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Home › Articles › Caregivers › On Par with Au Pairs

On Par with Au Pairs

Is This Childcare Option for You?

By Hilory Wagner

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Parents exploring in-home childcare options often use the terms "nanny" and "au pair" interchangeably. True, both types of caregivers watch your children in the comfort of your household, and both often earn a special place in your heart and family life. In many cases, though, that's where the similarities end.

baby Choosing to host an au pair is much more than a childcare decision. It's a choice to welcome a young girl from another country. It means learning about other customs, traditions and cultures, and perhaps discovering more about your own. It's about sharing the intricacies of your day-to-day life with someone, and in doing so, enriching her life and yours.

In fact, "au pair" translates to "on par" or "as an equal," suggesting the role she is expected to take on within your home. A nanny, while often an extremely close part of a family, is an employee. The au pair program was not created for these visitors to "work," as much as to trade caregiving services for room, board and the opportunity to explore our country, to gain insight into American lives.

But the choice to host an au pair shouldn't be taken lightly. It's a commitment with its own rules and even federal regulations.

Playing by the Rules
The fact that au pairs aren't child care "employees" doesn't mean that they aren't experienced with children or that they haven't been specially prepared. As a matter of fact, au pairs are now required to have certain training by federal law.

Those same rules, however, mandate other things for au pairs as well, such as how many hours an au pair can work per day and within the course of a week. It also states that while the au pair provides care for your kids, she is not generally responsible for the upkeep of your house. In general, if it's kid-related, she can do it: babysit, drive children to lessons, help them with homework, play games, change diapers, prepare some meals and run errands.


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