NoThereThere_IHB
New member
Anybody have experience using an au pair? I like the 'cultural exchange' idea, but am not sure about taking somebody under our roof for too long a stretch. Thoughts?
Au pair?
- Thread starter NoThereThere_IHB
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$10K per year seems a little low. I would think most au pairs would get at least $100 per week of spending money. Additional food costs of at least $100 per week would take that to $10K per year alone. Add in the cost of their room (if you buy a house with an extra bedroom to accomodate, that would probably equate to $3-5K per year extra in mortgage. Add in transportation costs, extra utilities, etc. and it is probably more like $15-20K per year...
We've used a nanny for many years, full-time for 45 hours per week, and the cost is similar. Personally, I'd rather not have my childcare providing employee under the same roof.
That does sound like it would be emotionally hard on the kids. But I'll never forget - I had a friend who acted as nanny to a family for years and I must say, she was awesome! She did a great job and is wonderful with kids... she eventually became an elementary school teacher and is wonderful at it. She's a real natural. Anyway, what happened was the kids loved her so much... one day the mother came home from work and heard the kids calling her "mom". That really upset the mother and she fired my friend. I'm not sure which is worse.
IPO, we can always count on you for a bare-bones, no-nonsense financial analysis. Kudos.
I am the local childcare coordinator for Cultural Care Au Pair in Orange County. We are the largest au pair agency in the country having successfully placed over 75,000 au pairs into welcoming homes. There are many families in this area that LOVE having an au pair. If you would like to speak to someone who has an au pair, I could give you phone numbers. We have families who have had au pairs for years and truly enjoy the cultural exchange and what the program has added to their family.
Some families who have never had an au pair are not sure about making a year long commitment. In that case, I usually suggest they think about having a transition au pair. For instance, there is a family in Irvine that was transferred to a remote area of Colorado. We do not have a local coordinator in that area so the au pair can not join the family in CO. The au pair has 4 more months left in her program and would like to find another family in CA. The family loves the au pair and gives her a great recommendation. For a family new to this type of child care, starting with a shorter period of time sometimes feels more comfortable.
We have au pairs from 35 different countries and match families based on their interests, personalities, and child care needs.
If I can answer any questions, feel free to call me (Katherine) (949)331-3802
Please stop spamming every thread here Katherine... Yeah yeah, we get it, you want to drum up some business, but posting the same drivel over and over probably isn't the smartest way to go about it. If you want to advertise for free, try Craigslist.
Since you are new, please realize that spammers come here often and people are extremely sensitive to this (and rightfully so). Usually if I have a reference or a contact number for someone I send them a PM or let them know in a post that they can PM me if they want info. It is probably even more important that you do this when you are here since we are talking about your own business. I am truly trying to be helpful, and give you the benefit of the doubt. Welcome to the forums.
I didn't see anyone ask you how many countries your organization had au pairs from or how many au pair placements your organization had done or etc. etc. Your posts are redundant and wreak of marketing and gotta-earn-my-commission spin. If these are examples of "conversation" for you, that would be pretty darn scary.
There are realtors posting here that don't pimp their business in every post. There are tax people, lawyers, finance guys, etc. that answer questions in these forums and never once post about their businesses... You could have done this as well but alas, you had to bust out the brochure bullet points on us instead.
Thanks, sorry if I offended anyone. It is not my intention. I will watch what I write. Child care, au pairs, child development, education, and so on are topics that I enjoy. I will try and discuss these issues without offending anyone.
Thanks
I have thought about hiring an au pair. The part that scares me is the year long commitment. What if it doesn't work out? The other part that bothers me is that if au pairs are coming from all over the world, does that mean that you can't meet them first? Is it sort of like a mail order bride? I like the idea of having live-in child care, but only if it were the right person.
NewToOC_IHB
New member
I wasn?t going to respond since I don?t even have kids yet but since you aren?t being overwhelmed with responses here? In the DC area where I'm from this seems to be a more popular option. We even have a friend that places au pairs in people's homes (I think just in the DC area). As a result she tells us stuff she probably shouldn't tell us (e.g. one Nordic au pair that got arrested for lascivious behavior one weekend at the beach ? without the kids in tow). Overall though both our friend that works in the industry and other people I know who have used au pairs swear by them. The CEO of the last consulting company I worked for used one to help his stay-at-home wife with their 5 kids. They made a point of switching au pairs every year so their kids wouldn?t get too attached. That struck me as odd and a bit cruel but it seemed to work for them.
