Reply to Ugh...really down on the au pair program. Anyone having a good experience out there?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Longtime HM here. Our five best APs were 22, 23, 19, 19, and 21. Our two flameouts were both 26. Age doesn't always say too much. [/quote]

A good reminder.  Was there anything you saw that the best ones had in common?[/quote]'

Yes.  Ambition to be good at what they were doing and the smarts to achieve their ambitions.  In our first four years in the program (2005-2009), we had an extremely hard job: 45 hours/week with one child who was in preschool part day (and eventually kindergarten) and the other an infant (and eventual toddler) with special needs.  Our best APs at this time were the 22 and 23 year olds -- they had graduated from college and had interest in working with children.  One went on to get her MA in special ed and is married and lives right near us now (we're both in a totally different city from where we were when she was our AP), and the other went home and got her MBA and has a very successful career using her English and her business skills.  Our second stint in the program (2011-present) we have had the two 19 year olds and the 21 year old (now).  The two 19 year olds were both straight out of HS and very motivated, bright, college-bound young women.  They both brought great smarts and focus to the job and had a high level of performance expectation for themselves (and our children - which was great).  Our current AP is 21 but going to college next year, so very similar in model to the two 19 year olds who were focused on having a "year to learn" before going to college.

In the cases of the four APs mentioned who have completed their AP programs (the 22 and 23 year olds and the two 19 year olds), the learning they did during their AP year changed their life trajectory.  The first switched from physical therapy into special ed and now has a great job at a prestigious Montessori school.  The second, as I mentioned, improved her English so much that she uses it daily as a mid-level executive an international corporation - a rarity for a young woman in Brazil.  The two 19 year olds both changed what they wanted to study in college as a result of their time here: the first from German and history to English and art, and the second from medicine to psychology.  In both cases, this was as a result of the courses they took while here and the learning they did in understanding our children (one of whom is gifted and the other who has significant learning disabilities and other special needs).

The AP job can be a "year off" or a "passing through" time to party and play, or it can be a fundamental, pivotal year that can alter the career path and indeed life of a young person.  Along the way, after the two 26 year old flame outs, we have learned to look during the matching process for candidates who have really big goals for their AP year: yes, to travel and see the US (our APs have traveled to upwards of 20 states each, most of them) and yes, to have a great time and go out and enjoy, but also to learn a lot, to have their ideas and minds opened, to be open to new approaches and new ways of doing things, to challenge themselves with courses and new experiences, and to be SUCCESSFUL at whatever they set their minds and hands to doing.

Ambition and a sense of self-improvement and openness to learning are not limited to the 24+ year old candidates.  Being a part of helping change a young person's life is part of what keeps us in the program, along with the great loving, stimulating, and compassionate care our APs provide to our children.[/quote]

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