Au-pairs and agencies

[NQWWW]

We live in SW London and are thinking of getting an au-pair for 6 months from about mid-July, when I will start maternity leave. We have one ds, currently 2.2 yo, and a baby due in early Sept. Our ds currently has a shared nanny 3 days a week while I'm at work.

We've never had an au-pair before. Does anyone have any advice or recommendations? I envisage that she would be mostly keeping my ds amused while I'm occupied with the new baby, taking him to the things that our nanny currently does (music groups, etc), and doing a bit of housework and ironing.

Do au-pairs expect their own bathroom? We've only got one.

We would prefer an au-pair with perfect English - an Aussie or Kiwi would be good. Does anyone have any recommendations for agencies in our area or other ways of finding the right person?

Hi NQWWW

Have you tried Simply Childcare?
They are based in S London and are a listings magazine for people offerring or wanting childcare - it is meant to be good
They also have a childcare pack with lots of info on choices/wages/NI/interview tips etc which costs about £10,

They can be contacted on

www.simplychildcare.com
or email [email protected]
or phone on 020 7701 6111

The lady who set it up and runs it is called Carla Shimeld

Hope this helps, jemw

You can also try the Internet to find an aupair. www.aupairconnect.com has a database of aupairs from all over the world. You can create a profile for yourself and search the aupairs.