A
female
age
36-40,
anonymous
writes:Hi. I'd really appreciate some advice on these job offers. I'd like to go and work abroad as an Au Pair. I'll write about both families, and you can tell me what you think.One of the families is from Switzerland. They have three kids , a girl, 18 months old , another girl , 3 years old , and a boy , 5 years old. I'm concerned because i haven't worked with this age group before , and i don't have children of my own . I had another au pair job recently , but the kids in that family were older . It didn't work out very well , but it hasn't put me off looking for another Au Pair job . The family are offering free accommodation , free travel , food , e.t.c , which host families usually do . They also said i have four weeks off, but it's negotiable , and i would be a mother's help . So far, i know i would need to help with cleaning ,cooking , baking and shopping . Another concern is that i don't have much experience with cooking . They have another Au Pair at the moment . It was her first Au pair job, but she has been getting along fine . She told me that she takes the kids to playgroup and cooks their lunch. I think that maybe i should send the Au pair another email to ask exactly what the hours and duties are. The mother also says that the son can be a rascal , and the girls can misbehave sometimes, but are usually very sweet and funny . And she told me it can be difficult to look after them sometimes, but a smile helps a lot , and she said that they laugh a lot together. I would also have my own seperate apartment. They also said i would need to learn German ( it seems as if it's compulsory with this family ). They have said they would like me to go over for a month's trial , and they would pay for my flight.The other family is from Italy, and i'm supposed to be more like a " big sister " to the kids. They are all girls, ages 18 , 16 and 13 . I would need to take the youngest daughter to school and afterschool activities , and encourage each of the girls to keep their rooms tidy . I would also help them all with their English homework , and teach them English in general by asking them about their day, what their interests are, e.t.c . The mother also says that the girls get on very well with their current Au Pair. I would also only need to cook one meal ( dinner ) and they have a housekeeper who does all the rest of the chores . I would also have to share a seperate apartment with the housekeeper , although i would have my own room , so i wouldnt have much privacy , i don' think , if i ever stayed in the apartment during free time . I would only need to work in the afternoons until the evening , some days 4.30 - 7.30 , and other days 2.00 - 7.30 . There are also opportunities to travel with this family , or alone, during the summer. I would also have the option to earn more money , by teaching English with the company that the Mother works for, although it's not compulsory , and i could take an italian class, if i want to . This job wouldn't start until next month.If i have missed anything out , i'll add it later. I'll also add more about my last Au Pair job. What do you think ?.
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female
reader, MissH +, writes (9 April 2010):
ok, now i'm just really confused !. the mother of the family sent me an email asking for my full name and date of birth a couple of days ago , so that she could book the flight, and last night, as you know , i asked the current au pair what the duties were , hours , e.t.c . Today i asked the mother what the hours and free time were, as the current au pair had told me that i would need to ask her that , and she emailed me and said that the au pair usually works 30 hours a week, and has four weeks off, and they reward the au pair with gifts, such as trips . And the more hours you work each day, the more time off you would have , i think is what she was saying.
Now the next part has upset and confused me. She said my hesitation was odd , because they had offered me a sepcial possibility of checking out everything and everyone , and she said it was bad that i didn't give her my full name and date of birth ( which i'm assuming she needed to book the flight , as she mentioend that when she said she wanted to book the flight ) . I had intended on giving her the details , but only after i knew what to expect from them , as i didn't want to just go over without knowing what to expect, incase there was anything i couldn't do , then they would be disappointed. I've sent her an email saying that , but i don't know if she will respond.
A
female
reader, MissH +, writes (9 April 2010):
oh, and i'll also add that you just create a profile on the website, search for a family , and if you like them , you add them to your hotlist. If you aren't a paid member, they will have to contact you first. If you are, you can email them first. The family add you to your hotlist if they are interested in you too , but if they aren't , they either usually just ignore you or they " reject " you . you'll understand it if you join the website.
