Family 1

Greetings!  We are a loving and energetic family with three children and two dogs.  We live in Greenwich, Connecticut, a beautiful suburb 25 miles east of New York City.  Our town has an enormous amount to offer!  We are looking for an au pair who knows what it means to be in a busy family and has experience with older children.  Since our children are in school during the day, the hours are mostly in the afternoon and evening.  That would allow the au pair to enjoy going to classes during the day.  Driving is a big part of the position, so you would have to feel totally confident with that – we of course will give you lots of information on the area before you are asked to drive the children.  We are an active family and full of life.  We have had three au pairs in the past and they have all continued to be close family and friends.

Mom is a warm, friendly mother who is very involved with our children and the community.  She loves to read, swim, walk in nature, garden and go to museums.  She is not working at the moment but used to work in a museum in New York City.  She keeps a tidy home and enjoys good food.  Dad is a kind man with a very busy career as a consultant in media and entertainment.  He is calm, friendly and athletic.  He loves music of all kinds, windsurfs, cycles and sails.

Our eldest daughter, who will be 14 in October, is mature for her age.  She is going to a girl’s school and is a very competent student.  In some ways she is your typical teenager though!  She loves music and her I-pod and is studying Spanish.  Our son is 11 years old – his friends are really important to him because, being our only son, he often feels like he’s surrounded by women.  He has a great laugh and a shy disposition until you get to know him (then he’s not shy at all!).  Sometimes he gets frustrated with schoolwork but he does very well.  He is almost a black belt in karate and plays squash.  He can also draw very well and wants to be a filmmaker when he’s older. 

Our youngest daughter is 8 years old, adorable, happy and loving.  She enjoys her friends, arts and crafts and cooking ‘experiments’.  She is also learning how to tap dance and ice skate.  She enjoys getting attention and loves to dress up in costumes and be an actress.

A typical day for the au pair would start at around 3:00pm with an after school pick up and then drive one child to an activity.  Later in the afternoon there would be homework time for the kids and the au pair could either help with that or prepare the dinner.  The au pair has a large private bedroom with her own bathroom, WC and staircase.  We look forward to hearing from you!

Family 2

We are a family with a 4-year-old daughter living in Summit, New Jersey and are seeking an au pair to care for our daughter.  We have been in the Au Pair in America program twice before and had a great experience.  We still keep in touch with other au pairs, one was from Estonia and the other from Poland.

We both work full time but are not ‘workaholics’.  Time at home with our family is important to us.  My husband works in the International Shipping Industry – he’s worked with German, British and French companies and has also stayed at home full time when our daughter was 1 year old.  I work in a Radio Station and have worked in the media for many years.

Our daughter is our only child and is a very curious and active girl.  She is always very eager to learn and participate in activities.  This past year she has enjoyed swimming lessons and soccer camp.  She is currently going to pre-school and will spend at least 3 days a week there for half day sessions.  She also likes ballet.  A typical day caring for her would include preparing her meals, spending time with her doing crafts, driving her to lessons or school or other sports activities, reading to her or arranging play-dates with other au pairs. 

Summit, New Jersey is located about 25 miles from New York City.  It is a suburban town of about 20,000 people and has restaurants, shops, pubs, churches and public transport.  We enjoy spending time together as a family.  We like to try different foods and we like to travel when we have the time.  We’re also about a 1 hour drive from the beaches, which we like to visit in the summertime.  We also like to entertain our friends and family in our home.  We have a family dog, a Labrador retriever who we have had for 7 years.  He is a very large, but gentle dog who is also a lot of fun. 

Family 3

I would like to tell you a little bit about our family.  We have been in the Au Pair in America program for 3 years.  We have truly enjoyed our experience with the program.  Our first au pair stayed with us for 2 years and our second has decided to go back to University.  Our family is made up of my wife, our two daughters, our dog and last, but not always least, me – the host Dad.

My wife works from home.  Her job does allow her to be home most mornings and around when the kids get off the school bus.  But, because she can be out on appointments throughout the day, we need help to make sure our girls have someone there to get them ready for school and there for them as they get home.

Our eldest is 12 years old going on 16!  She is at a time in her life where she wants independence but still has to hold on to being a little girl.  We have told her that our next au pair will be more of a friend or ‘older sister’ than her ‘babysitter’.  We hope our au pair will understand the changes she is going through.  Being a friend to her will be your responsibility.  We need for you to get her to activities after school.  She does babysit for many of our neighbors, so in her mind she doesn’t understand why she needs someone other than her parents watching her.  As for her personality, she is a quiet, confident young lady.  She sometimes needs a push to do things but once she decides to do things her focus is very strong.  She plays the flute and loves to bake, which has not helped with our waistlines!

Our youngest daughter is our little sparkplug!  She is a fun loving 8 year old.  Her goal in life is to play with her friends.  Her imagination is boundless.  She works very hard at school.  She sets goals and really tries to achieve them.  She is just starting to take piano lessons.  She is on the swim team and does quite well.  She enjoys playing house.  Her sense of humor will keep you laughing.  She will be under your care most of the time.  As for the dog, she is a loveable Golden Retriever.  We have a big back yard and she loves to play there.

