Seeking the down and Dirty Truth About Hosting an Au Pair

Hey D.,

I hope you found great childcare. I saw your post and thought I'd respond. Hosting an au pair can be awesome for a family IF you thoroughly interview a candidate beforehand. Our family has been hosting an au pair from Germany for the past 5 months. It has been totally amazing. I think this is because we were really honest in describing our family situation (and so was the au pair in her application). Our two daughters LOVE her. However, my sister hosted an au pair a few years ago, and the girl ended up going home after 4 months (not a good match). Anyway, hope this helps in your decision.

A.

Hi D.
I was nervous about have an aupair as well but when we moved from the city to PA that was my only choice since I couldn't afford a live-in Nanny.

I used Aupair Care agency and had a wonderful brazilian for 1 year. My daughter was 2 1/2 when she started. She did not speak english well but she pick up quickly. She really took care of the kids and my kids constantly talks about her even though she has been gone almost a year. She went above and beyond but I guess it all depends on the Aupair. I ended up with a wonderful girl who befriended another aupair from brazil that was equally great. My daughter loves her and we still keep in touch.

The only thing i didn't like is that Agency fees and it is not itemized so you don't really know what you are paying for.
but I only did it for one year and definitely miss the flexible of having someone at home to help.

Hope this helps

Well, not advice, but a similar situation. I've looked at a couple of the au pair sites, and am interested. I have lived in foreign countries, and LOVE the idea of my son getting exposed to a different culture. The flexibility of an au pair and the "neatness" of getting exposed to a different culture seems to make an au pair a good choice.

I would love to know what experiences others have had... and we should talk offline about what agencies you're looking at...

I am looking for a Chinese au pair to care for our adopted daughter from China. I found a great site: aupairclearinghouse.com - which is a national clearinghouse on the au pair industry. They are not an agency, but they do recommend the top three picks for 2009 and they have tips on hiring an au pair, and how to interview and the top ten mistakes to AVOID when hiring an au pair.

They also have a blog: aupairclearinghouse.blog.spot.com where they answer questions, etc.

Check it out to find out 'the down and dirty' on hosting an au pair!

J., proud new dad

After 10.5 years, I finally gave up my last au pair in June -- my girls are teenagers and we had out grown the program. In all we had 8, yes 8, absolutely amazing au pairs. In between we had girls that just didn't work for our family or our program, but they usually didn't stay around too long and we rematched. The bottom line: When an au pair is good there is ABSOLUTELY no better type of child care. Their hours are flexible, they become part of your family and your child's life, they connect with other au pairs in the community, and they give you a connection to another country and culture. So the big questions are:
1. Are you an au pair family: Are you open, do you like visitors, are you secure in your family life, do you like having a 19 or 20 year old around? If you don't you will figure it out within 6 months of getting an au pair.
2. Are you comfortable leaving your kids with someone? That question depends upon how young they are. If you are home some of the time, and have a network of people that can look out for you during the first month of your au pair's year, then you should feel secure.
Good luck with your decision. If I ever have the time, I really should write a book.

Hi D.,

I work as a coordinator for one of the largest aupair agencies in the US and can probably help you with some of your concerns. Hosting an aupair can be a great experience for your children and for you. One of the most important things to keep in mind is to set the right expectations up front and treat the person with respect and as part of the family. An aupair can work for up to 45 hours per week and the childcare is flexible and affordable and you set the schedule so it works for your needs. We offer aupairs from all over the world and I would say it works for most every family but of course you have bad experiences with both the aupairs and the Host Families. Unfortunatly most people only hear the bad about the aupairs but believe me there as also some unfit families out there. Please let me know if you have any specific questions and I will be glad to help. It is also great to have a coordinator to help you trouble shoot through your aupair year something you do not have should you hire someone privatly. We also help keep the aupairs social with other aupairs as this is also important for their happiness while here, we conduct monthly meetings with them and try to get them to find new friends. It can be a very rewarding experience for all involved. If you want to check out our web site here it is: www.aupaircare.com