3 Reasons Why Au Pairs Are Great for Working Parents
As the coronavirus continues to keep schools and daycares closed, many working parents are finding au pairs to be a great solution for in-home childcare. Au pairs are more than just childcare providers, though.
They also offer families an opportunity to explore a new culture and language. Here are 3 reasons why au pairs are great for working parents.
1. They Give You Time Back
Au Pairs are a great way to get time back from your daily routine, says expertaupair.com. They help with meal prep, laundry, cleaning the kids’ rooms and keeping their areas tidy. This frees up your time to spend more quality time with the children or do activities you enjoy.
Additionally, Au Pairs can assist with chores that are related to the children such as vacuuming or sweeping the playroom or kitchen. These tasks can be especially time consuming when you have multiple young children. Having an extra set of hands in the home can make all the difference in your daily life.
Many Au Pairs come from all over the world. They bring with them a variety of languages, customs, recipes and holiday traditions. Being open to learning about these traditions can be a fun and educational experience for the whole family.
Au pairs also benefit from gaining independence and the experience of living with a new family. It’s important to keep in mind that Au Pairs are still young adults who have not yet lived on their own and may need some guidance to live in a new household. It is also important to have realistic expectations about what an Au Pair can and cannot do.
One of the best ways to make an Au Pair feel at home is to include them in the family’s meals and social activities. During the holidays, when Au Pairs are more likely to feel homesick, it’s a good idea to have them over for a traditional Christmas dinner or introduce them to your favorite family traditions.
Another way Host Parents support their Au Pairs is by allowing them to travel during their off-hours. While this may not be an option for all families, it can be a great way to combat homesickness and see the country they now call home.
Some Host Parents even take their Au Pair to visit the museums and local attractions to help them become familiar with the area. This can be a wonderful opportunity for them to meet other people in the area and to make friends that can relate to her cultural experiences.
Host Parents are not only able to give their Au Pairs the independence they need, but they are also able to provide them with an invaluable work and study experience. They learn what it’s like to have an employer and to fulfill their expectations, and how to communicate when a misunderstanding arises. This is a valuable lesson that will serve them well in their future careers. In fact, one of our former Au Pairs credits her Host Parents for helping her to select the college she currently attends. We couldn’t agree more!
2. They Give You Peace of Mind
When you work from home, it can be easy to get distracted by what’s going on in your kids’ lives and whether or not you’re getting your projects done. Having an au pair can help you feel less stressed and worried about your children and their needs.
The au pair program provides you with a live-in caretaker who is focused solely on your children. Your au pair will take a lot of the stress out of child care, as they can handle things like rushing your kids off to school, dealing with snow days, and finding last minute childcare solutions for when a family event comes up.
You can also feel confident that your au pair will be able to handle any situation that might arise while you’re at work. They have gone through rigorous screening and training, including an extensive interview in English and verification of professional references. They are also generally between the ages of 18 and 26, so they are used to working with teenagers and young adults and can deal with any challenging situations that may arise with your kids.
When they aren’t busy with your kids, au pairs enjoy spending time with you and bonding with your family. They can make dinner and do household chores that aren’t necessarily related to their childcare responsibilities. This is a great way to create a stronger bond with your au pair and show them that you are interested in their well-being and want to build trust.
Au pairs are from a variety of cultures and are used to living in a different way than Americans. They will often rely on their Host Parents to guide them when it comes to cultural differences. This can include explaining basic vocabulary and idioms, letting them know where to find the fire extinguisher, teaching them your emergency evacuation plan, or giving them a list of phone numbers for friends and family in case they need to call someone for help.
If you’re moving to a new assignment, your au pair will be with you every step of the way — helping you pack, move and settle in. They will also be there to take care of your kids during those times, giving you peace of mind while you focus on military responsibilities.
3. They Are More Flexible
One of the great things about having an au pair is that you can customize their work hours to fit your needs. While au pairs are required to have a set number of work hours each week, they can be more flexible with their time outside of those hours, which makes it easier for you and your family to get the coverage you need for dates nights, gym classes, etc.
Additionally, many au pairs are willing to adjust their schedule to accommodate your family’s special needs, like if the kids have an after-school activity or you have a doctor’s appointment. This flexibility is another reason why many working parents choose au pairs over traditional childcare options.
However, it is important to consider that having an au pair living in your home does come with some potential downsides. One of the most significant is a loss of privacy, as au pairs typically reside in the home with their host families and are treated as members of the household. However, most families find the sacrifice of some privacy to be worth the peace of mind and convenience of having a dedicated care provider.
Cultural exchange is also a big part of the au pair experience, so many au pairs will be eager to share their home culture with you and your children. Many au pairs will introduce your family to foods, traditions, social customs, and more that you might not be exposed to in the same way at home. This is an incredible opportunity to learn about a different country from the inside out and gain a greater understanding of the world’s many different perspectives.
While some au pairs can be a little naughty and will need to be disciplined from time to time (we had one who totaled our car, stole money, and did drugs), most are well-behaved and respectful of their host families. It’s important to interview any potential au pairs carefully to make sure they are a good match for your family. Be sure to discuss how you plan on communicating with each other daily, weekly, and monthly, as well as how you expect your au pair to handle any situations that arise.
The au pair program is not perfect, but it is the best solution we currently have for affordable, quality child care in America. Many families can’t afford to pay full-time wages for daycare, and it is challenging to find high-quality child care workers that have both the skills and flexibility to meet all of your family’s needs. Some au pairs feel the program underpays them, while others are afraid better labor protections could turn them into daycare workers and strip away the cultural exchange component of the program. No matter what, most au pairs know that the benefits far outweigh the risks.
