Here’s something we hear every December at Seaside: “I want to give my nanny a generous bonus, but I honestly don’t know what’s appropriate.” This question comes up without fail in November and December, and it reveals something important: most families genuinely want to show appreciation, but they lack a framework for what professional household employers actually do.
After two decades of placing nannies in Los Angeles and throughout the country, we’ve seen the full spectrum. We’ve seen families give their nanny of five years a 50-dollar gift card to Target. We’ve seen other families give their nanny of six months a check for 5,000 dollars. Both extremes miss the mark, and neither reflects what experienced household employers consider standard practice.
The Industry Standard Nobody Talks About
Let’s establish the baseline first. The standard year-end bonus for a full-time professional nanny in a major market like Los Angeles ranges from one to two weeks of their regular gross pay. If your nanny earns 1,000 dollars per week, a standard bonus falls between 1,000 and 2,000 dollars. This isn’t a suggestion we invented, it’s the prevailing practice among sophisticated households who employ career nannies.
Where you land in that range depends on several factors: how long the nanny has been with your family, the quality of their work, whether you’ve had any significant challenges during the year, and frankly, what your family can afford. A one-week bonus says “we appreciate you and value your work.” A two-week bonus says “you’re exceptional and we want you to know it.”
Now, here’s where families sometimes get confused. That one to two weeks is the baseline for a nanny who’s been with you for a full year and performed well. It’s not the ceiling, it’s the floor. Families with nannies who’ve been with them for multiple years, who’ve gone above and beyond, or who work in particularly demanding situations often give three or even four weeks of pay as a year-end bonus.
We worked with a family in Beverly Hills whose nanny had been with them for eight years, through the birth of two children, a cross-country move, and a particularly challenging year when one parent had a serious health crisis. Their year-end bonus last December was six weeks of pay, plus a week-long spa vacation. That’s not standard, but it reflected the extraordinary relationship they’d built and the value this nanny had brought to their family during genuinely difficult times.
When Tenure Changes the Calculation
The length of time your nanny has been with your family absolutely affects bonus expectations. If you hired a nanny in September and December is rolling around, you’re not on the hook for a full standard bonus. A nanny who’s worked for you for three months might receive a quarter of your regular weekly pay, or a thoughtful gift worth several hundred dollars. The key is acknowledging them, not meeting the full-year standard.
Here’s a framework we share with families: for each full quarter your nanny has worked for you, they’ve earned roughly 25 percent of a one-week bonus. So a nanny who started in July and has been with you for six months by December might receive half of one week’s pay as a year-end bonus. This isn’t a hard rule, but it gives families a starting point for fair calculation.
The families who retain exceptional nannies for years understand that the bonus should grow with tenure, not stay static. A nanny in their first year might receive one week of pay. By year three, that same nanny doing excellent work should receive at least two weeks. By year five, you’re looking at two to three weeks. By year ten, three to four weeks isn’t uncommon for truly outstanding performance.
One family we work with in West Hollywood has had the same nanny for 14 years. She started when their oldest was an infant and has now helped raise three children through elementary school. Their year-end bonus last year was eight weeks of pay, plus full coverage of a two-week trip to visit her family overseas. That’s not typical, but it reflects the reality that this nanny isn’t just an employee, she’s become an integral part of their family’s life.
Performance Matters, But Context Matters More
Let’s address the uncomfortable question: what if your nanny’s performance hasn’t been stellar this year? This happens, and it creates a genuine dilemma for families. You still want to give a bonus because it’s expected and professional, but you also don’t want to reward performance that hasn’t met your standards.
Here’s our guidance: if performance issues are significant enough that you’re considering reducing or eliminating a bonus, those issues should have been addressed throughout the year with clear feedback and opportunities for improvement. A year-end bonus isn’t the time to surprise someone with the news that their work hasn’t been satisfactory. If you’ve had ongoing conversations about performance and made clear expectations, then adjusting the bonus downward makes sense. If you haven’t had those conversations, give the standard bonus and commit to better communication next year.
That said, context matters enormously. Was this a challenging year for your family that made your nanny’s job harder? Did you add a newborn to the household without adjusting your nanny’s pay or support? Did you work from home all year due to circumstances, fundamentally changing the dynamic of your nanny’s work environment? These factors don’t excuse poor performance, but they do provide context that should influence how you assess the year overall.
We watched a family in Santa Monica navigate this beautifully. Their nanny had struggled in the spring when both parents started working from home and micromanaging her every move. The parents recognized their own role in creating a difficult work environment, addressed it directly, and the situation improved dramatically. Their year-end bonus reflected appreciation for their nanny’s patience and professionalism during a genuinely challenging period, not just her childcare skills.
Cash Versus Gifts and Why It Matters
Let’s be completely clear: your nanny wants cash, not gifts. A thoughtful gift in addition to cash is lovely and appreciated, but a gift instead of cash misses the mark entirely. Professional nannies have bills to pay, savings goals to meet, and financial obligations. A 2,000-dollar bonus check helps them in ways that a 2,000-dollar designer handbag does not.
This doesn’t mean gifts aren’t appreciated. We’ve seen families give their nannies beautiful gifts that clearly required thought and attention: high-quality luggage for a nanny who loves to travel, a professional camera for a nanny passionate about photography, a yearly membership to museums and attractions they visit with the children. These gifts work because they come in addition to an appropriate cash bonus, not instead of it.
