Is an Au Pair worth it for the convenience if I am basically seeking a better work life balance?

[Anonymous]

I would say stay away if you can.The emotional stress and financial burden (which adds up) and added to the APs poor work ethic (especially with the new arrivals in the last 6 months).If you have a nanny, family assistant or family members to help out with the kids and supervise the AP, it may work.We do not plan to extend our AP contract nor continue with our contract with the AP agency.

[Anonymous]

I would say no unless you NEED one which is usually necessitated by being in an high cost of living area with two full time workers and schedule demands. I have had a positive experience and am still looking forward to going back to less hours but more targeted. The language thing was a challenge for us with the preschool slash Kindy age. I could speak the au pairs native language but even over a year she still struggled with the kids, and I feel like the language barrier created the kids not feeling "heard" quite a bit.