Choosing an au pair: Definitely not an easy task
So! We have decided that having an au pair would be more suitable for our lifestyle.
Trevor (my husband) works continental shifts - days or nights.
I have an office-based job but I frequently need to travel for work, which means that I need a bit of flexibility when it comes to childcare.
Also we have no family around so our childcare solution needs to be foolproof.
Our preference is for a French au pair because we have some French relatives and we are trying to raise our kids bilingual French/English.
Now the hardest part...
How do you find an au pair and how do you trust her with your children?
Au pairs are not CRB checked or OFSTED regulated. You know nothing about them: you do not know where they are from, what their background is. They are young and most of them have no experience with children...
For me personally, this is a deal breaker. I have put off the au pair idea for years because of that but if I am honest with myself it is the most ideal solution for us. Trevor is really pushing for it so I decided to give in.
Now finding an au pair... That is the tricky part...
I browsed the AuPairWorld's website (https://www.aupairworld.com/en) and found loads of information and ressources. It was very informative and useful but I did not find the reassurance that I needed.
So I decided to follow another path.
I contacted a French university near Calais (because of the proximity to the ferry port) and asked them if I could place an ad for an au pair position in the UK or if they could recommend reliable students who could potentially be interested in spending a year in the UK as au pairs. But I never heard back from them.
I also asked some of my relatives in France if they knew someone who could potentially be interested.
And you know what? I found someone :)!
Her name is Anna. She is 22. She was recommended by a relative - the daughter of my cousin's friend's new partner (I know it is a bit complicated). This means that I know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Anna (and can confirm that she is not a total psycho)!
She came to spend the weekend with us a couple of weeks ago and she is great! Very dynamic yet very sensible. I simply love her! The kids interacted well with her - particularly our youngest one, Ryan. I am now totally happy with my choice so much so that I offered her the job and she is starting with us in September.
I am really looking forward to it.
I will keep you updated on the progress of our new venture. Stay tuned :).
Trevor (my husband) works continental shifts - days or nights.
I have an office-based job but I frequently need to travel for work, which means that I need a bit of flexibility when it comes to childcare.
Also we have no family around so our childcare solution needs to be foolproof.
Our preference is for a French au pair because we have some French relatives and we are trying to raise our kids bilingual French/English.
Now the hardest part...
How do you find an au pair and how do you trust her with your children?
Au pairs are not CRB checked or OFSTED regulated. You know nothing about them: you do not know where they are from, what their background is. They are young and most of them have no experience with children...
For me personally, this is a deal breaker. I have put off the au pair idea for years because of that but if I am honest with myself it is the most ideal solution for us. Trevor is really pushing for it so I decided to give in.
Now finding an au pair... That is the tricky part...
I browsed the AuPairWorld's website (https://www.aupairworld.com/en) and found loads of information and ressources. It was very informative and useful but I did not find the reassurance that I needed.
So I decided to follow another path.
I contacted a French university near Calais (because of the proximity to the ferry port) and asked them if I could place an ad for an au pair position in the UK or if they could recommend reliable students who could potentially be interested in spending a year in the UK as au pairs. But I never heard back from them.
I also asked some of my relatives in France if they knew someone who could potentially be interested.
And you know what? I found someone :)!
Her name is Anna. She is 22. She was recommended by a relative - the daughter of my cousin's friend's new partner (I know it is a bit complicated). This means that I know someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows Anna (and can confirm that she is not a total psycho)!
She came to spend the weekend with us a couple of weeks ago and she is great! Very dynamic yet very sensible. I simply love her! The kids interacted well with her - particularly our youngest one, Ryan. I am now totally happy with my choice so much so that I offered her the job and she is starting with us in September.
I am really looking forward to it.
I will keep you updated on the progress of our new venture. Stay tuned :).
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