Au pairs - how much do they cost?

[Rosehip]

Hallo. Just discovered the forum having moved recently. What a brilliant resource!

We're thinking of getting an au pair. We have two children (4yrs and 1yr). To include school runs, cooking a bit of cleaning and activities with the younger one plus some babysitting etc

What are the total costs involved? Pay, pocket money, etc And how long do they tend to stay with a family?

[Princess]

We've had our lovely Au Pair for 5 months. She'll sadly leave us in March. We pay her ?80 a week pocket money and obviousy we provide all board and lodgings. She works approx 2.5hrs in the morning and 4hrs in the afternoon. When she does babysit we agree this as a separate arrangement and pay her the going rate circa ?7 an hour.

We have a 25 month old and a 6 month old. She really has been an amazing addition to our family (we don't have any relatives close by) over the past few months!

[Fidgetsmum]

Princess - my friend's looking for an au pair - how did you find her?

[Princess]

We found her via this website http://www.aupair-world.net/ We then followed up with lots of emails, several phone calls and a Skype conversation with her family.

Due to the age of my kids she isn't allowed sole charge of them so I have always been with her but it really couldn't have worked out better and we will stay in touch after she goes home.

[mrs cuckoo]

Hello,

We put an ad on gumtree to find our au pair. This enabled us to write up what the responsibilities would be as we share her with another family. I think the usual arrangement is up to 25 hours per week (to include 2 nights baby sitting) you usually pay ?70-85 and an au pair plus is up to 35 hours a week (3 nights baby sitting) is more like ?120 a week. We also include a weekly travel card too.

Our last au pair (also from gumtree) stayed for 18 months, and our current one has been here about 5 months so far. We were really impressed by the calibre of people applying - and would definitely use gumtree again. Personally prefer to find someone already here so you can actually meet them first.

Good luck!