What is an Au Pair? Read the Definition of Au Pair & More

Au Pair Meaning / Definition

An Au Pair is a young person from another country, between the ages of 18-26, who lives with a Host Family for one to two years on a J-1 exchange visa while providing childcare in exchange for a stipend, education contribution, and room-and-board.

It is an amazing cultural exchange opportunity for both the Host Family and the Au Pair, as the time spent together allows families and Au Pairs to share culture through food, language, hobbies, celebrations, and more.

An Au Pair becomes part of the family, and not just a hired hand, through caring for the children and cooking for them, cleaning up after them, helping them with homework, taking them to and from school and other activities, and so much more.

Most Host Families tend to think of their Au Pairs as a brother or sister, and get to know the Au Pair’s family back in their native country. Host families can help Au Pairs adjust to living in a new country by supporting their goals, educational and otherwise, and inviting them on vacations with the family.

What Does Au Pair Mean?

In French, “au pair” means “on par” or “equal to.” Cultural exchange and becoming part of an American Host Family are really at the core of the Au Pair program. Many Au Pairs keep in touch with their host families for years after their placement ends and they return to their home country.

To many Host Parents, they feel they’ve gained a brother or sister, and so do their kids! Au Pairs become a valuable and permanent member of families who really lean into the cultural exchange aspect of the program.

What Does an Au Pair Do?

Au Pairs provide a loving, live-in childcare experience and can help with childcare related tasks, like some household chores, driving the kids to school and activities, preparing meals for the kids, and more.

Check out our handy guide on Au Pair Duties & Responsibilities to learn more about what an Au Pair can do, and what they can’t do.

How long does an Au Pair stay with their American Host Family?

Au Pairs typically stay in the USA for 12-24 months, and can even return home for a year or two, then decide to come back and “Au Pair Again” if they’re still 26 years old or under.

Many families wonder about getting an Au Pair just for the summer, which is not how the program works, considering the J-1 Visa requirements by the Department of State.

What is an Au Pair? Let’s sum it up.

An Au Pair is 18-26 years old
They live with a Host Family in the USA for 12-24 months on a J-1 Au Pair Visa
Have childcare experience, with school age and often children under 2
Speak English – we rate their English speaking ability in our community profiles
Can work up to 45 hours hours per week, but not more than 10 hours in a day
Are carefully vetted by our Au Pair Agency and our International Partners

How Are Au Pairs Different From Other Caregivers?

While some caregivers, like nannies, can live with your family, most do not. Most families end up having to source a nanny on their own, who then commutes to the family’s house on agreed upon days and times.

american host family with their au pair on vacation

An Au Pair provides childcare options for Host Families that other forms of childcare simply do not. The flexibility of a live-in childcare experience is one that thousands of Host Parents have enjoyed through our Au Pair program over the years.

Another benefit that an Au Pair can provide that others usually do not is that an Au Pair costs the same no matter how many kids you have! As you’re aware, daycare typically charges you per child, which adds up very quickly.

Our complete guide will show you all the differences between an Au Pair vs Nanny vs Daycare.

How Can I Start Hosting an Au Pair?

If your family has a genuine interest in cultural exchange and gaining a new family member, our Au Pair program may be right for you!

We are using an Au Pair through Go Au Pair and we’ve been very happy. The process to get the nanny here was smooth and so far we haven’t run into any issues. This is a great program and we have referred it to many of our friends with babies.

Radostin Kanev

2023-07-17

We have had the pleasure of working with GoAuPair as our au pair agency, and we are satisfied with the placement and the services they have provided. Throughout the process, Gina has been incredibly supportive, taking the time to explain contracts and terms to us. Judith has also been wonderful in following up with us and has been friendly and helpful. We have been hosting au pairs since our twins were born, and we have had the opportunity to welcome four au pairs from Mexico and China, with another one soon to arrive from Peru. In our experience, the price we pay when working with an au pair through GoAuPair (including agency fees and au pair fees) is quite reasonable compared to the hourly rates of local nannies. It's important to note that with this cost-saving, there is a trade-off. We have dedicated time to train our au pairs, help them with driving and familiarize them with the area. In some cases, we have also supported them in improving their English language skills if needed. Additionally, we provide our au pairs with full access to a car and a membership to Lifetime Athletic, an excellent country club. We encourage them to explore the area and make friends. In return, our au pairs have been exceptional with our children and have taught them valuable second languages, such as Chinese and Spanish. Thanks to our au pairs, our kids are now trilingual and have become globally-oriented, embracing new cultures and languages. This experience has also instilled in them a broader understanding of the concept of a global economy and vision. Hosting au pairs has brought many positive aspects to our family life, and we have received excellent services from GoAuPair throughout the process. We highly recommend their services to anyone considering hosting an au pair.

