Anyone Use an AU Pair

Hi. We had an AuPair from Brazil and the experience was not such a great one. We used Cultural Care Au Pair and the AuPair ended up not staying with us for the full year and we decided that we did not want to replace her based on our experience. Also, my brother and sister-in-law in PA (we live in MD) used the same company and didn't had to go through a few au pairs (2) before they got a good one that they loved. I also know someone who has used Au Pairs for over 12 years and I think she only had 1 or 2 that she replaced. So, I would say there are some good ones but sometimes it doesn't happen on the first try. Also, I would look into other companies, I didn't love the way Cultural Care handled our situation - not very professional and were not super responsive.
Hope this helps!

I have an au pair from Cultural Care for the last 5 years and have been extremely happy. We have had some great au pairs, except for one that could not drive that was from Peru, but Dr. Parker found us another au pair from Austria, Katin and it worked out great.

I am the friend of Amanda H above me:-) I used Au Pair in America and I absolutely love it. Our Au Pair is from Thailand and she is absolutely amazing. All of her friends seem really great as well. Au Pair in America has a "cluster" system and the Au Pairs get together once each month for socializing and fun activities. The Baltimore County coordinator has been really great. I highly recommend the a girl from Thailand because they are quiet, respectful, good with babies (this is all from her and her friends). The coordinator had told us that the culture tends to be like that. Feel free to let me know if you have any other questions. They have a website www.aupairinamerica.com

We are new to having an au pere but I can tell you it is the best option we have found! We use Cultural Care Au Pair. Things that help you decide if it is for you: Do you have another bedroom for her/him? They are required to have their own room and can't share it with a child. Do you want the flexibility of moving the schedule around each week? They can work up to 45 hours per week, up to 10 hour a day, and need to have a full day off each week and one 5 hour day. They also need one full weekend off per month and vacation time. I found it is great to have someone here to help my husband at night put the kids to bed when I must work, or have her watch them at night so we can have a date!

The drawbacks are that you can get someone who you don't connect with, who is immature and is like having another teenager. You may find that you have to really lay out your expectations upfront and it can seem like a lot of work, But, that said, I think it works out great more times than not!

A good friend of mine found an Au Pair from Thailand and they love her. They did alot of research and we have another friend from Thailand who was able to help smooth the language barrier. Her son is probably 8 months old also by now and I think the Au Pair came when she went back to work, probably at 12 weeks. Hope that helps!