Space for Au Pair?

[Anonymous]

Good morning all. I am pregnant with my third child now ( have two older kids ), and we are considering getting an Au Pair. We have many friends who speak highly of Au Pairs, however the one thing that concerns me is our house is smaller than a lot of our friends who have Au Pairs. The Au Pair would have her own room ( pretty good size), but she would have to share a bathroom with the kids and her room is on the same floor as the kids. Do you think this would be hard for match/anything we could do to make this situation more appealing to the Au Pair?

[Anonymous]

I was an au pair in the same situation in a rematch. I loved the family snd had a great 11 mos with them. My 1st family i had my own room and bathroom on the top floor but they were awful in how they treated me.

[Anonymous]

We have just one shared full bathroom (plus a half bath) for two parents, a toddler, and our au pair. The tradeoff for the smaller space is that AP gets to live in the middle of the city. It's fine as long as you have a good system for who takes a shower when.

[Anonymous]

It's absolutely not a problem. Talk about it before you match.

The APs who do have a problem with it will usually self-select themselves out of your consideration. If you somehow never talk about it and they get here, they will likely rematch for superficial reasons anyway.

We have a similar arrangement AND tell AP that she's responsible for keeping the bathroom clean. We do not even hint that we might have a house cleaner because we want an AP willing to clean up after toddler boy misses rather than a princess horrified at the prospect of lifting a finger to do anything.

Trust me. You want to avoid those princesses at all costs. Rematch sucks.

[Anonymous]

You shouldn't have a problem. Most APs come from countries with smaller houses.

[Anonymous]

Depends on situation and family. Some families keep things fairly tidy and I'd see no problem. Other families have chaotic and messy spaces. Would you want to clean up overtime before you used the bathroom or shower? I wouldn't! Certain things are more doable, others would be non-negotiable.

[Anonymous]

We don’t have a private bath to offer and 3 years into the program everyone is still happy.

[Anonymous]

It should be no problem but I would try to choose an au pair from a country where they are used to shared bathrooms and lots of family. I would also do your best to make the room comfortable with a TV and seating area so they have a place to go and spend time alone.

[Anonymous]

With APs, just like with relationships, it’s about a packaged deal. Taken in isolation, a shared bathroom is not as good as a private one. It’s a fact. But at the end, it’s about so many more things: location, children, schedule, perks, and most importantly, your family! What’s important is to disclose as much of a package during the matching process as possible. Good luck, OP!

[Anonymous]

i have a one-level house and 1 bathroom. My Au pairs never had an issue with the sole bathroom for her, myself and my daughter. A small happy family in a small house of 900-sq feet. We have visited all 3 au pairs in their home countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We don’t have a private bath to offer and 3 years into the program everyone is still happy.

Our APs had to share with two girls. Maybe this might be an issue with mixed genders, but just try to sweeten things another way. More time off, a dedicated car or Metro Pass, etc. Some told me their AP friends with separate suites felt isolated or (in the case of basement suites) didn't like hearing footsteps above them on weekends. (I think we tend to be more mindful of quiet times on the floor where our bedrooms (& the AP bedroom) are located.) Just make sure your children respect her privacy.