Get ready for an Au Pair

When a Host Family expects their first Au Pair, some kind of uncertainty cannot be avoided and how to get ready for an Au Pair is a very important question. The biggest question mark is, if the Au Pair arrangement works in general for the family and whether the chosen Au pair in particular will be a good match for the family. Other questions relate to the life with an Au Pair in the house: If she/he will take good care of the children, be helpful with household duties, allows a respectful mutual interaction and many more.

There are a few things the Host Family should arrange to get ready for the Au Pair. We have compiled a list of things to organise and will publish more pages for the separate topics soon. We recommend to create a checklist as a reminder for the things you wanted to do before the Au Pair moves in.

Which things do we – well in advance – need to consider to get ready for an Au Pair?

On the subordinated pages we provide more detailed advice about many different topics on how to get ready for an Au Pair in the next couple of weeks. However, we already compiled a list of important questions. Think about how you would answer these questions and what action would derive. We will pick up the topics one by one and will provide our and other people’s experience to help you.

  • What do we need to do in the house/flat prior to the Au Pair’s arrival?
  • What official institutions do we have to inform in advance, like insurance, mortgage provider, school etc.
  • Should the Au Pair agree on a private health insurance?
  • Which documents will the Au Pair need to bring, which take time for her to organise (visum, health check up, translated references, international driving licence, …)?
  • How can we prepare the children for the new Au Pair?

Questions that needs to be answered closer to the Au Pair arrival are:

  • Which documents, like daily routines, house rules, ,children’s profiles etc do we need to prepare in advance to help the Au Pair’s settling in?
  • Can we pick up the Au Pair from the airport?
  • What welcome present can we arrange for the Au Pair?
  • Where is the next locale English school?
  • Do we know other Au Pair’s in the area to pass on their contact details?
  • Who will be the locale and easily reachable persons of contact for the Au Pair when we are at work?
  • What will happen if the Au Pair falls ill and can’t work?
  • How do we react to possible demands like extra holidays, a pay rise or if the Au Pair wants to have visitors staying over?
  • What is our strategy to prevent the Au Pair to become home sick?
  • What else will be helpful for the Au Pair’s first days with us?

Even if you are an experienced Host Family and you have already had a few Au Pairs, there will always be uncertainties because – no matter how extensive or nitty-gritty your Au Pair search was – you can never predict how the relationship will turn out with the new Au Pair before she/he actually moved in.

To read through our information pages will help you to remember some of the important things for a smooth settling in.

Missing your questions for getting ready for the Au Pair?

If you have more questions about the preparation of your Au Pair’s arrival we are happy to research to help answer your question. Your question could be one that more Host Families think about. With answering your questions we will also help others. Please just leave a comment in the comment section below or send us a message via the contact form.

Many thanks!

 

Our pages about the first things to do and administrative requirements, (which is very important by the way), may help you with your preparation for your au pair.

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