Has anyone heard of or used them before? What are your thoughts? I'm not thinking about it for myself but a friend is so I want to hear others views on this. If you dont know about it, you can read about it at Au Pair

By Trina~moderator on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 06:36 pm:

Back when DH and I were newlyweds our landlord and his wife had an Au pair. In fact, I believe they had two different ones. The first was from Germany and the second from Spain. They are usually students from abroad who stay with a host family while attending classes in trade for baby-sitting and housekeeping services. I've heard both good and bad experiences. My landlord said their first Au pair was wild and partied too much. I believe they sent her home early. However, the second was a very positive experience for them. Personally, it's not my cup of tea to have a foreigner living in my house and caring for my children, but that's just me.

By Tink on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 09:53 pm:

My best friend's parents tried to have one about 5 years ago for their "second generation" child. It was a disaster for them. They had three different women live with them and were unsatisfied with the care their son received. There were some questions of theft also. I don't know if it was a screening issue with the company they went through or what. That's the experience I have heard though.

By Colette on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 10:09 pm:

I would NEVER let a stranger live in my house or take care of my children. Would you give this au pair a million $$ if you had it? Would you trust her with it? Because your children are worth more than that and if you wouldn't trust a stranger with money, why would you ever trust a stranger with your child?

I also would not let my child be an au pair. I am having major anxieties now, because my oldest dd has been taking German for two years and is doing excellent. If she continues into high school (next year) the "field trip" is going to Germany and staying with a german family for a week.

By Dawnk777 on Friday, February 11, 2005 - 10:34 pm:

My sister and I were both mother's helpers, when we were in high school. I suppose almost a nanny or au pair. It was fun! I was 16 and my sister was 15. We were with 2 families where the wives were sisters. We had one day off a week that we could have together and they sometimes drove us to malls if we wanted to shop! They were very "normal" people! It was the summer of 1976, because I remember watching Nadia Comeneci score perfect 10's in gymnastics at the Olympics! (ooh, am I dating myself now?) My sister and I were gone the whole summer. The families lived in the Northbrook/Deerfield area in Illinois.

My family had a 10yo girl, 9yo girl, and 3 yo boy. I usually only had the boy, since the girls went to a daycamp during the week. Greg was sooo cute with red curly hair! I loved it!

My parents were also brave enough to let me go to Mexico for 2 weeks when I was 15, with my Girl Scout trip. It is still the biggest trip I have ever taken! We spent a week in Mexico City and exploring the nearby countryside and spent a week at the International Girl Scout center in Cuernavaca! I had a blast! It was over Christmas of 1975. In fact, I even missed 7 days of school! Also, it was the only time I have gotten to go somewhere warm over Christmas break and come back with a TAN! No one is tan in January, in WI!

By Jackie on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 05:46 am:

a friend of mine here has an aupair. She is not a student. My friend went through an agency to get her. My friend is going through Law School and her husband is in the Navy. So their schedule is crazy. SHes used Aupairs before. The only bad thing I can see is that they can "only" work" a certain amt of hrs a week. You can not make them work more..So my friend uses this aupair(the one she has is 22)for all the hrs, and if her husband isnt home she still has to make other arrangements for her kids..its really crazy I think.
I agree that I would not have somebody else living in my house. Im way too privite of a person to share my house with a stranger.

By Heaventree on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 10:46 am:

Friends of ours had a Au Pair, it was not a good experience she had a lot of emotional problems and over time she ended up doing less and less. They sent her home early.

By Imamommyx4 on Saturday, February 12, 2005 - 10:59 pm:

Dawn, not to make you feel any older, but think about that 3 year old, you know how old he is now?

BTW I'm 43 so I was watching Nadia with you!!!!

By Dawnk777 on Sunday, February 13, 2005 - 10:01 am:

Yeah, I know, he must be big now, but I still remember him as a curly-headed 3yo! LOL!

Sheesh, he would be 29 now! And his sisters would be 37 and 39! Wow! You know I wasn't that much older than his sisters!