Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had an au pair stay with us today, and we were quite surprised at how friendly they were and how little they costed verse our day-to-day nanny.

What are your opinions of Au pairs

"Costed" is not a word and "verse" makes no sense

What’s with the nitpicking at spelling and grammar? I see it often. Does it make you feel better about yourself? Op still got his/her point across.

If OP wishes to be taken seriously then she should learn correct Enish and not make up words that make her appear functionally illiterate.

I'll put in a good word for APs. I wouldn't have stuck with the program for over a decade if it hadn't been a good experience. Sure they are younger than most nannies, but also generally sharp, energetic, open-minded, without a lot of attitude that they know more than their charges' parents. And yes, we had APs with our infants, though I spent a lot of time training/orienting them before returning to work. It's also an opportunity for your children to learn about different cultures and be introduced to new interests. Our APs did gymnastics, soccer, skating, horseback riding, martial arts, and bicycling, so my kids got exposure to some sports that I wouldn't necessarily have had them try because I don't do all those things. Plus most of the APs stayed close enough to our family that we see them in person when we go to Europe and vice versa. We weren't wealthy enough to pay $50-60K for a nanny, but we were willing to put in the investment in the AP/HF relationship to make it work reasonably well for us. Of course, no caregiver is perfect, so you'll need to remind even the rock star AP once in a while, and occasionally, you'll get someone who needs to go home early due to home sickness or unsuitability.

Loved my 3 au pairs. Got the first one when my daughter was 13 months. Au pair was 21 going on 26-- i.e., very mature and from a country where women are gaga over babies. She could never have come to the US otherwise.

The second au pair was her best friend, who came to visit her/us and we connected so much she became our next au pair.

>>This isn’t a creative writing forum. <<

That spelling sure was creative! Costed? Verse?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:An ap is a young adult that needs guidance and is also new to this country and she lives with you. There's is a 45 hr limit to her working and the cost is not just the weekly stipend but the agency fees, food etc. A nanny is an employee who is completely self sufficient, with experience and unless love in goes home at night and has her own life and can also work more than 45 hrs a week depending on your contract.
They are completely different childcare options. I wouldn't use an ah pair for a toddler or preschooler but for elementary kids and the split shift of morning and a little after school would make sense.

This. There are additional costs for an au pair, and strict limits on how many hours they can work. And you have responsibilities to her, even when she's not working. She's not a child-care professional, and she has to go home after one or two years. And some au pairs view it as more of a vacation, and there may be culture clashes or problems with integrating her into your household in terms of meals, chores, etc. A nanny is a professional, you can agree that she will work more hours in exchange for overtime, and you aren't responsible for her in her off hours. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options.

This. Someone on this forum said it best: All au pairs are 19, no matter how long they have been on this earth.

I would only get an au pair if:
1). It is significantly cheaper than any other childcare option (this is not true in many areas of the country), and the extra money will make a big difference in your life.
2). It is very important to you that your child learn a second language, and you want this language spoken by her caregiver.
3). You have a difficult schedule requiring a split shift or week to week changes in your childcare needs.

If none of these is you, I wouldn’t even look at the au pair program.

Anonymous wrote:An ap is a young adult that needs guidance and is also new to this country and she lives with you. There's is a 45 hr limit to her working and the cost is not just the weekly stipend but the agency fees, food etc. A nanny is an employee who is completely self sufficient, with experience and unless love in goes home at night and has her own life and can also work more than 45 hrs a week depending on your contract.
They are completely different childcare options. I wouldn't use an ah pair for a toddler or preschooler but for elementary kids and the split shift of morning and a little after school would make sense.

This. There are additional costs for an au pair, and strict limits on how many hours they can work. And you have responsibilities to her, even when she's not working. She's not a child-care professional, and she has to go home after one or two years. And some au pairs view it as more of a vacation, and there may be culture clashes or problems with integrating her into your household in terms of meals, chores, etc. A nanny is a professional, you can agree that she will work more hours in exchange for overtime, and you aren't responsible for her in her off hours. There are advantages and disadvantages to both options.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had an au pair stay with us today, and we were quite surprised at how friendly they were and how little they costed verse our day-to-day nanny.

What are your opinions of Au pairs

"Costed" is not a word and "verse" makes no sense

What’s with the nitpicking at spelling and grammar? I see it often. Does it make you feel better about yourself? Op still got his/her point across.

+1
I agree.
This person needs to get themselves a life.
This isn’t a creative writing forum.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We had an au pair stay with us today, and we were quite surprised at how friendly they were and how little they costed verse our day-to-day nanny.

What are your opinions of Au pairs

"Costed" is not a word and "verse" makes no sense

What’s with the nitpicking at spelling and grammar? I see it often. Does it make you feel better about yourself? Op still got his/her point across.

An ap is a young adult that needs guidance and is also new to this country and she lives with you. There's is a 45 hr limit to her working and the cost is not just the weekly stipend but the agency fees, food etc. A nanny is an employee who is completely self sufficient, with experience and unless love in goes home at night and has her own life and can also work more than 45 hrs a week depending on your contract.
They are completely different childcare options. I wouldn't use an ah pair for a toddler or preschooler but for elementary kids and the split shift of morning and a little after school would make sense.

04.23 here.

Sorry, I meant to add more and actually reply to the OP

Don't see just the pay gap. Depending on the age of your children, it might be better to keep your nanny, especially if they're fond of her.

For older children who only needs before and after school care it might be nice to get an AP. But don't expect the same level of maturity than an older nanny.

And most importantly : are you ready to share your house with an AP? Some are good roomates (I was), some are "in the way" all the time and you don't feel at home, it can be a pain.

I am a former Au Pair and now professional nanny.

I am happy I was able to come to the US as an Au Pair when I was younger. The experience was worth it even though my host family was terrible.

It was the cheapest way for me to come to the US and get some money to buy my everyday needs so that I didn't have to ask my own parents. It was $140 a week by then and while it was not much, it was enough to buy what I needed by then : clothes, outings, toiletries, some weekends away : Greyhound buses and cheap youth hostels ...
I wouldn't have been able to come to the US any other way. Coming to study was not something my family could afford. So I'm glad the program existed and that I was able to join.

Now that I'm a nanny and make good money, I can see how underpaid I was. The room and board doesn't add up to make for a deserved salary.

I don't think the program should stop but it should absolutely change and the girls should be paid more.

Au pair program is modern-day indentured servitude. The entire program should be stopped.

Anonymous wrote:We had an au pair stay with us today, and we were quite surprised at how friendly they were and how little they costed verse our day-to-day nanny.

What are your opinions of Au pairs

"Costed" is not a word and "verse" makes no sense

Cheap childcare option for ppl looking to cut corners. They are young inexperienced women being taken advantage of under the guise of a cutural experience.

So many parents in the AP forum seem to complain about them bc their expectations are too high.

We had an au pair stay with us today, and we were quite surprised at how friendly they were and how little they costed verse our day-to-day nanny.

What are your opinions of Au pairs