Au Pair in America Host Families

Introducing........Au Pair in America host families!

Family 1

I am 42 and my husband is 39. I'm originally from Northern Ontario, north of Toronto, Canada. I moved to Toronto for University and then worked there in advertising for a few years before moving to Miami, Florida, where we met. All of my family is in Canada; I have one sister and one brother. Scott's parents live near us in California and also have a home in Florida. Scott's parents, the kids grandparents help and take care of the kids from time to time.

We have triplets; two boys and one girl who will be six years old in October.One triplet is a funny, energetic red headed boy green eyed boy. The other boy is a lovable, cuddly sweetheart with blonde hair and blue eyes. The girl of the triplets has long, curly blonde hair with blue eyes and is very smart and curious.

Being Canadian I have a good French language foundation and I would very much like to improve it by being able to converse regularly with a French native and I would also like the children to grow up learning French. My husband is also from french heritage so this is important to our family. This is the primary reaason why we have chosen to hire an au pair over a nanny. Of course we would help our au pair master English at the same time. My husband and I have travelled all over the world and enjoy learning about new countries and cultures.

We have a large home with a completely separate large bedroom with sofas and tables and a separate bathroom for our au pair. There is plenty of room and privacy for everyone. We also have an extra car that the au pair is welcome to borrow to travel to her classes or to visit her friends. The area around our home is beautiful with horse ranches and acres and acres of nearby parks and beaches. The weather is generally sunny and 70 degreees year round. We are less than one hour from the Mexico border and only 1hour 30mins from Los Angeles/Hollywood, California.

We are a young, energetic, friendly and very relaxed family. Our primary purpose in life is to enjoy friends and family and to have fun whenever and wherever possible. We don't have very many rules for our au pair and are very easy going, we only ask in return that she be happy and energetic and fun for our children to enjoy and learn from. We also have an adorable orange tabby cat!

Family 2

We are looking forward to our fourth year with an au' pair. I live with my 4-year old son, my boyfriend, and our current au pair who is from Costa Rica. Our first au pair was from Argentina, and the last 3 have been from Cost Rica.

I have been divorced for 2 years. My son’s father lives about 20 minutes away and my son stay with him over every other weekend. However, our au pair is not required to sleep there at all, but rather just watch him during the day as needed.

We live in a very nice suburb of Detroit, Michigan. There are many kids in our neighborhood, and quite a few au pairs. My sister has two kids and an au pair as well. She lives right down the street. We have a good size house with lots of room for everyone to have their privacy. We are very casual, active and relaxed ' people, and we would like our au pair to be similar.

My son is a wonderful, adorable, fun-loving child who just loves to play all the time: He has loved each of our au pairs, but especially our current au pair, who treats him with all the love and kindness with which she would treat her own child. He requires a great deal of patience, and a very warm, affectionate approach. Our au pair must love the company of young children, be creative and whimsical. We would prefer she to have a sparkle in her eye and laugh easily, as that is what my son is used to, and that is the way .he is himself - he loves to connect with people, and he wants to feel loved and. special.

My son goes to school Monday through Friday until 12:00. Many afternoons I take him to various activities. Right now he takes swimming lessons, gymnastics twice a week, in addition to speech and occupational therapy for a mild developmental disorder that he has. Currently, our au pair’s general duties are playing with my son, since that is a great part of his therapy, feeding him and putting him to bed, so next au pair will have a similar schedule.

We love the au pair program for a few reasons. First, having live-in help makes the transitions of coming and going much easier for my son. Second, my son is starting to understand that people come from all different places, and it is so nice for him to learn about other places and cultures from people who live there. Finally, we really enjoy sharing our home and our cuIture with our au pair, and having another family member with whom we can laugh and play and have fun.

Family 1

Hi, I am going to tell you about our family and why we are excited about having an au pair join us. Our family is made up of the host dad , the host mom, a son and two daughters. We have a pretty full schedule. The oldest son is in 5th grade, The middle daughter is in 3rd grade and the youngest daughter is in Kindergarten at a private school. The kids stay pretty busy. We try to stay flexible for special outings and play dates. Our school is about 15 - 20 minutes away and we have to drive them every day. There is no bus service.

There are several reasons that we believe that an au pair is right for out family now. First, we have had au pairs in the past, and enjoyed the experience. We are looking for childcare that is flexible. We also like the fact that the au pair will be in a new and exciting environment and interested in exploring our area with our children and with out them in her spare time. As our children grow older, we believe it will be fun to have a young, energetic person around to play with and learn from. We have traveled with our kids to Europe, Mexico, the Caribbean and extensively within the D.S., and they are old enough to appreciate language/cultural differences. In addition, the host dad and the middle daughter are studying Spanish in school now. It would be a great way to improve language skills.

It is important that our au pair be outgoing and energetic. She should have experience with older children like ours, and be able to be a friend to them, and help maintain a positive environment. In addition, our au pair will have to help us enforce the rules that we do have regarding television and computer time, table manners, and homework, along with treating each other with kindness and respect. We value physical exercise and creative play. Our au pair may spend a lot of time in the car. It is very important that she be an experienced and comfortable driver.

We live in a very interesting and beautiful area of the country. Washington D.C. is 20 minutes away, yet just beyond our back yard are hundreds of acres of parkland to explore. It is a very safe community with lots of opportunity for outdoor activities, shopping, sight seeing, cultural and educational experiences, and other recreation. There is a very strong au pair community in our area.