Wenting Gao

2023-06-30

Great experience with Go Au Pair! Responsive and easy to work with. Helpful in answering questions. Found a great au pair to join our family and would highly recommend!

Kathryn Schaeffer

2023-05-26

We had a wonderful experience with this Au pair agency. We enjoyed being involved with the search and selection of the au pair (a unique feature that sets them apart). We are also impressed with the exceptional customer service. Our coordinator has been prompt in answering all of our questions and any concerns. We are grateful for this agency and all the staff working hard behind the scenes to make this program possible, thank you!

Aaron Thomas

2023-05-24

We have had two au pairs placed by Go Au Pair. I would recommend them as they have an excellent variety of au pairs to connect with.

Zane Aukee

2023-05-02

I have worked with several folks at Go Au Pair during my search process. They have all been well informed, respectful, responsive and a pleasure to work with. I would gladly recommend this agency to anyone in search of an Au Pair

Tom Dudzic

2023-04-19

I started this process about 2 weeks ago and was able to find a match, but not without endless amount of time invested. For the most part the pricing is stated upfront so you know what you're getting into, however, the fees for the flight/travel are unable to be determined until that is booked. PROS: - The representatives that you work with are very nice and helpful - They create the contract with the cost out after you've extended an offer to an AuPair pretty quickly - There are lots of AuPairs to choose from and a couple new ones might be added each week - There isn't a local representative in my area so my local rep was almost across the country from me so they assigned 2 people to help me out. Having the support was fine. Totally fine but I got confused on who I address for certain things in the beginning. - Final costs are about an extra $500-$1000 than whats stated upfront due to travel costs, etc. - Overall we are very happy so far with the process and the representatives we've been working with are super sweet and kind. They can really help you out and try to be super available for you. We were happy with our reps. CONS: - There are a lot of emails with bits and pieces of information, the next steps are not detailed in the beginning so there is a lot of things not exactly clear, mainly detailed info on the entire process. This was frustrating but if you talk to your rep to clear it up you should be fine - Payment plan details should be shown upfront because a family needs to see if it's realistically affordable or compare their local childcare pricing prior to starting the search and investing so much time into it. However, I guess a family going this route for childcare might not be stressing over little costs here and there? Not sure - Travel fees/cost need to be elaborated/clear a bit more in the beginning of the process

Krystal Ahmad

2023-03-28

There is a good selection of au pairs, and the search function makes it easy to find one that meets your needs. -Zane

JH DENALI

2022-10-04

We HIGHLY recommend Go Au Pair (GAP). In the world of working parent guilt and a global pandemic, it really does take a village to raise children--but what does one do when one's village alternates quarantining and childcare is chaos. When we heard about the au pair program and began to research it, we knew it was our only hope, though we had many concerns. The first was what agency to choose--a huge agency? A small agency? We wondered what role our agency would play, and agonized over the choice. Ultimately, GAP provided terrific, high-quality, personalized service that clearly comes from their experience in the AP world and not being so enormous that they lose sight of their families and APs. We are a family, not just a number, to GAP. Our AP is such a very special young lady who is authentic, bright, and thoughtful. She is fantastic with children, and an extremely strong driver. With 3 very young boys, having a third adult is such an unbelievable help in our family. Our AP is leaving an unforgettable impression on our children and has made it so easy to be a working parent. We cannot thank GAP enough!

Jamie K

2022-07-07

We first found Go Au Pair in January 2022 when we were looking for a childcare provider for our toddler. Their website is setup well and searching for candidates is simple. While filling out the host profile takes a bit of time it's worth it as both you and the au pairs are able to share a lot of information. We found an Au Pair in rematch and our local coordinator in town and placement manager were supportive. They were easy to get a hold of and always got back to us in a timely manner. While our match with our Au Pair did not last the staff at Go Au Pair has made moving on painless and helped provide our Au Pair with a new opportunity in a different state. They were impartial and patient while addressing our concerns.

Kevin Dahm

2022-05-09

Au Pair Agencies & Programs

There are many Au Pair programs through many Au Pair agencies, so we appreciate your time and consideration. Go Au Pair has been an official Au Pair Agency, as designated by The Department of State, for over 30 years. We work hard to make sure every Au Pair placement is as safe, reliable, trustworthy, fun, and flexible as possible.

To get started sharing your culture, and absorbing an Au Pair’s culture via language, food and fun, register for our free Host Family Community and start searching for potential Au Pairs today.