considering an au pair

[Anonymous]

Any positive or negative feedback regarding the experience would be appreciates. Single parent with on toddler here.

[Anonymous]

We were not so luck so we went back to babysitters. Our first one left to a certain big city. We came to find out she had a strong presence on insta and later found out she even had a modeling profile. Our second one was initially very hard working she kept the house clean until she got herself a boyfriend and she practically moved in him 2 month into her stay with us. We had to tell her that she can’t just come in the morning and leavie as soon as we got home (like a 7 to 4 gig). So came up a mutually agreed upon time she would home by and LCC thought it was very generous on our part. She constantly broke the agreement coming home 3 or 4 hours later that agreed upon time which was in the wee hours of the morning. Also she would constantly ask if she could leave early to go hang out with him. Once she asked take the kids to one on our mom friends so she could go to a game with her boyfriend. When I said no she was kind of pushy telling me that he bought VIP tickets and she was really hoping to have this experience. Despite all this, I think it is possible to find a good match with good vetting and a bit of luck. Do your due diligence. Do not take what the profile says at face value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We were not so luck so we went back to babysitters. Our first one left to a certain big city. We came to find out she had a strong presence on insta and later found out she even had a modeling profile. Our second one was initially very hard working she kept the house clean until she got herself a boyfriend and she practically moved in him 2 month into her stay with us. We had to tell her that she can’t just come in the morning and leavie as soon as we got home (like a 7 to 4 gig). So came up a mutually agreed upon time she would home by and LCC thought it was very generous on our part. She constantly broke the agreement coming home 3 or 4 hours later that agreed upon time which was in the wee hours of the morning. Also she would constantly ask if she could leave early to go hang out with him. Once she asked take the kids to one on our mom friends so she could go to a game with her boyfriend. When I said no she was kind of pushy telling me that he bought VIP tickets and she was really hoping to have this experience. Despite all this, I think it is possible to find a good match with good vetting and a bit of luck. Do your due diligence. Do not take what the profile says at face value.

Thank you for this. The above is exactly what I’m trying to avoid. I love the idea of a genuine au pair, who is trying to have an experience with an American family. At the same time I remember being in my early 20s and I personally would have made a terrible au pair. I wouldn’t even know where to begin to try and find a live-in nanny though…

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were not so luck so we went back to babysitters. Our first one left to a certain big city. We came to find out she had a strong presence on insta and later found out she even had a modeling profile. Our second one was initially very hard working she kept the house clean until she got herself a boyfriend and she practically moved in him 2 month into her stay with us. We had to tell her that she can’t just come in the morning and leavie as soon as we got home (like a 7 to 4 gig). So came up a mutually agreed upon time she would home by and LCC thought it was very generous on our part. She constantly broke the agreement coming home 3 or 4 hours later that agreed upon time which was in the wee hours of the morning. Also she would constantly ask if she could leave early to go hang out with him. Once she asked take the kids to one on our mom friends so she could go to a game with her boyfriend. When I said no she was kind of pushy telling me that he bought VIP tickets and she was really hoping to have this experience. Despite all this, I think it is possible to find a good match with good vetting and a bit of luck. Do your due diligence. Do not take what the profile says at face value.

Thank you for this. The above is exactly what I’m trying to avoid. I love the idea of a genuine au pair, who is trying to have an experience with an American family. At the same time I remember being in my early 20s and I personally would have made a terrible au pair. I wouldn’t even know where to begin to try and find a live-in nanny though…

Contact Susan at NannyPoppinz. She has live-in nannies all over the country, and she'll help you figure out what you need before finding a nanny who will fit your needs.

[Anonymous]

We had meh au pair experiences. One wrecked our car driving to her out of state boyfriend's house less than a month after arrival. Then she asked when we were going to fix it because she was young and needed to 'experience the culture'.

One was decent and we keep in touch but she was anxious and often asking me how to do handle basic tasks to the point where it was easier for me to just keep doing them.

