Looking for a aupiar in whitton west london can any one help?

[omo]

I am thinking of going back to work at the end of next month. I've heard about aupairs but need advise on where to find one in West London, any suggestions? or registered child minders? Areas are Hounslow or whitton

The main way of finding an au pair is to talk to an agency. They have lots of girls on their books and will try to match one up to meet your needs. Typically, au pairs are in their home countries and will travel to wherever you are.

There are some low cost internet sites where you don't have to pay out the agency fees, and only make a token payment to cover the admin costs of the sites. But then, you would be doing the background checks yourself, but keeping in mind that full service agencies mainly provide an introduction service.

I don't think you'll have any problem getting an au pair to come to Whitton. I am in Staines, and there are loads of au pairs in the area.

HIya, omo. I am in Sunbury. I found our nanny through greataupair.com. I would definitely recommend the website, but I know some other mumsnetters have had less luck. It seems to fluctuate a lot in terms of how many candidates there are on there. Last summer there were loads of EU nationals to choose from. But a couple months ago, there weren't very many. Perhaps it's the time of year?

Have you had an au apair before? How old are your kids? Would she have sole charge of the kids, or do they go off to school/nursery/childminder?

I had an au pair who did not work out at all, and then the one I have now I just love. She is rather mediocre at the housework, but her childcare skills are fantastic. So I'm very happy with her.

Also, I would never even consider paying agency fees for a job I can do better myself.

There is a good book which you can get a waterstone's called The Good NAnny Guide. I highly recommend it. Andpay special attention to the chapter on interviews. They are SOOOOO important.

HTH. If you want to know anything more, I'll be glad to add my insight. Just ask.

Thank you AMerryScot and Uwila for your advice. I will check with the Agency and the website you gave me. Dd is 5 months old so am really hoping all goes well for me, you know what I mean, still scared though, leaving dd for somebody to look after at this age but reality is, we need the money for the basic outgoings.

The Au pair i need will take full responsibility for dd. wish me luck

If your baby is only 5 months old, you really need an nanny, not an au pair. Au pairs are not supposed to have sole charge of a child under the age of 3 for extended periods.

You also mention childminders - that's an arrangement which can work brilliantly, and is very suitable for babies. Your council holds a list of those registered in your area, & outer London's bound to have lots.

Have a look at bestbear.co.uk for general info on childcare - that will probably also have links to how to go about finding a childminder

I agree that a childminder may be your ideal solution. When I went back to work, dd was only amonth old (horrible as that sounds, I was working contract and we needed the money). We chose to use a childminder because they are licensed and checked up on. I just was not comfortable with the idea of leaving a young baby with someone who was completely unsupervised. If something terrible was happening while I was gone, I would never know. And at a a childminder, there are always other people around, so I felt there was safety in numbers there. Then, by the time dd was a year old, I was SO worn out with packing the bag, dropping her off, picking her up, trying to tend to house work (which I never did!) and then going to bed just to get up in the morning and do it all over again. So, I declared to DH that we were moving to a bigger house and getting a live-in au pair/nanny. I am much happier now.

How close are you to Sunbury? I wonder if a nany share might suit us? I wouldn't mind sharing the cost if it was feasible. My nanny is wonderful with DD. Although we have another one due at the end of May. So, a toddler, a baby, and an infant might be a tall order.

As a general rule, once you have two kids, a live-in au pair or nanny is more economical than a childminder. And mine also does my laundry and dishes...

OMO, where did you go?

Hey, why don't you try www.aupaircompany.com - it is a great website and means that you are in control of the recruitment rather than a agency.

They have heaps of au pairs for long and short term placement.

Good luck!