One family in Los Feliz got this exactly right last year. They gave their nanny a two-week bonus check, plus a gift certificate for a weekend stay at a beautiful inn in Carmel that they knew she’d been wanting to visit. The cash showed professional appreciation, the gift showed personal thoughtfulness. Both mattered, but the cash had to come first.
If budget constraints mean you truly can’t afford both a full standard bonus and a gift, give the cash. Your nanny will respect your honesty far more than they’ll appreciate a symbolic gift that doesn’t help them financially. And if you find yourself in that situation year after year, it’s time for an honest conversation about total compensation rather than trying to make up for inadequate pay with holiday gifts.
Timing and Presentation Make a Difference
The standard timing for year-end bonuses is mid-December, early enough that your nanny can use the money for their own holiday shopping and expenses. Waiting until December 23rd or later suggests the bonus was an afterthought rather than planned appreciation. Families who give bonuses in early December signal that they’ve been thinking about this and planning for it.
How you present the bonus matters more than families often realize. Handing your nanny a check while rushing out the door diminishes the gesture. Sitting down with them for even five minutes, thanking them specifically for things they’ve done well this year, and explaining that you value their contribution to your family makes the same dollar amount mean more.
We heard about a family in Marina del Rey who did this exceptionally well. The parents sat down with their nanny on a Friday afternoon when the children were with grandparents. They spent 20 minutes reviewing the year, sharing specific examples of times their nanny had gone above and beyond, talking about their hopes for the coming year, and thanking her for the stability and love she brought to their children’s lives. Then they gave her a bonus check for three weeks of pay. The nanny later told us that the conversation mattered as much as the money because it showed they were truly paying attention to her work.
Additional Considerations for Los Angeles Families
Los Angeles presents specific considerations for year-end bonuses that don’t exist in every market. Many nannies in LA are supporting families in other countries or states, and year-end bonuses often go toward travel to see those family members. Understanding this context helps families appreciate that their bonus isn’t funding luxury, it’s funding connection with loved ones who may not see each other frequently.
The cost of living in Los Angeles also affects bonus expectations. A nanny paying 2,000 dollars per month for a studio apartment in a neighborhood close enough to commute to your home in West LA needs year-end bonuses that acknowledge that reality. The same dollar amount means different things in different markets, and LA’s housing costs make generous bonuses not just appreciated but necessary for talented nannies to remain in the profession.
We’ve also noticed that LA families with nannies who provide specialized skills often give larger bonuses. A nanny who’s fluent in Mandarin and teaching your children, a nanny with Montessori certification who’s creating detailed developmental activities, a nanny who manages complex schedules for multiple children with different schools and activities – these specialized skills command appreciation through both base compensation and year-end bonuses.
What Happens When You Can’t Afford Standard Bonus
Economic realities affect families differently, and some years budgets are genuinely tight. If you truly cannot afford a standard bonus this year, the worst thing you can do is give nothing without explanation. Instead, have an honest conversation with your nanny about the situation.
Here’s what that might sound like: “This has been a challenging financial year for our family, and while I wish we could give you the bonus you deserve, we’re only able to give one week of pay this year instead of our usual two weeks. I want you to know this doesn’t reflect our appreciation for your work, and we hope next year’s circumstances will be different.”
Nannies are professionals, and most will respond to honesty with understanding. What damages relationships is when families who can clearly afford appropriate bonuses choose not to give them, or when families give no explanation for reduced bonuses and leave their nanny wondering if it reflects dissatisfaction with their work.
One family in Pasadena navigated this honestly a few years ago. The primary earner had lost a job mid-year, and money was genuinely tight by December. They gave their nanny one week of pay instead of their usual two weeks, explained the situation clearly, and committed to reassessing compensation once their financial situation stabilized. The nanny appreciated the honesty, stayed with the family, and when circumstances improved the following year, received an enhanced bonus that reflected both years. The relationship survived because of clear, respectful communication.
Beyond the Bonus: Other Forms of Year-End Appreciation
While cash bonuses are the primary form of year-end appreciation, there are other gestures that professional families often include. Additional paid time off for the period between Christmas and New Year’s, coverage of professional development opportunities like conferences or certifications, contribution to retirement accounts or health savings accounts – these all send the message that you view your nanny as a valued professional with long-term career goals.
Some families also use year-end as an opportunity to reassess base compensation. If you’re giving a standard two-week bonus but haven’t given your nanny a raise in two years despite consistent excellent performance, that’s a problem. Bonuses are meant to supplement appropriate base compensation, not replace regular raises.
The families who retain exceptional nannies for many years understand that year-end appreciation is part of a larger picture of respect, fair compensation, clear communication, and genuine relationship. The bonus matters, but it matters as one element of an overall employment relationship that values your nanny’s professionalism, skills, and contribution to your family’s life.
Your nanny spends more waking hours with your children than almost anyone else in their lives. They shape your children’s days, respond to their needs, teach them skills, and provide stability and love. A thoughtful, generous year-end bonus doesn’t just reward past work, it invests in the future of that relationship. The families who understand this end up with nannies who stay for years, grow with the family, and become irreplaceable parts of their children’s lives. That’s worth far more than any bonus amount.