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A
female
reader, MissH +, writes (9 April 2010):
marieclaire, i am registered with greataupair.com , newaupair.com , and aupair.com . you can just search for families on there for free, without going through agencies, which is more expensive. However, i know that just searching for families on a website is more of a risk . With agencies, they would screen you and the families to check that you are decent people , and you can also have support incase anything goes wrong . Even if you jsut use a website, you can ask a family to sign a contract to say that they are decent people , and about the hours, duties, free time ,e.t.c , but i suppose there's never a guarantee that you are going to get what you expect . On one of the websites, host families can post complaints about you, and you can about them , so you do need to be careful. I have read some shocking things !. So that kind of puts me off, but at the same time, it would be great to experience a different culture.
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A
female
reader, MissH +, writes (9 April 2010):
i received an email from the swiss family's current au pair , and she said she works 10 hours a day , so that's 50 hours a week ! i'm sure you're only suppsoed to work 25-30 hours a week at the most as an au pair ? hpoco , can you confirm this ?. she said the kids are great , fun to be around and very cute , although the mother made it sound like they misbehave sometimes . The au pair also mentioned where she takes them during the day , and she said you stay at home with one or two of the kids while the mother takes one or two of them to an activity , or soemtimes you can go with her. i would also have to cook lunch , and i could bake too, although i don't have to do that .
It's difficult because they have already offered for me to go over there, and were going to pay for the flight. I would feel quite bad letting them down . The italian family got intouch with me the same day the swiss family offered me the job . i'm not sure whether to try the month's trial ,and then if it doesn't work out , go to the italian family , if they offer me the job. the job with the italian family wouldnt start until next month anyway, but i just fel that if i only do a month with the swiss family, i might have wasted everyone's time . i've been quite worried because i've read some shocking stories about people's experiences. There is a complaints section on one of the websites i'm registered with , where you can complain etiehr about an au pair or the host family. i would also worry incase i do anything wrong and the family posts a complaint .
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A
female
reader, hpoco  +, writes (8 April 2010):
 I have been an au pair/nanny on and off for years, and I loved it. Based on how you describe these two jobs, I agree with the other aunts: take the one in Italy. It just sounds easier. If you really want a challenge and you have a strong desire to learn German (or actually Swiss-German), take the first, but the second one sounds like a family that will be able to offer YOU more, beyond just a "job". (Although being in Switzerland, I can attest that it is an awesome place to live, and that should not be discounted!)
Don't worry about cooking, I'm sure they don't expect you to be amazing at it. Just make a plan for what you want to cook, and don't be afraid to screw up. If you want to send me a message and talk about different jobs/complain about your current family, feel free :-) Good luck to you!
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A
female
reader, raiders  +, writes (8 April 2010):
 The second job sounds much better take that one, bonus point is that Italy is just so beautiful!
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A
female
reader, eyeswideopen +, writes (8 April 2010):
 2nd job, hands down. I'd choose it just for the better weather.
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A
male
reader, CaringGuy +, writes (8 April 2010):
Second job, without a doubt, First of all you won't be as tired with young kids running around, and you'd be able to earn extra money as well. I also like Italy :). Far more relaxed about everything! Go and enjoy Italy. :)
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A
female
reader, CindyCares  +, writes (8 April 2010):
 I'd take the second job without hesitating ( and no, my anwer has got absolutely nothing to do with me being Italian ).
Darling, have you got even just a vague idea what's like to take care of three kids of which the oldest is just 5 ?! It's very, very, very demanding. It's a massacre, and I do not care how much you like small children ( I like them too )- it's still a hard job. And a big responsibility ,too. I think I understood you'd share the workload with another Au Pair,but still.
Plus, you are supposed to learn German, which is a very difficult language, don't think you can hope to accomplish something before at least 6 months, would they wait for you
all this time ?
Then , the Italian family already has a live in housekeeper so I suppose you would not be expected to do any cleaning.
Whatever you choose, best of luck and I wish you a wonderful experience.
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