One left early because she was homesick.

We didn't try again. That was enough for us since we lost over 5,000 of agency fees when the last one flew home early and we decided to not try our luck again.

Read the fine print because it's all luck if you find someone amazing.

[Anonymous]

We’ve had two Brazilian au pairs. First one was a party girl who was always moody because she wanted a car because everyone else had one. Whenever she wasn’t working, she was busy looking for a sugar daddy and eventually found one and started showing up with fancy things at home.

The second was better, not the party type but also had a similar issue with wanting a car after she found a long distance boyfriend in another state. She was shocked that we wouldn’t give her our car to drive all weekend and pay for the gas.

After the two we switched to daycare with a lot more peace of mind.

[Anonymous]

We only had one aupair who was great with the kids. However, she is naive, sensitive, needy and lacking of common sense. We were counting down days at the end.

We went back to an afterschool babysitter. Even though we lost the flexibility but it is so much easier to manage and it is so great to get our house back.

[Anonymous]

Why do you want an au pair? Start there. Flexibility? Pay less? Another 'adult' in the home? The experience?

[Anonymous]

We have had great au pairs 4 out of 5 times - there is lots of negative here but it can be a positive experience if you screen well. Generally, go for someone who is grateful to be here. For us that has meant central europe. We avoid brazilians bc of all the comments about entitlement etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We were not so luck so we went back to babysitters. Our first one left to a certain big city. We came to find out she had a strong presence on insta and later found out she even had a modeling profile. Our second one was initially very hard working she kept the house clean until she got herself a boyfriend and she practically moved in him 2 month into her stay with us. We had to tell her that she can’t just come in the morning and leavie as soon as we got home (like a 7 to 4 gig). So came up a mutually agreed upon time she would home by and LCC thought it was very generous on our part. She constantly broke the agreement coming home 3 or 4 hours later that agreed upon time which was in the wee hours of the morning. Also she would constantly ask if she could leave early to go hang out with him. Once she asked take the kids to one on our mom friends so she could go to a game with her boyfriend. When I said no she was kind of pushy telling me that he bought VIP tickets and she was really hoping to have this experience. Despite all this, I think it is possible to find a good match with good vetting and a bit of luck. Do your due diligence. Do not take what the profile says at face value.

Thank you for this. The above is exactly what I’m trying to avoid. I love the idea of a genuine au pair, who is trying to have an experience with an American family. At the same time I remember being in my early 20s and I personally would have made a terrible au pair. I wouldn’t even know where to begin to try and find a live-in nanny though…

Contact Susan at NannyPoppinz. She has live-in nannies all over the country, and she'll help you figure out what you need before finding a nanny who will fit your needs.

Thank you!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why do you want an au pair? Start there. Flexibility? Pay less? Another 'adult' in the home? The experience?

To have a live in

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We have had great au pairs 4 out of 5 times - there is lots of negative here but it can be a positive experience if you screen well. Generally, go for someone who is grateful to be here. For us that has meant central europe. We avoid brazilians bc of all the comments about entitlement etc.

Thanks. How did you screen for that? Thx in adv.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have had great au pairs 4 out of 5 times - there is lots of negative here but it can be a positive experience if you screen well. Generally, go for someone who is grateful to be here. For us that has meant central europe. We avoid brazilians bc of all the comments about entitlement etc.

Thanks. How did you screen for that? Thx in adv.

She literally told you. By country.

[Anonymous]

We started with a Brazilian AP. She was good with the kids, but moody and became entitled very quickly. We rematched with a Thai AP and have stayed with APs from Asia ever since with no major problems. Our current AP tells us that she meets a lot of South American APs and they usually trash talk their host families and kids. Her closest AP friends are all from Asia who seem to appreciate what they have rather than comparing perks.

[Anonymous]

In addition to screening by country we also look for girls who have lived on their own and had to provide for themselves to some degree at least --