Au pair advice

[ceebeebee]

Can anyone advise me where I start! Looking for an au pair but we are moving to Reigate so its for that area. Do you use agencies? Is there a place to look for au pairs who are already in the UK (heard horror stories of girls arriving straight off the plane and crying for 2 weeks!) Any advice appreciated!

I will put a post in classifieds too, just in case!

[Mellors]

I've always got mine from Au Pair World. I put up a good ad setting out exactly what I'm looking for with photos etc. Weed through all the replies (e.g. I need somebody over 23 so they can be insured to drive) and then interview the final contenders. I have done Skype interviews, although actually I prefer it if they are already in the UK and can come to our home see their room, meet the family etc. Might be more difficult in Reigate though?

I have a contract and an au pair handbook and set everything out up front so we all know what is expected in terms of hours/duties. I've never had a problem. Our current au pair is absolutely part of the family and is staying on for her third year :)

[ceebeebee]

That is great advice. Thank you for taking the time to reply to me!

[LouieM]

I found mine on childcare.co.uk and she's brilliant too, has been with us for a year and planning to stay another. Let me know if you have any further questions, good luck!

[alimc]

i second au pair world and in fact Mellors provided me with great advice when he took on our au pair last November (thanks!0 She is now planning to stay on until next Feb (and hopefully i can persuade her to stay longer). She is also in her twenties which is something I would recommend.

[claire123]

I was hoping there would be a thread on here about finding an au pair. And there is! Brilliant. Mellors, did you draw up your own contract, or did Au Pair world give you one please? What a good idea to have a handbook. Would you or others mind sharing an example of the sort of thing you included in it please, as I might put together something similar.

[Indiana]

I have recently used smartaupair and they have been excellent... Pre vetting and interviewing etc good luck

[Mellors]

Hi

I have an au pair contract and handbook I wrote ages ago which sets out the basiscs. if anyone wants a copy feel free to PM me your email address and I'll send it over to you. xx

[sylviamaria]

I hope you don't mind me jumping on this thread, but I wanted to ask those who have had au pairs - how do you find it in terms of 'losing' your privacy in your own home? I really like the idea of getting an au pair and think it would be a great opportunity for my kids to get additional input from a person from a different culture/language, but struggle with the idea of possibly not being able to fully relax in my own home? Am I overthinking it?!

[womanofdulwich]

I always joined my au pairs to JAGS gym- there are classes there they can interact with and meet other people. Other gyms are available of course. I also introduced them to other friends who had au pairs. I always took a full day at the start to show them around the local area- join libraries, showed them cinemas and explained cheap nights etc etc. Also i always made it clear that their weekends were their own apart from very occasional babysitting so they could go on day trips, stay over at a friends etc ( I also had a trundle bed so they could have a friend stay over) . Show them facebook groups for au pairs in London. TBH they will probably be keen to shoot off as soon as they can and explore London while they can.