<p>Working with 18 year old boy who wants to go to Europe for 4 months (England, Spain or Italy) as part of gap year (NOT in the summer.) Needs housing, and likes kids. Has worked with kids babysitting, teaching sports and at summer camp. Has also worked with special needs kids (high functioning autism & down syndrome.) So AuPair or some kind of volunteer position with housing. Needs to have most expenses covered…although will have some of his own spending money and can pay for flight. Can’t pay for expensive “volunteer” program, though.</p>
<p>Anyone’s kids have any experience with any of the au pair or volunteer agencies? Prefer to hear about good experiences, but will also take bad…to know which agencies/programs to avoid.</p>
<p>I did not have a child participate with Great Aupair, but I did use their service and had a wonderful experience with it .
Because of our work schedule in the summer months , I had nannies for 12 yrs. Our last one was found thru Great Aupair . I had used other agencies to find girls in the past , but this was the best.
Our last nanny was with us for three summers and we still remain very close. She was American since I didn’t want to deal with visas or anyone here in the country illegally.
We even visited her when she got married and she now has two children of her own ( the oldest named after our daughter she cared for )
My advice is to ask a lot of questions , be clear on expectations , rules , role within the family , smoking or non smoking environment, legality of working in the host’s country and how to deal with homesickness
We came close to hiring a girl that seemed good on paper , but seemed to have something just " off " about her.</p>
<p>My DD was an international au pair, but not through an agency, rather through an opportunity she found at university. I would recommend when the time comes to be very clear on expectations, that was her biggest frustration, having to hammer out the guidelines in a 2nd language. Overall it was a good experience and she gained sufficient fluency, but chances to travel on the weekends alone did not work out, though she was able to have friends or siblings traveling in the area come visit her there. She was invited to stay on for a year, but felt she had accomplished her purpose. Her replacement has been there over a year now. The boy needs to have a clear idea of what will make the experience a success, he should know what he expects to accomplish/experience.</p>
<p>D used Great Au Pair and had a wonderful experience with a family in Spain last summer. I think the vast majority of families want female nannies, though. Good luck to your S.</p>
<p>I used Au Pair in America for 13 years … it’s a great program if you have the right intent for cultural exchange in return for quality day care. It sounds like Great Au Pair is an agency that goes the other way … Americans as au pair in other countries. As a parent that used to interview au pairs over the phone, the parent experience is scary. If he zooms in on GreatAuPair and starts to interview, he should emphasize that he knows how to prepare food, knows about safety and CPR, and is reasonably clean. Most au pair host families don’t want to babysit an older kid, so one that can stand out on his own while experiencing the culture will really stand out. On a negative side, some families don’t ‘get’ the au pair program. Make sure they appreciate the cultural exchange part of it and that they have a schedule that supports an au pair helping them no more than 40 hours a week. Au pair families in the US have abused that concept, so I’m sure it can go both ways. When he interviews, don’t just sell himself, but also make sure he is interviewing the family.</p>
<p>Second what Snowflake said. We got a lovely au pair who left a really, really wealthy family in horse country because she felt treated like a maid. We had a much smaller house, and certainly a less lavish lifestyle, but at our home she was part of the family. </p>
<p>One thing he needs to be prepared for: cultural expectations regarding children and childrearing are very different in different countries. Trying to find some others who have come back from au pair experiences in that country could be very helpful.</p>
<p>Thanks for suggestions of some things he should look for when interviewing the family, and things he should point out about himself when being interviewed. He does have CPR and First Aid certification, so he’ll be encouraged to mention. </p>
<p>GreatAuPairs definitely shows a preference for females…but there were some positions for males, or where it didn’t matter…</p>
<p>DS had a week’s stay in Geneva, in June, on short notice to a HS classmate who was an au pair to a couple who also provided a private studio apartment. He only saw her once or twice while he was there, she was out doing the au pair, and he was touring Switzerland.</p>
<p>I know a boy who graduated last year that’s in Spain (he deferred his college acceptance for a year to work on his Spanish and he was a bit burned out) working for a family with 3-4 boys. He took over from a girl from our HS that graduated the year before. I understand he’s having a blast. Your son should look for a family with school-aged boys that he can relate to with regards to interests such as music or sports.</p>
