another childcare thing

[ksmum]

At what age do you think it is OK to have an au pair look after your child? My dd will be 3 1/2 in September and will be going to nursery in the mornings. We would be able to take her to nursery but would need somebody to pick her up and look after her from 1pm until i got home about 6 (4 days per week).

MY dh will often but not always be at home (he works from home quite a lot) so he could sort of keep an eye on her, but sometimes they would be in sole charge.

Another option is a live in nanny: but the cost may be far too much. How much are they (we are in w london: CMs are 50 per day nannies 80 net).

Generally, I would say an au-pair is more suited to care for a school aged child. You may get lucky though and find an au-pair who has prior childcare experience, who is used to 3 year olds.

Not sure on live-in nanny rates... try searching NannyJob as though you were a nanny looking for a live-in job, that could give an indication of what others in your area are offering.

I've had Au Pairs since my daughter was 2 1/2. The level of responsibility they can take on depends a lot on how old the Au Pair is, but many of the girls coming from non-mainstream European Countries are well into their twenties. Our last Au Pair was 25 and came from the Ukraine and the one before from Mongolia (!)These older girls often have had employment in their home countries and are very mature compared to the sterotypical Swedish 18 year old just coming for the Summer. They are also a lot less prone to home sickness!