Au Pair childcare supports the kids in obvious ways. Host Parents expect their Au Pair perform childcare responsibilities with love, excitement and ambition. Parents also benefit from the confidence, strength and tranquility a trusted Au Pair partner provides. Host Parents work guilt free knowing their children are loved all day long and when not working knowing they can be present with their family. When an Au Pair joins the home, Host Parents achieve goals beyond parenting.
For an Au Pair, living with your family is a dream come true. It’s not a job performed for money. This difference in mindset is why Host Parents love having an Au Pair as a childcare partner, reliable teammate and great friend!
~ Jennifer, Host Mom in Minneapolis, MN with 4 children ages 1 to 8
Perhaps the most significant benefit she brings is that she enables us to be better parents. By lightening our load, she allows us to connect deeply with our kids. We routinely take each kid out individually for special dates on their own, while D [Au Pair] watches the others, in order to give one on one attention to each of them… Something that is rare with four kids in a busy house.
She is very intentional with our children, taking care to consider how her words and actions affect them and our family. Her ability to consistently have patience with them is incredible, and she has been a role model to me, showing me how to better engage with them and create trust. Because I know my children are in her nurturing care during the day, I am able to work away from home without worry, knowing that they are receiving love that I would consider nearly equivalent to a parent’s love. I consider A [Au Pair] a true partner in our childcare plan and value her judgment and abilities.
~ Amber, Host Mom in Ann Arbor, MI with 3 children ages 2 to 7
When we rush in the door at 6:30pm after long days at work, we feel so lucky not to stress about dinner and enjoy our time together as a family. Friday nights, which used to be the hardest night for us after a long week of work, have become a night we all look forward to. On Friday afternoons, C [Au Pair] and the kids prep ingredients for homemade pizzas. Then when we get home from work, everyone puts on pajamas and makes their own custom pizza to eat while watching a movie or playing a game. We have so much fun we’ve begun to invite family or friends (including other au pairs) to join us. While cooking isn’t part of her “official” job duties as an au pair, C volunteered to help us because she could see that dinner was a stress point for us and she wanted to help. This is just one way she always goes above and beyond.
~ Anna, Host Mom in Minneapolis, MN with 2 children ages 4 and 6
I am so proud of him [Host Kid] that he works every hard at school and that is also what he told me when he finishes his school, I am so proud of that he is proud of himself. I am so proud of him that he is trying his best to do better on his schoolwork during the quarantine time. I am happy that i am with here to witness his growth for almost one and half years, and definitely the good boy is keeping growing up.
~ Xuejing, Au Pair from China caring for 2 children ages 6 and 8
~ Elizabeth, Host Mom in Detroit, MI with 3 children ages 3 to 7
Being a partner that makes it possible for our family to do great things together while being a fantastic role model for our kids is what makes G [Au Pair] truly exceptional.
I can not just tell an experience in general, because every day, they are the best family that I could choose, I adore the children like my little brothers, I love to take care of them and help you everytime, also I love to eat together with the delicious dishes that you prepare, I love how you make the healthy food a delicious dish.
~ Rosa from Ecuador, living in Philadelphia PA, caring for 3 children ages 3 to 8
What really makes D [Au Pair] more than an au pair to us is the dedication and love that she shows outside of her work hours and expectations. She often spends her free time just hanging out with us, playing games with the kids, going grocery shopping with me, and helping with meals and dishes. She has a knack for knowing what needs to be done and then just doing it, even if it’s not in her job description. It’s like having an angel living with us! There are so many ways she makes life better for all of us!
~ Anna, Host Mom in Anchorage, AK with 2 children ages 3 and 6
I believe myself to be one of the happiest AuPair in the world, because the situation with coronavirus actually helped us to become closer. Naturally we spend more time together so I have more opportunities to play, talk, cook, and read the books with “my” boys. The 2 1/2-year-old toddler always helps me in preparing lunch (but he never eats it) and doing laundry and occasionally even in clean up! The 6 years old kindergartener tidies up bravely, makes a dinner in the shape of a boat (thankfully he’s a good eater), makes up with some experiences and asks me for reading the same book about Star Wars vehicles again and again and again.
~ Anna from Poland, living in Stamford, CT, caring for 2 children ages 3 and 6
~ Palak, Host Mom in Philadelphia, PA with 2 children ages 9 mo. and 2
Both me and my husband are working and sometimes are days are long. I am also part of a dance troupe and have been performing several times over the last few months. I would have not been able to follow my passion if it was not for G [Au Pair] and her help. Being a mother of an infant It was so easy to go back to work knowing that I can fully trust the person who is taking care of my child.
Having J [Au Pair] as part of our family, has given me the opportunity to finish my master’s degree, keeps my husband at work on regular hours, and gets a third person helping with child taxi service, otherwise I would be in the car for hours. J’s presence has allowed our family to travel and experience regular family vacations which would not be possible without his help.
~ Ingrid, Host Mom in Houston, TX with 3 children age 9 to 16
~ Paola from Ecuador, caring for 2 children age 3
The perfect host family is a family who respect you like an adult, independent and show you their appreciation. We are a team. I love them because they let me be the authority when I am alone with the kids, they respect my decisions and if they are not agreed with something we can always to talk. My host parents know who I am and I know that I am a good person looking for the best for our children. I am really appreciated that they have an open place to talk about my feelings, because every day in the year is not always the happiest. But they can be better when you have the right people to give you an advice and wait with you for a better tomorrow.