Au pairs are young individuals who live with a host family in another country while providing childcare. They are a great way to experience a new culture.
Most au pairs are college students or recent high school graduates looking for a way to travel abroad without the expense of room and board. However, some have previous experience working with children, such as babysitters or nannies.
Caretaking
So what is an au pair? Au Pairs are young people who travel abroad to work as live-in caretakers for other families. These placements offer the chance for families to benefit from international exchange and cultural experience while allowing the au pair to gain practical skills in childcare and language education.
The au pair program is based on the idea that au pairs should be on equal footing with the families they care for. As a result, they form close-knit relationships with their host families and become an extension of their family for their year as an au pair.
These relationships are vital for children as they grow up. They allow children to build social-emotional skills like empathy, compassion and coping with stress through supportive connections with their parents and caretakers.
However, the responsibilities of an au pair can vary according to their host family’s needs and should be clearly stated in the au pair contract. This should include a weekly schedule to ensure everyone is speaking from the same page.
As a caretaker, an Au Pair should fully participate in the child’s daily activities and routines. This includes preparing breakfast and lunch for the kids, taking them to school or daycare, and helping them clean up after themselves.
They should also help the family with small housework tasks, for example, setting the table and emptying the dishwasher. Nevertheless, they should be expected to do something different from a housekeeper or a full-time nanny. This should be discussed in detail during the interview process, and in the au pair contract so there are no misunderstandings later.
Cooking
Cooking is an excellent way for host families and au pairs to bond and get to know each other. Whether an au pair is a pro or just learning the ropes, cooking together can help everyone feel comfortable and get used to their role in the family.
Different au pairs have different levels of cooking expertise, so it is essential to offer hands-on training that involves immediate feedback. This way, the au pair learns and gains confidence as they work to improve their skills.
As an Au Pair, you should be able to cook nutritious, healthy meals for yourself and the Host Kids. It is also a good idea for an Au Pair to make sandwiches for the children to take to school and prepare a hot meal after school, but it is up to the host family to decide how much they expect you to do in this area.
Some Au Pairs love to share their native cuisine with the host family. Alejandra from Mexico, for example, says that cooking with her host family has been a rewarding experience. She loves preparing her favorite Mexican dishes with her host dad and eating the delicious results!
Prepare to let your au pair use the kitchen when you aren’t there, as long as they follow a few simple rules. For instance, only use the stove and oven when you are there to supervise and don’t let pets or younger children near them.
Cleaning
Au pairs have a unique role in a host family’s household. They are there to provide childcare for the children and perform tasks that help make a home run smoothly. This includes light housework, such as cooking and cleaning rooms exclusively used by the family.
In Europe, au pairs generally do more than light housework and often have more substantial responsibility for child care. However, they should never be expected to perform heavy housework, yard work or pet care.
Many host families abuse au pairs by requiring them to do far more cleaning than they should or by making them work incredibly long hours. Fortunately, many countries have strict limits on the number of hours an au pair can work.
A typical day for an Au Pair can include dropping off and picking up kids from school or nursery, driving children to extracurricular activities, cooking, laundry, ironing, tidying up and babysitting.
It’s also widespread for families to ask au pairs to help with their own chores, such as bringing in groceries and washing the dishes. These tasks should take up a maximum of a couple of hours each day, as they should fit into a regular working schedule.
Having a clean and organized home is very important for an au pair. Host families often request that the au pair set up a system to keep their kids’ toys in order. This can be a challenge, but it is worth the effort.
Housework
Au pairs are young people who travel and live as a part of a host family in exchange for child care. They provide up to 45 hours of childcare each week and receive a monetary allowance or stipend.
As an au pair, your responsibilities include providing a safe, loving environment for your host children. This includes preparing meals, playing with them, and helping them with daily activities like school and after-school care.
Many au pairs also help with light housework, such as cleaning up after themselves or doing the laundry. The responsibilities of an au pair differ from that of a nanny, but it is an excellent way to experience life in another country while staying with a host family.
A time diary, for instance, can be an effective method to measure the emotional and physical stress associated with certain types of household tasks. Additionally, it can be used to examine how gender affects how much time men and women spend on various tasks.
In multilevel theories and analyses, it has been shown that time allocation among households is influenced by political, economic and social processes. These influences are embedded in “time circuits” that run from individuals in families to institutions, such as employers, governments and the market. These loops are shaped by various factors, including the social welfare policies, ideologies and norms around work, parenting and childcare.
