Nanny Posts Rude Texts From Client to Show How Little People Think of Quality Childcare

A woman on TikTok named Sophia Grace (@lifeofsophiag) has posted extensively about her experiences in nannying, including commentary on other child caretakers — like one who allowed a kid to swallow 800mg of ibuprofen, and some of the "worst" Care.com listings she's ever come across.

Recently, she went viral after uploading a text message exchange she had with a client who tried to get her to work for around $4,000 less than her monthly rate. When Sophia wouldn't acquiesce to her demands, the client told her off and informed that she didn't view nannying as "real" work.

Sophia shared the messages, along with her commentary, in a TikTok video montage that featured numerous screen-capped images of her back-and-forth with the prospective client.

In the first screenshot that the nanny/TikToker posted to her account, she writes: "I had already sent my resume which includes my rate range, references, duties etc. — literally everything"

The conversation ended up going as follows...

Client: We'd love to meet that day, I'll figure out a time and let you know.

Sophia: That sounds great! I always like to send my rate and expectations beforehand to make sure it works for the family. My hourly rate begins at $30/hr. My rates reflect the effort and skills I have developed throughout my career as well as the high quality of care I provide. In addition to the standard industry benefits, I also require payment through W-2 with my families since I will be an employee. If all this sounds good, I look forward to speaking further with you!

However, it didn't seem like this particular client was into her setup:

Client: We paid our last nanny with a 1099 and it worked out fine, so let me know if that's good. I'm not sure what you mean by 'standard industry benefits' but because we are doing the lunches 3x a week and then paying for you to accompany the kids on activities (and also we allow our nannies to eat whatever food we have available, unless marked not eat lol), I'm not sure we have much room for other benefits.

Their message continued:

Client: As far as the hourly goes — we were really hoping to stay under $1,000/month. I know that the regular schedule is 7-5, which could turn out to be a lot of long hours, but when we chatted, I know I mentioned we will be gone for 2 weeks in November so you'll still get your $1,000 that month? I think that's a really great deal, honestly!

The client went on to extol the benefits of the offer, which was significantly less than the quoted rate she sent to them.

Client: Our last nanny said it worked awesome for her and we're hoping to find someone with the same mindset. Thanks.

Sophia went on to demonstrate that the amount of money she would be making at her current rate with the hours the client expected her to work was in the $5,000 a month range, so even getting paid for two weeks off in November still would be a drop in a bucket compared to the amount of cash she'd be losing out on her quoted rate.

Though Sophia added in an overlay to her TikTok video that she normally wouldn't take as much time in her follow-up conversation with a prospective client detailing all these things, she told the client in their text conversation that the standard industry benefits were "gas reimbursements, PTO, sick days, paid holidays, guaranteed hours, and a detailed contract — as well as paying via W-2."

She went on to state that not being paid via W-2 is actually illegal as she ends up paying for her employer's taxes as a 1099 worker and that with the amount of hours they wanted her to work, that amount of money would amount to less than minimum wage.

The client still wasn't stoked about the idea of acquiescing to Sophia's quoted employment terms, hitting back with stating the $1,000 wouldn't be based as an hourly rate, but rather a salary.

The client also said all of the demands Sophia was making seemed way too much "for such an easy job," adding that the amount of money she was asking for was more than what most people in the area that they live in earn monthly.

"Illegal, illegal, illegal," Sophia added in another overlay of her video montage. She told the client in their text exchange that the client might be best suited to trying to hire someone who is newly starting their "nannying journey" before remarking that she was "not sure of anyone who may work for below minimum wage, illegally, or without benefits."

But the client wasn't done asking questions of the nanny — the client said that both she and her husband work demanding jobs that come with a slew of benefits and they didn't seem to think that nannying was an actual career deserving of the types of benefits Sophia was requesting of prospective employers.

Sophia clapped back at the client, stating that she 100 percent considers being a nanny a career and that it was an extremely demanding job that not only requires a ton of knowledge and experience in dealing with children but having the type of personality that allows people to engage and interact with kids.

"If you would like to hire someone who wants to work at minimum wage and does not require benefits, you are well within your rights to do so, but the most professional and experienced nannies I know would not accept these terms. I cannot recommend anyone I might know," Sophia wrote back to the client.

In the final slide of her TikTok montage, Sophia then highlighted a response from the nanny-seeker which she says is a typical of the types of defensive replies folks give whenever their offers are "rejected" or they are "educated" on how seriously Sophia takes her job as a nanny.

Client: This is ridiculous I watch my kids on top of work a real job lol we don't need someone 'professional' because this job isn't 'professional.' My neighbor's 16 yo has already agreed to this job and is all set to work, thanks for all your recommendations though!

There were folks who responded to Sophia's video who sympathized with her experiences, like this one person who penned: "I think ppl don’t realize there’s a difference between a nanny and babysitter."

Another person sarcastically remarked: "Aw how cute she works AND takes care of the kids she decided to have!! Good for you setting boundaries. That’s ridiculous!!!!!!"

Someone else couldn't believe that there would be anyone who would expect someone to work full-time for the amount that she was offering: "$1000/month for full time work?"