Questions????

I grew up with Au Paires. I don't know exactly where to find them, however I do know that they lived in my home, so room and board was provided as well as a car and gas. They had a full day and night off, and an extra night off during the week. If something came up my parents worked with them. They cleaned, cooked sometimes, played with us and ran errands with and for us. I am seeing it happening far less however; generally I have found that most working new moms use either a nanny or day care facilities. A Nanny is the same deal, however you pay them more because they don't get room and board, car and gas money, and they also usually don't clean or cook.(except for lunches for the kids). If they're sick they call off, which you don't have to worry about with day care facilities or au paires. However with a day care facility you have other concerns. Children breed colds and other illnesses in day care (some say great for immune systems, but you still have to deal with a sick kid so less sleep and more worry), however they develop great socialization. There are also concerns with cost, certifications, background checks, and general trust. I have friends who have loved their day care centers, and some who have hated them. It really depends on what kind of research you are putting into it. Good Luck!

Hi C.

I am an Area Director with AuPairCare. We place au pairs in homes to provide childcare services for caring American families. These au pairs all share a love for children and are highly screened and background-checked.

Our standard program is a unique year-long experience combining dedicated childcare and cultural exchange. Au pairs provide up to 45 hours of care per week, not to exceed 10 hours per day. Hours are flexible, so you can work with your au pair to create a schedule to accommodate your family's needs. They can also do housework related to the children - such as the children's laundry, preparing light meals and keeping their rooms and play areas clean. The cost averages $320/week - regardless of the number of kids. The process takes about 6 - 10 weeks from the moment you apply until your au pair arrives at your door.

I would love to talk with you and answer any questions you might have. I can also arrange for you to speak with some current host families to get their views on the program and how they have enjoyed it.

Please call me at ###-###-#### or email me at ____@____.com can also visit our website at www.aupaircare.com.

I hope to talk with you soon!

Sincerely,
M. Falcus
AuPairCare Area Director

you can also look into home daycare situations. this way your child will get more individual attention because there are less kids than at a daycare center. your child will be in a home setting instead of an institutional setting and will still be able to socialize with other children. home daycares are becoming more and more popular because they are also cheaper than the tradiational daycare.

good luck!
J.

I did a bit of research into this and here were some of the requirements: could only work 35 hrs a week, must provide room and board and transportation, must provide some college classes, must provide some sort of cultural socialization. All of this in addition to paying about 400/week to the agency.

We have a live out nanny. Several of my co-workers have aupairs and love them!!! I myself prefer a live out nanny- when I am home, I want to be home with my family. The aupair service that my co-workers use involves some sort of up front fee(like $3000) and then they provide room and board and I think 180/week. This is pretty affordable compared to daycare.

The thing I have learned is that daycares do allow for "drop in care"- if you take them in for a week they will work with you. The worst part of this for me was my son is not in that environment so when he goes he usually gets sick. One time I lost 1.5 days when he was sick and then another 1.5 days when I got what he had.

My live out nanny is paid by the hour but that is an agreement we have with her and we found her without an agency.

I am a local coordinator for Cultural Care au pair. visit culturalcare.com for detailed information or contact me ____@____.com a former au pair I can tell you that it is a wonderful experience.

This is a bit of a current response (May 2009). Cultural Care averages $320 a week for up to 45 hours of childcare for every child in the whole family.

We only have one child so this wasn't the cheapest childcare option- we chose au pair because of the reliability and flexibility. For my job, the days sometimes changed and keeping a single child care provider on retainer was unaffordable. We have so many wonderful benefits from our au pair- more than I ever could have expected. Our au pairs are little international jewels.

I would love to talk more about the great au pair program. We used Cultural Care and our Local Childcare Coordinator is really great. Don't forget that behind your au pair is a company and pick a great one! Cultural Care has been in business for 20 years and has just won international au pair of the year award two years in a row! This is a first class company. I love the au pair experience so well that I am now a LCC servicing a few neighborhoods of Chicago and Northwest Indiana!

S.
____@____.com