Another friend from Puerto Rico worked as an au pair one year while studying in Australia. I think she did it in conjunction with a study abroad program at Cornell. She absolutely fell in love with the family and to this day keeps in contact with them. They send her tam-tams or whatever those yummy Aussie cookies are for her birthday, etc.
For the most part I?ve heard overwhelming good things about the program. Kids get more personalized attention, exposure to other cultures and sometimes even gain foreign language skills, at least 45 hrs a week of care and all for about $10k/yr. Of course there are always horror stories such as the Au Pair Shaken Baby Death incident, but that is probably true for any child care option.
Another thing to keep in mind, an article I once read on this made a really great but obvious point. No one becomes an au pair to take care of other people?s kids. They do it to see experience a different culture, to make some money, to party abroad, in some cases to snag a rich American husband (maybe wife? There are some male au pairs), ... but very few au pairs actually aspire to work in the child care or education field. I think understanding their motivation and adjusting your requirements accordingly is key to a successful au pair match. They most likely won't make your kids fluent in another language single-handedly. They won't do housework for the au pair pay.
Obviously I've given this a lot of thought and would seriously consider this option when I do have kids. Hopefully someone on the blog has more first-hand experience to share on this.
Another friend from Puerto Rico worked as an au pair one year while studying in Australia. I think she did it in conjunction with a study abroad program at Cornell. She absolutely fell in love with the family and to this day keeps in contact with them. They send her tam-tams or whatever those yummy Aussie cookies are for her birthday, etc.
For the most part I?ve heard overwhelming good things about the program. Kids get more personalized attention, exposure to other cultures and sometimes even gain foreign language skills, at least 45 hrs a week of care and all for about $10k/yr. Of course there are always horror stories such as the Au Pair Shaken Baby Death incident, but that is probably true for any child care option.
Another thing to keep in mind, an article I once read on this made a really great but obvious point. No one becomes an au pair to take care of other people?s kids. They do it to see experience a different culture, to make some money, to party abroad, in some cases to snag a rich American husband (maybe wife? There are some male au pairs), ... but very few au pairs actually aspire to work in the child care or education field. I think understanding their motivation and adjusting your requirements accordingly is key to a successful au pair match. They most likely won't make your kids fluent in another language single-handedly. They won't do housework for the au pair pay.
Obviously I've given this a lot of thought and would seriously consider this option when I do have kids. Hopefully someone on the blog has more first-hand experience to share on this.
working poor_IHB
New member
www.easyaupair.com
Try the site above, it is worldwide with photos and a brief "Resume/background" of the Au Pair.
Good luck and I wish you luck.
Try the site above, it is worldwide with photos and a brief "Resume/background" of the Au Pair.
Good luck and I wish you luck.
ipoplaya_IHB
New member
NewToOC said:
$10K per year seems a little low. I would think most au pairs would get at least $100 per week of spending money. Additional food costs of at least $100 per week would take that to $10K per year alone. Add in the cost of their room (if you buy a house with an extra bedroom to accomodate, that would probably equate to $3-5K per year extra in mortgage. Add in transportation costs, extra utilities, etc. and it is probably more like $15-20K per year...
We've used a nanny for many years, full-time for 45 hours per week, and the cost is similar. Personally, I'd rather not have my childcare providing employee under the same roof.
NewToOC_IHB
New member
Yep, the 10k is really just the salary. Every family would have their own unique room & board expenditures depending on their circumstances.
freedomCM_IHB
New member
Plus, there is the yearly set-up fee for the agency (iirc, they provide health insurance) and you have to pay community college tuition for a few course for them.
But my impression is that it is less akin to hiring domestic help, and more like having an exchange student who happens to take care of your kids during the day. You are expected to include them in family activities.
Au Pairs are not nannies.
(though I hear that some third world domestic workers, like filipinas, are 'professional au pairs' and older, rather than the 18 year old european variety)
But my impression is that it is less akin to hiring domestic help, and more like having an exchange student who happens to take care of your kids during the day. You are expected to include them in family activities.