I work in town about an hour away from our house.  I leave early so I can be home early.  I enjoy my job.  I work for a company that remodels older homes.  I love to play golf, guitar and cards.  I feel that my wife and I are fair with our daughters and our au pairs.  We believe that our family wants and needs someone who will be part of the family.  We understand and respect your need for your own time.  We hope that you will take a look at our family and wish you the best of luck in your search!

Family 4

My husband and I have been married for 17 years.  We bought our first home 7 years ago and moved in with our cat.  Our first daughter was born on April 5^th 2000 and our second daughter was born on August 10^th 2004.

When we are not spending time with our family we both work in New York City.  My husband is a Technical Director for a company and I work in Human Resources at a Real Estate firm.  I have been there for just over a year.

Our main goal in life for our daughters is that they be happy in whatever they choose to do! So far, we are off to a great start.  Our eldest is a happy, sweet, active 6 year old. She loves spending time with her little sister, cousins and friends.  She has friends that she sees at school and during play dates.  She is in first grade and goes to school each day from 8:45am to 2:45pm.  After school she plays with her sister or has play dates with her friends.  She is very social but also enjoys quiet time, drawing and reading.  Our youngest is 2 years old and goes to Nursery school two afternoons a week.  She loves to eat and will try just about any kind of new food!  She also enjoys playing in the backyard with her sister.  We look forward to welcoming an energetic, responsible, loving au pair into our family.  Since both my husband and I work full time during the week, the au pair’s working hours are all between Monday and Friday.  Every evening and weekend is available for the Au Pair to explore the NYC area and socialize with the many au pairs and other new friends in the community.

We have always been interested in learning about other cultures.  We both come from Irish ancestry and were raised with an appreciation of the cultural diversity around us.  Visiting our families in Ireland helped peak our interest in seeing the world.  We enjoy travelling and have had the opportunity to visit such places as Ireland, England, Wales, France, Italy, Spain, Greece, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Austria, India, Nepal, Colombia, Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.  We look forward to welcoming an Au Pair into our family with whom we can exchange cultural experiences.  We will do all we can to make our house a home for the au pair, while at the same time, respecting her privacy and independence.

Our home is in Westchester County, NY.  It’s a waterfront community and during the summer we spend a lot of time at the local beach club and pool.  The neighborhood is very family –oriented, evidenced by the abundance of children playing on the tree-lined streets.  Many families include au pairs, nannies and other childcare providers in addition to family members.  The train ride to midtown Manhattan takes approximately 40 minutes.  The proximity allows for easy access to the multitude of cultural and educational opportunities available in NYC, such as museums, theatres and education centers. 

Family 5

Dear Au Pair,

We are very excited about the prospect of you joining our family.  We have had au pairs from Au Pair in America from 1996 – 2004 and have had many wonderful and positive experiences.  In fact, in 2003 we travelled to Europe and were able to visit with 6 of the 8 au pairs!  It was wonderful to see everyone again, including parents and boyfriends who had previously visited us in the United States.

We moved to Indianapolis in August 2005.  After 20 years on the East Coast we were tired of the traffic and congestions.  My husband is an attorney and has been working in a local office since we moved.  I took 18 months off to pack and move the family to Indiana but I’ll soon be heading back to work full time; also as an attorney.

Our boys have always loved having au pairs.  Our eldest is now 14 and is a tall, handsome and kind young man.  He loves history, math, lacrosse and fencing.  Our youngest is 10 and plays ice hockey and lacrosse.  They are always busy and have high energy.  School is very important to us, and we stress to the boys the importance and success in education.  Our goals for the boys center around their thriving in a loving, cared for environment.  School started for the boys in August.  They are up and out the door early.  Our eldest wakes up on his own and sometimes has to wake us up!  He likes juice and a bagel before heading out the door to catch the bus.  He comes home from school around 2:45pm.  Our youngest has a harder time waking up.  He also likes his breakfast made and is out the door by 7:45am.  He is usually home around 3:30pm and two times a week goes to a tutor, who lives about 2 miles from our house.

Sometimes the boys will have a half-day at school or a full day off.  Also, if they are sick, it’s anticipated that the au pair will stay home with them and play, or make them rest.  Both boys have orthodontist appointments regularly so there is driving involved in the position.  With their playing sports, there is also a lot of laundry.

We also have a dog who is 3 years old.  He needs to be walked during the day and boys need to be reminded that they are to walk him after school.  My husband gets home around 6pm.  I should be home at that time too.  Depending on the boys’ after-school activities we like to have dinner around that time, with everyone at the table.  We all enjoy cooking and expect our au pair to join in.  We have loved having au pairs in the past, and look forward to you joining us.  It has enabled the boys to “hang at home”, get to their after school activities and has made our lives so much easier.  We love the cultural exchange and learning about what your life was like before you joined us.