Live in Nanny or Au Pair?

[BellyFruit]

We're considering getting an au pair or nanny to live in and help us with our kids as we both want to be at work - we have 7yo twins at school and 6 month old and 19 month old...

Have had a brief snoop online and oh my lord what a barrage of information!

Can anyone help guide me through this process, what to watch out for, who to go through etc...

TIA

BF x :flowerz:

[amiee]

post an add on gum tree. make sure you say you want someone with experince who can provide references, a police clearance and a wwc check.

just write the duties that you want them to do ie school drops off, pick ups, cooking, cleaning etc and then wait for all the emails you will receive and then start the interview process.

good luck with it

[aupairguru]

Hi there,

This reply is a little late, but for what it's worth, I have hosted two full time Au pairs this year and our third Demi Au pair (part time Au pair works in exchange of room and board) will be beginning in Jan. The main benefit of an Au pair is decreased cost, however you will need to consider the level of her duties as your younger children are so young. An Au pair would be great as a mother's help for you, but I think looking after four children at once would be too much for a young inexperienced Au pair.

I am in the process of writing a guidebook to assist families with what I had to muddle through myself this year. I would be more than happy to email you the unedited unfinished version provided you keep it to yourself!

We have really enjoyed the Au pair experience and I only wish I had done it when my children were really young as the extra pair of hands would have saved my sanity!
Vicki

[3boysNAprincess]

Do you still get child care benefit when you have a nanny or au pair?

Any assistance at all?

[aupairguru]

I don't think you can claim child care benefit on either of these. Congratulations on the new baby BTW!!! Your family is gorgeous. I have two boys and would soooo love to have a little girl.

If you were going to be at home an Au pair would be a godsend for you. A demi au pair is also a good option as you can do an exchange of 15-20 hours in exchange for room and board.

I went back to work this year and my au pairs took my eldest to and from school and looked after my three year old 2 days a week (on the third day he went to daycare). It worked beautifully. They were both American so able to help with homework and constructing learning activities for the kids as well as cooking dinner for the family so when I got home I was able to spend time with the kids. Both girls had Degrees in Education and we were blessed to find them. Our new Demi Au pair is a Finance Graduate from california, she is also a piano teacher part time. She is going to work 1 day a week when I am at work and then teach piano for an hour and look after the boys on Fri or Sat night when we go out.

If you have any other questions, please just ask!

Vicki

[mila]

hi !!
vicki , this post could not come at a better time!
we are currently starting the process of finding an au pair. we have just welcomed out third little bubba into the world, she is now 2 months old. she has a 2 year old sister and a 4 year old brother hubby works long hours so we have decided an extra pair of hands is just what we need.
i would love to know what agency you used or how you acquired your au pairs.
we have been online for the last week looking at all different agencies etc. i feel its a bit of a needle in a haystack choosing one. any advise, or recommendations from anyone who has had a positive experience would be most appreciated.
has any one used the au pair house agency?
any / all information welcome :)

[aupairguru]

Hello Nikki
I am more than happy to help you. As I said, I have decided to write a little guidebook about the whole process. I didn't use agencies. I have worked for a recruitment agency as an IT recruiter in the past and feel that sometimes agencies are more concerned with their bottom line than meeting your needs.

I used two different websites www.newaupair.com (http://www.newaupair.com) was by far the best.

I can email you a copy of my 'work in progress' book. As it is unfinished at this point I am a little hesitant as you can understand! Perhaps you could also help me by giving me some feedback on whether it is any good? I am not an author as such but so many people have asked my advice on the whole thing that i thought I should just write it all down. I am also going to try and do a survey online that families that have au pairs can give advice to new people like yourself

My email address is aupairguru@gmail.com

drop me a line with your questions and I will do my best to answer them
Vicki

[aupairguru]

Sorry I meant Mila - I am up way too late!!!

[peanutbutter&jelly]

Do you still get child care benefit when you have a nanny or au pair?

Any assistance at all?

I *think* you can now, but they have to be registered. Not sure what the whole system is, sorry, but you could prob ask Ains ;)

[aupairguru]

According to Care for kids

"They are not deemed “approved child care” and therefore the host family will not be able to claim child care benefit or child care tax rebate (same goes for nannies)"

I will try to take a look at the ATO website and see, I am sure I read that somewhere....

Wish it was! If you are hosting a Demi Au pair no money changes hands so it's not really an issue.

Vicki