Do you ever feel guilty about leaving the kids to have free time, enjoy you time, or to get date nights with your significant other back? Now, you can have all that plus peace of mind during the work day with au pairs that feel like family. With Au Pair in America, you receive care provided by someone who feels like a member of the family. Au Pair in America provides flexible, dependable child care that enriches families through cultural exchange.
WHAT IS AN AU PAIR?
AU PAIR /əʊ ˈpɛə; French o pɛr/
“on par” or “equal” in French, is a term for a child care provider who lives with a host family as part of an international cultural exchange program. They are typically young international visitors who travel to the United States on a J-1 Visitor Exchange Visa to acquire a better understanding and appreciation of American life while living with an American family and caring for their young children.
When Au Pair in America first came to Southwest Ohio, we shared about them in Au Pairs: The Benefits of Live-in Child Care. An au pair offers unique benefits like flexibility, cultural exchange, and upholding family values and dynamics. You truly get day-to-day support with someone that truly feels like a trusted part of your family. While engaging and caring for your children, au pairs follow and maintain the host family’s views of discipline and guidance.
WHAT IS THE AU PAIR’S ROLE WITHIN THE FAMILY?
The goal with Au Pair in America is to place an au pair where they truly become part of the family, providing day-to-day care for BOTH the children AND the parents (up to forty-five hours per week!). First popular in Europe, au pairs became a mutually beneficial childcare relationship model. As such, au pairs are more than employees and rather become full-fledged family members, sharing a cultural exchange experience that often leads to a long-lasting relationship with the host family (which could be you!).
HOW CAN YOU USE AU PAIR IN AMERICA?
Au Pair in America has the largest pool of au pairs in the world, with applicants coming from five continents and sixty countries around the globe! Au Pair in America offers Expert Match, a flexible and effective approach to finding the caregiver that is the perfect fit for your family. You can search with their easy online tool, or you can work with their professional placement team to find the perfect au pair.
With Au Pair in America, you get a personalized support team. This includes the aforementioned placement services team, along with an orientation team, regional managers & 24/7 emergency assistance team, and community counselors.
“There are many reasons why families in our area choose to have an au pair over other child care options. Our military and medical families especially appreciate the availability of quality and affordable childcare. The on-base CDC waitlists are long, off-base providers can be costly, and often neither offers the hours needed to accommodate a busy work schedule.” – A Local Dayton Mom
The Au Pair Program is for infants, toddlers, and school-aged children. Au pairs are between the ages of eighteen and twenty-six. They have at least 200 hours of recent, practical childcare experience such as regular babysitting for non-family members or assisting at a local school or youth group. Au pairs who care for children under the age of two will have a minimum of 200 hours of documented experience with children under the age of two. In addition, au pairs from Au Pair in America –
- speak English to an acceptable standard
- have a secondary school diploma, or equivalent, at minimum
- submit a medical report prior to entering the U.S.
- possess a valid driver’s license
- have successfully passed a rigorous background investigation
Becoming a host and adding an au pair to your family breaks down into just four steps: register & apply, choose your au pair, complete your pre-arrival preparation, and welcome your au pair!
Interested in learning more about hosting?