Au Pairs are not nannies.
(though I hear that some third world domestic workers, like filipinas, are 'professional au pairs' and older, rather than the 18 year old european variety)
SoCal78_IHB
New member
NewToOC said:
That does sound like it would be emotionally hard on the kids. But I'll never forget - I had a friend who acted as nanny to a family for years and I must say, she was awesome! She did a great job and is wonderful with kids... she eventually became an elementary school teacher and is wonderful at it. She's a real natural. Anyway, what happened was the kids loved her so much... one day the mother came home from work and heard the kids calling her "mom". That really upset the mother and she fired my friend. I'm not sure which is worse.
NoThereThere_IHB
New member
ipoplaya said:
IPO, we can always count on you for a bare-bones, no-nonsense financial analysis. Kudos.
KatherineS_IHB
New member
NoThereThere said:
I am the local childcare coordinator for Cultural Care Au Pair in Orange County. We are the largest au pair agency in the country having successfully placed over 75,000 au pairs into welcoming homes. There are many families in this area that LOVE having an au pair. If you would like to speak to someone who has an au pair, I could give you phone numbers. We have families who have had au pairs for years and truly enjoy the cultural exchange and what the program has added to their family.
Some families who have never had an au pair are not sure about making a year long commitment. In that case, I usually suggest they think about having a transition au pair. For instance, there is a family in Irvine that was transferred to a remote area of Colorado. We do not have a local coordinator in that area so the au pair can not join the family in CO. The au pair has 4 more months left in her program and would like to find another family in CA. The family loves the au pair and gives her a great recommendation. For a family new to this type of child care, starting with a shorter period of time sometimes feels more comfortable.
We have au pairs from 35 different countries and match families based on their interests, personalities, and child care needs.
If I can answer any questions, feel free to call me (Katherine) (949)331-3802
ipoplaya_IHB
New member
KatherineS said:
Please stop spamming every thread here Katherine... Yeah yeah, we get it, you want to drum up some business, but posting the same drivel over and over probably isn't the smartest way to go about it. If you want to advertise for free, try Craigslist.
KatherineS_IHB
New member
Wow! I'm just answering questions that people had regarding au pairs. A forum is designed to explore new areas. Many people had questions as to what an au pair is and how it works and I was answering their questions. It is just a conversation.
tmare_IHB
New member
KatherineS said:
Since you are new, please realize that spammers come here often and people are extremely sensitive to this (and rightfully so). Usually if I have a reference or a contact number for someone I send them a PM or let them know in a post that they can PM me if they want info. It is probably even more important that you do this when you are here since we are talking about your own business. I am truly trying to be helpful, and give you the benefit of the doubt. Welcome to the forums.
ipoplaya_IHB
New member
KatherineS said:
I didn't see anyone ask you how many countries your organization had au pairs from or how many au pair placements your organization had done or etc. etc. Your posts are redundant and wreak of marketing and gotta-earn-my-commission spin. If these are examples of "conversation" for you, that would be pretty darn scary.
There are realtors posting here that don't pimp their business in every post. There are tax people, lawyers, finance guys, etc. that answer questions in these forums and never once post about their businesses... You could have done this as well but alas, you had to bust out the brochure bullet points on us instead.
KatherineS_IHB
New member
tmare said:
Thanks, sorry if I offended anyone. It is not my intention. I will watch what I write. Child care, au pairs, child development, education, and so on are topics that I enjoy. I will try and discuss these issues without offending anyone.
KatherineS_IHB
New member
tmare said:
Thanks
usctrojanman29_IHB
New member
I don't think she meant any harm and since she is a noob we should give her the benefit of the doubt since she doesn't seem like a troll/spammer. I too was a noob not too long ago that got a bit over zealous and got my hand slapped and since then I speak softly and carry a bit stick (I can't believe I've turned into such a post whore in such a short time). hahaipoplaya said:
K
Kilene_IHB
Guest
KatherineS said:
I have thought about hiring an au pair. The part that scares me is the year long commitment. What if it doesn't work out? The other part that bothers me is that if au pairs are coming from all over the world, does that mean that you can't meet them first? Is it sort of like a mail order bride? I like the idea of having live-in child care, but only if it were the right person.