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Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

au pairs advice /rules please - all experiences come and tell me!

6 replies

scrummummy · 02/07/2013 21:31

Hi we re going to be getting an au pair. I have posted on au pair world and so am I hopeful of getting one fairly quickly. So what advice would you give me? What should/shouldn't I be looking for?
The aupair will be needed from 7-830 school drop off and 330-7 pick up and dinner.
Come tell me your good and bad stories!

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Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Snoot · 02/07/2013 23:59

I would say set out your rules early, being wishy washy and liberal is going to help nobody. This is from my own experience of mucking it up! The au pair is not your friend and you need to set boundaries as s/he might well not be able to read your social cues as easily as someone from your own culture. We only did it once, she was lovely but I mucked it up by being too "nice" and she really got on our nerves through no fault of her own.

For instance:

What food in the fridge can (I'm going with "she" here for ease, sorry!) she help herself to? Ours was young and ate everything, leading to family size to visions being depleted before supper.

Do you want her sitting with you all evening? Ours had TV, computer etc in her room but constantly sat with us.

Who can she ask for decisions? Ours would ask DH in my hearing and then come and ask me, obviously not trusting his answer, this drove DH mad.

Mornings, is waiting outside the bathroom to ask you questions appropriate? How are you first thing? This drive me mad.

Is allowing a child to cycle in flip flops a good idea? All that stuff you've learned as a parent.

Put it all in writing, set the rules so you don't have to have awkward 2nd language conversations after the fact. Good luck :-)

Snoot · 03/07/2013 00:01

Provisions! Not "to visions", sorry :-)

scrummummy · 03/07/2013 11:01

that s great just the kind of thing. how many rules would you put as i dont want to put her off with it being too many?

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Snoot · 03/07/2013 14:45

Just run through your day's routine on paper for yourself and work out what you want to say, such as you're happy to eat with her 3 days a week but would like privacy with your husband the other days so please can she eat with the children in those days. She is supposed to be learning English and living as part if a family but it's not a ménage a trois, she needs a place to fit in, between child and parent. I'd spend a couple of days thinking about it if I were you, work out where she can fit in, write it all down, leave it a day or two and then reread to see if you're coming across as pompous and pernickety or clear and fair Wink

pjn1 · 07/07/2013 22:48

Advice on au pair world criteria please. Its like looking for a needle in a hay stack. Spent 2 months skyping, references, interviews in own language and then 3 weeks post arrival she finds another job in London and gives a weeks notice. Is this normal behaviour? What happened to au pair agencies who helped with recruitment or is this old fashioned? Now totally up the creek.

scrummummy · 08/07/2013 12:41

I've spent the weekend responding to girls who have applied, extra points to ones with their own words not standard and more to those who have read my profile as au pair jobs in london sought after. im not going to spend ages skyping an interview then followed up by quick chats once we have a start date chase up references.

When you said interviews in own language do you mean their language? if so no I dont speak their language and they want to come here to learn english.
I dont trust agencies, i used a nanny agency in the past and the girl left after 6 weeks as she wanted to go home and the agency couldnt replace her so we wasted £2.5K on agency fees. There seem to be loads of girls wanting to come and improve their english so i think contact loads with different start dates and if one doesnt work out you have ones to fall back on.

well thats the plan Ill see if it works out Wink

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