Au Pairs - Cranford,NJ

My sister has an Au Pair and we absolutely love her! She's so fantastic. My sister has 3 daughters, as do I and we pay her extra (quite a bit lol) to watch all six kids once in a while when we go out. She's been with them for a year and she's so close to not only my nieces, but my daughters too. (Mine and my sister's kids have always been extremely close, we both have a 9, 6, & 3 year old) She's taught them French which was awesome seeing as how I myself taught my children ASL sign (I was a certified ASL Nanny) and spanish.

She's such a wonderful young women and ALWAYS sooo thankful and helpful! I will be so sad to see her go, we'd like to keep her forever. She's always stayed within boundaries of her living situation and makes everyone feel comfortable. My sister gave her a bedroom suite in the basement, which was helpful of course but overall I would highly reccommend au pairs! They are amazing!

Though I've never used one, friends of mine had au pairs and it worked out beautifully. Both parents worked and one, like you, had very unpredictable hours with spur of the moment travel and some weeks with very, very long hours. The security of having a responsible adult with the children made things much easier for everyone -- kids included.

Be sure to use a reputable agency. And really be clear on your expectations, both with the agency and the au pair. Like you said, a year is a long time. It's better to outline tougher expectations at the beginning and relax them as you go, than to be mushy at first and expect to be able to add things later.

Good luck!

Well, I would imagine it would be no different than my adult daughter living with us. We certainly don't want to break out in bedroom ramba-jamba while she is downstairs below our bedroom, so we just have to have patience until she goes out.

We all have to respect each other in the house.

convenience while both parents are working professionals. Please be clear of the hours the will need to work when you advertise for this position. I live in the suburbs of NYC. Two of my friends also hired their aupairs through this site and with my suggestion of interviewing and checking references and family members was a success for them. My kids are old enough now that I do not need an aupair anymore but miss the experience.

Good Luck!
J.
NY

Hi, I've had some friends back in my country who did au pair. All of them enjoyed babysitting the kids and the cultural exchange. They all got on well with the families and they were very responsible. Plus, the people from the agencies do background checks and all sort of checks on the candidates.
Pros: is cheaper than an American nanny, they will take care of your kids as if they were their children, they will always be around, no missing or skipping work, the foreign nanny will teach your kids her mother tongue and it's really cool to meet someone new and learn from other cultures.
I highly recommend it!
GOOD LUCK!

Huh, I just looked it up, and I think it looks awesome! Great cultural experience for both sides, and it would just be like a normal nanny. . . except with an accent!