IRISHTIMES.COM

Monday, August 30, 2010

Irish families report good experiences with au pairs

More than 70% of Irish families believe having an au pair is a positive experience, according to the results of a survey, which were released yesterday.

Cheaper childcare is the most common reason (51%) for taking an au pair, while for 18% of parents; coverage for irregular working hours is the main attraction.

Half of those surveyed by the parenting website Rollercoaster.ie described the au pair’s relationship with their child as “excellent”, while another 32 per cent reported it to be “good.”

 Some 36% of parents said their own relationship with the au pair was ”excellent”, and 48% put it at “good.”

Just 4% said they had a “bad” relationship, while 6% “strongly disagreed”  with the idea that having an au pair was a positive experience for the family.

The online survey of 110 parents found that au pairs from France were most popular (20%), followed by Germany (17%), Eastern Europe (12%) and Spain (11%).

Almost half of parents,42%, use au pair agencies, but one quarter, 25%, makes their own arrangements through the Internet.

The once popular notion of having an au pair for the school holidays seems outdated, with only 7%t of parents saying this was the reason they had taken on an au pair.

In the majority of cases (37%), au pairs stay for six to 12 months, while 14 per cent stay for more than a year.