[HollyBearsMom]

I recently noticed an ad on this site for Au Pairs and it go me thinking about them as a Child Care Provider. I live in the boston area so my first reaction is always "The Nanny Case" invovling Louise woodward,an overseas nanny/au apair. But I know there have to be great stories too...

I currently have a nanny that we adore and is truly part of the family. Her family is growing however with 3 new grandchildren in the last year so my fear is that she may leave to be with one her kids.

So, Do you think au pairs are a safe, viable alternative to atrained/skilled nanny. (Provided of course the come from a reputable service)

On one hand I think- great! expose my child to another language and/or culture! Help a young person get the experiences they need/want! Also- the cost is so much less than a nanny. On the other hand I think of what I was like at 18-19 and living in Europe. WooHoo!!! Parteee! Would this be "just a job", a means to the end to be able to come to the states for a year or two?

So anyone out there have an experiences to tell??

 

[Harper]

I have a 24 year old Romanian au pair (S) for my 8 month old dd and I am very happy with the arrangment. I had to go back to work when dd was 16 weeks old and I was wary of commercial day care because of the 4 to 1 ratio and I could not afford a regular nanny. I wanted dd to have one on one attention. I will say that it hasn't always been perfect but the majority of the time I feel completely comfortable and know that dd is being well cared for.

There were definately times that I felt like I had adopted a teenager--like the night before she was supposed to be alone with the baby for the first time all day and she stayed out until 1am. But I set a curfew for work nights and she has followed it ever since. That was probably the worst. We had some adjustment issues. She had some jealously issues about the fact that all of her au pair friends were living in mansions and driving lexus' and my dh and I are solidly middle class with cars from the early 90s. She was depressed for awhile. I think some of it was regular adjustment problems.

The biggest plus for me is that S doesn't go home at the end of the night. I get to see her interact with dd every day and I know that they love each other. DD gets excited when she sees S after a couple of days and the au pair will take her from me and play with her even after spending 10 straight hours alone with her. S likes to go with us to the doctor and participate in decisions about what to feed her and how to get her to take naps. S is part of the decision-making process because she truly cares about dd and she spends more time with her than I do

. My dh and I do not have that much in common with S but dd really brings us altogether. She will have to leave in January and it makes me very sad. My dh and I will get another au pair at that time.

I recommend it--although if I could afford a professional nanny I might consider that. But the agency that I go through you can request au pairs a certain age and you can pay extra for someone with extensive childcare experience. You also get to interview a number of different girls/women before you make a choice.

If you have other questions, feel free to pm me.