<p>Having had live-in domestic nannies for 8+ years, then 18 months of hell with 3 foreign au-pairs (another story!), I think the most important part of the relationship is laying out the rules and expectations at the beginning. These include hours, car usage, specific duties and if the family want to include him in activities when he’s ‘off the clock’. He should also have an understanding of what his role should be in discipline when parents are/are not around and what he should do when the parents are around and he’s ‘on the clock’.</p>
<p>We used au pair in america as well. Had some great, some not so great experiences. A friend’s dau was an au pair in Germany after she graduated form college, but it was with a family they already knew.</p>
<p>Another au pair in America user, with mixed results. Two I still keep in touch with. Most important was establishing rules. I had one girl ask to leave her wealthy family because they wanted her to “dress” for dinner, they ate late (so she couldn’t go out), and lived far away. I was right by a T stop, so easy for gals to get around. </p>
<p>I’d have your son know the expected hours, weekend and nights especially, and age of children, if he is allowed to have friends over, and where his room would be in relation to the other bedrooms. The best spots are away from the family, with own entrance.</p>
<p>Spot on advice. You never know what the situation will be. Our eldest S was hired in NYC by a woman who had a staff of 3 nannies for 4 children. </p>
<p>Although she didn’t set out looking for a male, she ended up hiring S for her 2 school-aged boys. Some of the tasks involved picking them up from school and escorting them safely through the NY subway system. Also their Dad traveled a lot, so she decided she liked the thought of a male role-model, once that was presented to her. </p>
<p>Recommendations and character references are extra extra important for males to prove they’re not inappropriate. S never got to the interview stage when there were babies listed. The thought of a male stranger diapering their babies is pretty unbearable to many. </p>
<p>Focus on the ads with older children, and emphasize homework help, tutoring, languages and outdoor interests.</p>
<p>I’ve been considering a gap year - becoming an au pair in Europe or Australia/NZ. However, I’ve had difficulty finding any sites where au pairs can connect with families without getting a “premium” acct that requires a hefty charge. I guess they’re all businesses that just want to make a profit.</p>
<p>Where can an au pair reliably find a family for free?</p>
<p>4khaos … you are probably asking how to skirt around immigration laws without realizing it. If you want to be employed in a country other than your own, then you will be responsible to get a passport and working visa. A value of working with an agency is that the host family’s fees cover the expense of some of these things, including travel in many cases. You should work with an agency to get all the legal paperwork clear otherwise you risk getting kicked out of the country just when you are having a great time.</p>
<p>4khaos –
We’re still looking, but I’ve been impressed with GreatAuPairs. They list countries and lots of info. about the families looking for people. While you can’t be 100% assured that the ads are real, they have some excellent suggestions for questions to ask to get info. on family. I don’t have any proof…but…based on the listings (especially the ones with lots of details), they seem to be real. The organization is really just a “match” site – they don’t do the visa work or any of the other details. I don’t think there are any fees to list on their site. You can do some initially searching without signing up.</p>
<p>FYI – It is NOT legal for a US national to work in England as an Au Pair…but it is legal in many other countries. Look on the the aupair sites, but also double check with the embassy for that country.</p>
<p>@Snowflake: I didn’t realize that there would be fees and paperwork dealing with the visa, but I’d rather take care of that on my own (with my dad’s help since he has experience traveling around the world). Thankfully, I already have a passport.</p>
<p>@2boysima: GreatAuPairs seems pretty nice compared to other sites; Thanks.</p>
<p>I also realized I wouldn’t actually be considered a “U.S. Au Pair” since I’m just a permanent resident, so it seems I have more things to research.</p>
<p>4khaos, there are definitely ways to do it on your own, so you should be okay. I knew of families in the US that had somehow gotten their own ‘au pair’ around the system and ran into some trouble and their ‘guests’ had to return. </p>
<p>It’s a great experience if you get a good family and an interesting town. Let us know what you end up doing.</p>
<p>Great Aupair also is a source for jobs within the USA for those who choose to not leave the country for work. This is how we used it…maybe less exciting for those looking to travel abroad , but it certainly worked for us. For the time span we needed someone , it made no sense to look outside of our own country…also never had to worry about visa or other legalities</p>