Au Pair questions

[Anonymous]

Hi! We are considering migrating from a nanny to an au pair in the next year or two. If you have experience with an au pair, please chime in.

1) kids are currently 8, 6 and 3 and we are considering making the switch in 1 to 2 years when all 3 kids will be in school until 3 pm so the au pair would have to work 3 hours a day most days. Is an au pair able to manage 3 kids at those ages (10, 8 and 5)?
2) how many hours do they usually work per week and is there any flexibility? For example, can she work 20 hours 1 week and 35 another if we agree in advance? I am thinking of days in which there is no school for teacher professional development, parents teacher conferences, etc.
3) is $20,000 per year the average total cost?
4) she will have a nice/large private room, but the bathroom might need to be shared. Is this a problem?
5) do au pairs have college degrees?

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hi! We are considering migrating from a nanny to an au pair in the next year or two. If you have experience with an au pair, please chime in.

1) kids are currently 8, 6 and 3 and we are considering making the switch in 1 to 2 years when all 3 kids will be in school until 3 pm so the au pair would have to work 3 hours a day most days. Is an au pair able to manage 3 kids at those ages (10, 8 and 5)?
2) how many hours do they usually work per week and is there any flexibility? For example, can she work 20 hours 1 week and 35 another if we agree in advance? I am thinking of days in which there is no school for teacher professional development, parents teacher conferences, etc.
3) is $20,000 per year the average total cost?
4) she will have a nice/large private room, but the bathroom might need to be shared. Is this a problem?
5) do au pairs have college degrees?

Thank you!

Some APs can manage 3 but you many won’t be able to or won’t want to.

Hours are flexible. There’s a max of 45 hours a week.

$20k is about right. It’s a set amount plus room and board, transportation, etc.

It’s a bit of a problem. Your AP won’t be happy sharing.

No, usually they do not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Hi! We are considering migrating from a nanny to an au pair in the next year or two. If you have experience with an au pair, please chime in.

1) kids are currently 8, 6 and 3 and we are considering making the switch in 1 to 2 years when all 3 kids will be in school until 3 pm so the au pair would have to work 3 hours a day most days. Is an au pair able to manage 3 kids at those ages (10, 8 and 5)?
2) how many hours do they usually work per week and is there any flexibility? For example, can she work 20 hours 1 week and 35 another if we agree in advance? I am thinking of days in which there is no school for teacher professional development, parents teacher conferences, etc.
3) is $20,000 per year the average total cost?
4) she will have a nice/large private room, but the bathroom might need to be shared. Is this a problem?
5) do au pairs have college degrees?

Thank you!

Some APs can manage 3 but you many won’t be able to or won’t want to.

Hours are flexible. There’s a max of 45 hours a week.

$20k is about right. It’s a set amount plus room and board, transportation, etc.

It’s a bit of a problem. Your AP won’t be happy sharing.

No, usually they do not.

Thank you! This is very helpful. I realize 3 kids is a lot, but was hoping that given the fewer hours she would have to work (I.e. 3 instead of 8) and the fact that 2 out of 3 will be older and quite independent, an au pair would be happy with the trade…

We only have 2.5 bathrooms in the house, but I guess we can manage with 1.5 if it’s a deal breaker.

[Anonymous]

It’s not a trade though. APs are comparing your family to those in different locations, different kid mix, different hours, different perks like bigger houses, cars, vacation homes, etc. You can find someone, but remember you are competing for APs with good English, better drivers, more experience, good looks, etc. it’s a matching process somewhat like speed dating, you just have to realize how it works and know what compromises you can make.

Also once they come, they can rematch if they change their mind or find a better family. Do a good job of screening them ahead.

[Anonymous]

I was an au pair 25 years ago. The bathroom is not an issue at all. In Europe we have much smaller houses and it’s not standard for anyone to have their own bathroom. I watched 3 kids similar ages to yours and it was fine. I worked 12-7 two days a week and 3-7 the other 3 days. They didn’t make me work weekends just to use up my hours (45 max per week) which was super nice of them. My suggestion is maybe have a midweek date night or something though to use a couple more hours. You pay the same even if you use less hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It’s not a trade though. APs are comparing your family to those in different locations, different kid mix, different hours, different perks like bigger houses, cars, vacation homes, etc. You can find someone, but remember you are competing for APs with good English, better drivers, more experience, good looks, etc. it’s a matching process somewhat like speed dating, you just have to realize how it works and know what compromises you can make.

Also once they come, they can rematch if they change their mind or find a better family. Do a good job of screening them ahead.

This. You are competing against families with just 1 or 2 kids so you likely need to sweeten the deal to attract a good au pair.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was an au pair 25 years ago. The bathroom is not an issue at all. In Europe we have much smaller houses and it’s not standard for anyone to have their own bathroom. I watched 3 kids similar ages to yours and it was fine. I worked 12-7 two days a week and 3-7 the other 3 days. They didn’t make me work weekends just to use up my hours (45 max per week) which was super nice of them. My suggestion is maybe have a midweek date night or something though to use a couple more hours. You pay the same even if you use less hours.

25 years ago they didn’t have internet advice sites to tell APs what they should look for in a family.