FAQS

The “Wonder Years” are the formative years of your child’s life when they are learning, exploring and…wondering, all about the world around them. We use this term loosely to describe our childcare services sector for permanent nanny placements and anytime babysitting.

Our Anytime Sitter offering provides your family with sitters for casual daytime hours, evening hours and date nights. We can facilitate last minute requests and offer seamless bookings, with fast confirmation and dedicated support. Our Anytime Sitters are reliable, respectful, engaging and conscientious people who will take the utmost care of your children, pets, and home. They are reference checked, background checked, Pediatric First Aid and CPR Certified and fully immunized, including the COVID-19 vaccination.

Your family’s health and safety is our utmost priority. MDE has an intensive COVID-19 Safety Plan as required by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene which includes all sitters to partake in social distancing, complete testing prior to starting with a new family and continue with weekly testing, wearing masks, performing extensive hand washing, commiting to safe travel to and from work, and more.

At this time, our Anytime Sitter team is being tested weekly and will not enter your home unless they have received a negative COVID-19 test. If interested, you can review our COVID-19 policy in-depth .

To access our team of Anytime Sitters, you first need to join The House by signing up for our annual MDE Membership. In addition, the booking fees are as followings:

Individual or “one-off” sessions will incur a booking fee of $15 each. If you book more than one session in one week, you will be charged a weekly booking fee of $25. All overnight sessions (ending at or after 2 AM) will include a $150 overnight fee/night. In addition, sessions booked within 24 hours of the session start time will incur an additional $25 fee.

Hourly Rates:

Overnight Rate: $150/night charged for any session ending at or after 2 AM.

Our sitters undergo an extensive interview and screening process before joining our team. They are reference checked, background checked, social media checked, Pediatric First Aid and CPR Certified, and have up to date immunizations, including the COVID-19 vaccine.

We require a minimum of 3 years full-time or 5 years part-time childcare experience to join our team.

We do. When you join our House, during your initial in-home consultation, our team will ask you about any specific individual family needs you may have and be sure to facilitate any specialized care. As your family grows, if specialized care needs change, we will work with your family to make sure you feel supported in the right ways.

Yes, we require a minimum of 3 hours per booking.

If you arrive home early or cancel a session within 24 hours of the booking you are still required to pay for the full session.

We do! At MDE, we aim to find a nanny who is the perfect personality fit for you and your little ones by first spending time getting to know you. Once we have a good sense of how we can help you, the role will be advertised and applications will be assessed per your requirements. We will then screen, background check and pre-interview candidates before you meet with them. You will then interview the top candidates, conduct trials and make your decision.

We are available throughout each step of the process to guide and support you. We also assist during the contract negotiation stage and provide support throughout the first year of the placement. We pride ourselves on our unique, intensive approach to talent sourcing - putting forward only the very best candidates.

Our permanent nanny placement fee covers all costs involved in the 4-6 week process of finding you the best fit for your family. These costs include administration, advertising, screening, background and reference checking, interviewing candidates, and the contract negotiation stage. In addition, unlike a lot of other placement agencies, we do not believe in taking a percentage of the nanny’s wages, therefore all our fees are upfront, transparent and related to the work we do. The total fee for a full-time or part-time nanny placement is $7,000 with a 15% retainer due once the contract is signed to initiate the search.

The average time, from beginning the search to contract signing, takes roughly 4-6 weeks. Unfortunately, during COVID, the average time has increased to 6-8 weeks. It is our priority to find the perfect fit for your unique family dynamic. On average we are screening 30-50 candidates to ensure finding the best nanny for your family. The vetting process is extremely time intensive, making sure only the best, most qualified candidates are put forward. It is important to note that because we work extremely hard to find you the best fit possible in the shortest amount of time, we will sometimes have one nanny interview with multiple families. This common practice is done to ensure that 1) you find the right nanny as soon as possible, and 2) the nannies who work with find the right family (and job) as soon as possible.

A sitter is someone who cares for your family on an as needed basis - a few daytime hours during the week, a date night once a month, etc. A nanny is a full-time or part-time childcare provider who offers continuous weekly support to you and your family.

The typical hourly rate varies in New York City from $20 per hour to upwards of $40 per hour. This rate depends on the skills and experience of the candidate, the expectations and demands of the role, and individual family needs.

Our rates are higher because we only source the most qualified nannies. We believe that working with children is a privilege and thus seek out nannies who believe the same. Each candidate put forward takes the responsibility of your child(ren’s) development seriously. The nannies we work with become part of your family - they anticipate your needs, making your life easier and more enjoyable by creating a nurturing, safe and calm environment for your child(ren).

In addition, it's important to note that looking after someone else's children is a difficult task - therefore, it is a company policy that nannies who work at MDE and with families associated with MDE, earn more than the minimum domestic household wage. We seek out families who see the value in the nanny role and who believe that role is more than just a domestic worker. We are committed to ensuring that every MDE employee and everyone we are associated with is paid a fair wage.

You are typically expected to provide two weeks of annual leave and five days of sick leave per year. You are also expected to provide additional days off for religious and/or cultural holidays of the nanny’s choice. All of the above is subject to negotiation.

While you are not legally obligated to provide health insurance for your nanny, under the Affordable Care Act, most families are legally obligated to have some form of cover. Many of our families contribute a set monthly amount to their nanny’s own personal health insurance plan. It is also a typical expectation that a family provides an unlimited monthly metrocard for the nanny’s travel to and from work.

To pay your nanny we recommend using a company that offers payroll services for families with household staff. This eases your administration burden as they will direct debit your account and pay your nanny as per your agreed schedule. They can also assist you in calculating employer and employee tax contributions. It’s important to note that with taxes and other costs associated with an employee, you should factor in approximately 20% in addition to your nanny’s salary, to calculate the total cost to your family. Ultimately, your nanny is employed by you and not MDE, therefore all payments past contract negotiations are between you and your nanny.

We understand that sometimes things don’t work out. Choosing a nanny who is the right personality fit for you and your family is difficult and sometimes life circumstances change too. That’s ok! That’s why we have our nanny replacement policy - if a replacement is needed within 90 days of your initial placement, we will find a new nanny for you at no additional cost. If you decide your nanny is not a suitable fit or your nanny gives their notice after the 90 days, we are more than happy to initiate a new search with applicable fees.

None. The family pays MDE to find a placement for them. If you have worked with other agencies this may be unusual to you - other agencies often take a percentage of a nanny’s salary. At MDE, we do not believe in this - nannies work extremely hard and deserve to take home every dollar they earn.

We are licensed with the Department of Consumer Affairs (license # 2090753-DCA) and are bonded and insured.