⏱ Reading time: 5 min.
After reading the
information about the Au Pair program, the
pros and cons of hosting an Au Pair, you are considering the
Au Pair program as a child care solution for your family. We have written this seven step guide to help you become a Host Family and find a suitable Au Pair for your children. Where do you start?
You can register on AuPair.com for free to find your ideal Au Pair. There are more than 600 new users registering with us every day, so you will have plenty of options to choose from. To stand out among other families, we recommend you to make your
profile interesting and competitive.
AuPair.com is the best place to find an Au Pair online - register with us, create your profile and look for the perfect Au Pair!
Join AuPair.com
Fill in the information about your family, add some
pictures to make your profile more interactive. Write your expectations for your future Au Pair and what responsibilities you would like them to share. If you use your mother tongue to describe your family, we recommend using easy grammar and vocabulary!
Video: How Does Au Pair.com Work?
In the following video we're looking at how aupair.com works.
Once you have registered and created your profile, you can start searching for Au Pairs matching your criteria. Add Au Pairs you like to your Favorites. This way you will form a selective list of favorite users and they will also receive a notification about your interest. You can also send a
free request to the best candidates. Au Pairs will be able to either accept or deny your request.
Once you have found several Au Pair profiles of your interest, become a
Premium Member. A Premium Membership will give you the opportunity to write personalized emails to different Au Pairs who will be able to answer to you as well. This way you will get to know each other better and exchange further contact details. Try to contact 5-10 Au Pairs per day to make the matching process more efficient.
After shortlisting the most suitable Au Pair candidates, it is really important to arrange a live video-call with them. This way you will get to know each other better and understand who will be the most suitable Au Pair for your family. Moreover, a live video-call will help you avoid possible
scam attempts. Scammers are afraid to reveal their identity, thus they refuse to join video-calls.
Before the interview, think of a list of questions and topics you would like to discuss with your potential Au Pair. For instance:
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Childcare experience and references
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Family life and friends
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Health and food
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Driver’s license
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Homesickness and cultural differences
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Family routine
If you are fond of a certain Au Pair during the interview, you can organize another talk to discuss more specific information about
accommodation, boarding,
pocket money, specific laws and rules of your country for foreigners,
insurance, transportation and other important parts of the
Au Pair program. Read more
interview tips to arrange a more essential conversation.
Try to talk slowly and be patient as your spoken language will not be the Au Pair's mother tongue. Learning a foreign language takes time and your Au Pair will probably make a huge effort during the conversation!
The Au Pair contract is a document containing the most important details of cooperation between an Au Pair and a Host Family. It can help you avoid many possible misunderstandings and
problems during the Au Pair stay. You can download the
Au Pair contract template and modify it together with your Au Pair according to your needs.
The Au Pair contract will allow you to formulate your expectations towards the Au Pair. Discuss all the points together and sign it.
Learn more!
Premium Members gain access to the improved version of the Au Pair contract, with many additional points. After both parties sign the contract, the Host Family might need to send the original to the Au Pair in case they need a
visa. As a Host Family you might need to submit additional documents (e.g.
invitation letter) to clear the formalities.
If you would like to help your future Au Pair with the travel
costs, include this in the Au Pair contract and establish monthly installments that will be added to the Au Pair
pocket money, but do not pay for the travel cost in advance!
Once all formalities are set, and your Au Pair is about to arrive, there are some points to take care of in advance:
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Children - try to explain the situation to your children and talk about the new Au Pair with them, so they can get used to them faster.
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Au Pair room - ensure the room fulfills the requirements and has furniture.
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Contact details - exchange contact details with your Au Pair - mobile phone number, landline phone number, address, phone number of Au Pair’s parents so you can be connected in case of a delay or a change of plans.
We recommend you to prepare a
working schedule so your Au Pair will know what a normal day in your family looks like. This way, the Au Pair will also have a chance to plan their free time and join any course or activity that help socializing.
Introduce your Au Pair to your family and your daily routine. It may take a few days until the Au Pair feels more comfortable and becomes more confident. Be patient and understanding, they are living with a foreign family in a foreign country where the language and the culture might vary.
In order to adapt to the changes faster, we recommend discussing the following terms with your Au Pair at the very beginning of the stay:
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Weekly schedule: What do you expect the Au Pair to do and when?
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Rules in your home
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Use of the Internet and telephone
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Language course, as it is one of the requirements of the program
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Financial issues
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Bank account
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Emergency issues
Try to discuss everything in a friendly way and make your Au Pair feel comfortable enough to talk to you about anything.
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