schedule and/or having to arrange separate care for her. 

If this is something you're going to do, don't undersell yourself.  Make it at least a living wage and not barely above minimum wage for taking care of three kids.

ETA:  Don't forget - you're going to be paying taxes on the money you earned.  They're very likely to claim you on their taxes as child care (including reporting your social security #), so it would not be off the books...so at $9 an hour, you'd be clearning about $6-$7 an hour after taxes and after your car expenses if you didn't charge a higher rate and charge for milage.

In the NYC area, including northern Jersey, the going rate is 10-20 bucks an hour, and with 3 kids, I would ask 15 (more if there was a younger one).  I would also ask for a mileage allowance of about 25-30 cents per mile.  You could log your mileage when you arrive at the house, and then log it again when you leave for the day.  Good luck!

 I have had several Nannies and Aupairs over the years and for a live out using her car in North Jersey the minimum for 3 kids is $12/hour.  If you are  a professional Nanny it is $20.  I WISH I could find someone for $9/hour!!! Don't sell yourself short...especially with the price of gas.  Best of wishes to you!!

Thanks ladies!  I am interviewing on wednesday so we will discuss then but I just dont want to over or under charge!  thanks for the "going rates" on sitters these days!  I am out of the loop!

Hey there,
I was a nanny here in the San Diego area forever through college, but it was years ago. With one, I had one girl for two years, and worked three days a week, 8 hours a day. I cleaned the floors and did the laundry and got $11 an hour. Then, I had a family of three that required a lot of driving, and I charged $15 an hour. Believe me, the parents know what the going rate is. Having done both a weekly and hourly charge, I would for sure go with the weekly - with stipulations like if they are going out of town or won't need you, they need to let you know in advance of a week at least. And, you might even want to design a little contract that lays out exactly the terms of your employment, such as what you are responsible for and a medical release and all that. I hate to sound overly cautious, but you never know. Good luck! 
How's the house stuff going? Did you guys decide to open escrow?