- Mother's Helper is a very part time person (often a teenager) who comes into your home to "help out" either with chores or childcare or both. Unlike a babysitter you are both in the home at the same time. Often a mother's helper will come for an hour every day, or for an afternoon once or twice a week.
- A Nanny covers a lot of ground. Most basically they either live in or live out. (in your home, or in their own home). In my experience most live out. They can be full time, half time, part time. They can take care of your children in your home, or in theirs. They are responsible for *everything* in relation to childcare during the hours they work (from taking to and from school, activities, outings, playdates, parks, etc.)... but each family negotiates what is desired including travel range. Some families provide a "nanny car". In our area most do not. In other areas, most do. In some area's nearly none do, but the family pays for alternative transport. A nanny is an employee of your family and as such recieves days off, vacation time/pay, sick days, etc., and is considered both domestic "staff" and childcare expense as far as your taxes are concerned. The range in age from college to grandparents. They are given limited medical & authority powers (aka they interact with pediatricians and schools). They are often, but not always, less expensive than group setting daycare, esp for multiple children. ((Ex: In our area nannies typically get paid about $2500 a month for full time care. Full time care for children under 3/ not potty trained is $1600 a month per child, 3+ is typically ###-###-#### per month. So 2 infants = $3200 in a group setting, making a full time nanny MUCH less expensive. Part time gets even less expensive.)). "Nanny-share" is a common cost cutting process where 2 families will "split" a nanny. One in the morning, one in the afternoon is a common split. It means a family can afford to hire a very good nanny part time, when she or he needs full time work. "Poaching" is what families do in order to secure a good nanny that they see with other people's kids. Young mothers who actively play with their children in public are frequently approached by older mothers looking to "poach" them from their assumed employers. (BTDT). Mothers will often carry cards with them to hand out to prospective nannies they see in parks/museums/and other outing places. Because good nannies are precious, if you find a good one you really want to keep her happy (pay, days off, kind words, good work environment, etc.) or she'll be snapped up by another family very very quickly. Many only clean in regards to messes that are made while the children are under their care (ditto cooking), others do a large chunk of the housework, others are paid separately for household chores. All expenses that the nanny incures while taking care of the children (outings, food, doctor's appts, art supplies, library fees, transportation, etc.) are paid by the family - usually reimbursed at the end of each day with reciepts... and should be worked out in advance what is acceptable for the nanny to spend on a daily basis on
- An Au Pair is TYPICALLY a young person (college age) from another country who has contracted with an agency to work in a specific country. The term of employment is typically 1-2 years. They live in (room and board are required by host/employing family). They are given a weekly stipend (by the family they work for), and are under contract to work for that family alone for a set number of hours. They are usually banned from seeking other employment during their "off" hours. They have complete freedom during their "off" hours... meaning no curfews, household chores, permission to come and go, etc. The family hiring an Au Pair goes through the agency (I'm fond of the State Dept. agencies personally) and pays a large up front fee that the Au Pair will recieve upon completion of their contract. Both the up front fee and weekly stipend are set by the agency and are pretty standard across the board. TYPICALLY 4k up front to the agency + $125 per week for students which is paid directly to the Au Pair. The agency will pay them their bounty at the end of the contract. There are 2 main types of vetted and authorized by the State Dept type Au Pairs. Students & Non Students. Students are required to work a max of 32 hours per week, and the host family has to facilitate them attending at least one college class while they are living with that family. Nonstudents work a max of 40-50 hours per week (varries with different agencies). Families who take advantage of their Au Pairs (requiring 10+ hour work days 5-7 days a week, etc.) will get their Au Pair pulled if they don't start following the rules and the Au Pair will be placed with another family. The family gets to "pick" their Au Pair via looking at info packets and phone interviews. Both parties have to agree.
I've left out a lot of details... but those are the broad strokes.
