Woman Shares 'Worst' Texts She's Ever Received from Parents Looking to Hire a Nanny (Exclusive)

A woman with an eight-year career as a nanny is going viral for sharing some of the "worst" texts she's received over the course of her years in childcare

A woman on TikTok is sharing some of the "worst" texts she's received over the course of her eight years as a nanny.

Among the messages are texts from parents arguing that a $20 per hour rate is too high — even to take care of as many as four children (all under the age of 5) at one time.

Nanny Sophia Pagliuca has previously spoken to PEOPLE about the importance of advocating for yourself when it comes to childcare services. In a newer TikTok post, she shares the specific messages she's received that demonstrate just how easy it is to be subject to, as she says, "gross underpayment" as a nanny.

The selection of texts shared to TikTok were sent to Pagliuca between 2017 and 2019, from parents looking to get childcare.

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Related: Nanny Shares Examples of Texts with Families Over Pay Discrepancies: 'My Jaw Dropped' (Exclusive)

Among them is one text from a woman seeking a nanny to watch her children from 1 p.m. to 11 p.m. After learning that Pagliuca's rate is $22 per hour, the woman responds: "Oh I thought u had a typo and meant $12/hr. It's ok, we will just use the older lady who lives on our street."

Another message offers a similar tone, with a woman writing, "Hi Sophia, I have 4 kids under 5 and needing AM help, I saw your rates on your post but that's a little high for us, we typically pay $15/hr. The kids are really easy, it wouldn't take much effort at all!"

When Pagliuca responds that her rate would be $20 per hour to watch the four kids under 5, the woman digs in, arguing that the job would only be "part time (12 or so hours)" and that the "difficulty level is ridiculously easy (older two are basically self sufficient and do everything themselves, all you have to do is make them breakfast, pack lunches, get them dressed, brush their teeth, make sure their bags are packed and then drive to school)."

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The woman then tells Pagliuca that she won't pay more than $15 per hour for childcare, which she says "is well above minimum wage which is what you'd be paid at a regular job so I think that's quite generous!"

When Pagliuca replies that she prices her jobs based off the "value of her time and number of kids" she'll be watching, the woman responds, "Yea I'm not sure this will work out."

The woman ends the conversation with a long message lecturing Pagliuca that she doesn't need to be making $20 per hour "to do a job I could very well do."

The woman adds: "If you're not willing to take a pay cut because of some kind of superiority ... that will be a quick and hard fall down to reality... Good luck but all the ladies I know won't be accommodating this kind of behavior."

Other messages inquire about hiring Pagliuca to work 60 hours per week, for just $300 per week, or to hire her for $14 per hour to nanny three children and teach them piano lessons.

Another message asks Pagliuca to spend a weekend watching a 9-month-old baby, three dogs (who will need to be walked and fed) and a cat, for a flat rate of $300.

As Pagliuca tells PEOPLE, the challenge of nannying is "advocating for yourself" in a job with no human resources department.

"If I can help other nannies realize that this treatment is unacceptable, they can more effectively advocate for themselves in the future," she adds.

Pagliuca says that, since sharing the messages she's received, she's been overwhelmed with responses from other nannies: "Anyone who has been a nanny can relate. The mistreatment and underpayment is just par for the course, unfortunately."

She says she learned to be more assertive and stand firm in her rates when she stopped "trying to please everyone."

"Because childcare has historically been done by women, many people see it as simple or easy work," she notes. "However, it's quite the opposite. ... I recognized my worth and what I had to offer in the industry — after that, I never let anyone tell me differently because they didn't want to accommodate my pricing."

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