Family 2

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Family 3

We live in a nice suburb of Washington D.C. Our home is a 3 story brick colonial with a private au pair suite in the basement. It is a culturally-diverse community with easy access to things like malls, movie theaters, groceries, library, schools, and the subway. Our neighborhood has nice walking trails, a private clubhouse with an Olympic-size pool, and a tennis court.

The host dad is a regulatory lawyer who works in the city. The host Mom is a Neonatologist (doctor for premature and sick newboms). We are blessed with two boys- one of them will be 7 years old in October and the other one will be 5 years old this August. Both boys attend a private school 4 miles from home. The older son will be in first grade and the younger one will be in Pre-K. We also have a very energetic black lab.

We are both working parents with demanding careers. Due to the nature of our work schedules, we expect you to be flexible with your work hours. There will be days where you don't work, days where you work 4 hours or less, and days you will work 10 hours. You will never work more than 45 hours a week and we do not expect you to work on Sundays unless it is absolutely necessary and only if it was arranged well in advance.

We do not believe in corporal punishment (spanking). Our boys respond well to "time outs" which is when they are sent to their rooms. They are at a stage where they continually test their boundaries and we expect you to be firm, but fair and consistent when disciplining them.

We have had a range of experiences with both domestic nannies and au pairs. We are looking for somebody who will be a perfect fit for our family. You should be caring, loving, and compassionate and must enjoy playing and interacting with the kids. Our boys have boundless energy, curiosity, enthusiasm, and are very loving. You need to be energetic, responsible, nurturing, motivated, honest, and want to integrate into our family. We expect you to share family activities like preparing, eating meals together and be part of the family.

Most importantly, we are looking for someone who will view caring for our kids as more than just a job, but as an opportunity to live with a caring family who will treat you as one of their own.

Family 4

Our daughter is an outgoing, fun-loving, 12\12 year old girl who will be starting 7th grade in September. She has had an au pair since she was two years old. Our new au pair will live with her father, and her stepmother, in Massachusetts. Her parents are divorced, and she lives primarily with dad, but spends one day a week at her mother's house. Our au pair win not take care of her on the day that she is at her mother's house.

The host mom and dad are both physicians. The host dad is a radiologist and the host mom is a pediatrician. In addition to English, the host mom speaks Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian fluently. Our daughter studies Spanish in school, and understands a bit.

We live in a beautiful suburb of Boston, located about 15 km west of downtown Boston, and is easily accessible by public transportation. There is a very large au pair cluster here, and there are many activities, movies, shops, and restaurants close by. There are very many colleges and universities in Boston. There will be several choices for our au pair to take classes at, but the best choice is usually to take evening classes at the Harvard University Extension School. They have courses in very many topics, and they have very good teachers.

Our au pair will take our daughter to the bus in the morning and pick her up in the afternoon. She will also drive her to a lesson after school on some days, and stay at home with her in the afternoon after school. Our au pair will have a car to use to drive our daughter, and for her own use in the local Boston area because she will sometimes need to pick our daughter up at school, it is very important that our au pair have driving experience and feel comfortable driving into Boston. Our au pair will generally not work in the evening, and will be off most weekends. We may occasionally ask her to work a few hours (during the daytime only) on a weekend, but this will be very rare.

We are looking for an au pair who loves children, and who will enjoy spending time with our daughter and her friends, and helping with her homework. She is very sweet and fun loving, and we would like an au pair who is warm and interacts easily with her. Because our daughter will be in school from 8 AM until 3 PM or 5PM, our au pair will have plenty of free time most days, unless our daughter is home on school vacation or home sick. It is important that our au pair be reliable and available.

Our house has a private au pair suite on the ground level. There is a private entrance, a bedroom, a private bathroom, and a "kitchenette" with a sink, a microwave, and small refrigerator to keep snacks. The au pair's room has a computer to use for email and play DVDs, a television, and VCR.

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Family 5

We have a young and active family with 4 children, ages 3, 6, 7, and 9 years old. We think we are very fortunate to have such a fun, healthy and boisterous family. We are looking for an active and positive person to care for our children while we are working. Here is more intonation on each of our children:

Our oldest son is 9 years old: He is full of energy and curious about everything. He collects coins, stamps and rocks. He plays basketball, baseball, soccer and loves to ride bikes. He has a big smile and likes people quickly. He gets excellent reports from school and he really enjoys going there each day. During the school year he leaves at 8:00 am and returns at 3:00 pm.

Our middle son is 7 years old: He is loving and easy to be with. He likes anything electronic and easily figures out games or machines. He likes to play with friends mostly but also basketball, baseball, and soccer. During the school year he leaves at 8:30 am and returns at 3:40 pm.

Our only daughter is 6 years old: She is sweet and cheerful. She likes arts and crafts and will do just about anyone on one activity you can think of. She likes to play outside, ride her bike and swim. She also takes a gymnastic class once a week. She is driven to school at 8:45 am and returns on the bus with Ian at 3:40 pm.

Our youngest is 3 years old, but will be nearly 4 when you arrive: He is adorable and has the personality of a movie star. He is full of smiles and hugs. He loves his brothers and sister and they love him right back. He speaks very well for his age. He goes to preschool 3 mornings a week and is driven at 9:00 am and is picked up at noon.

As you can tell from the description, the children are busy most days during the school year and the youngest son will be the child you will spend the most time with. During the summer, since we belong to a swimming and tennis club so we do activities there. Also during the year, we travel at least two or three times, to places like Florida, Cayman Islands and Arizona. We need an Au Pair with an excellent driving record and no fear of flying.

My husband is a very involved father. He participates in all the children's activities. He is an attorney and works close by. He likes to spend his free time doing things with the children. I couldn't ask for a better partner.