December 18, 2008


"We really love having an au pair as part of our family. We use Cultural Care and we are very happy with them. Their website is user friendly and the staff in the office really works hard to get you the kind of applications that you ask for - it is important that an agency work with you to deliver the kind of au pair that meets your childcare needs because each family is different. I have twins under the age of three and two older children, one with special needs, and they sent me an au pair with a very level head on her shoulders, who had experience with very young twins AND she had experience dealing with ADHD children. She is almost perfect and my children love her! I would recommend Cultural Care for any large family with unique childcare needs - they really listen and try to match you with a girl who fits the family profile. Let me add, I love this website - I can't wait until there is more content and maybe a newsletter?"

Theresa, Bethesda Maryland

"Thanks Theresa for sharing your experience with us so other host parents can become informed about the different au pair programs out there. We are glad you like our site, and we are working hard to get all of our content on the site. Tell your other host family friends to check us out and send us their comments!"


Nina J., Staff Writer

"The Au Pair Clearinghouse site was critical in my choice of au pair agencies. When you go online and look at all the different agencies out there - they all look alike, they all say the same thing and all their websites look the same. I was able to find the right agency with the information provided by this consumer website - it is an invaluable resource and nothing else is around like this!" They should write a book for new families because there is consumer information you should have that the au pair agencies will not tell you - for obvious reasons!"
Stella from Augusta Georgia

"I went with Au Pair in America because they were advertised as the "premier program." I have twin infants and I matched with a Thai. She was described as a driver and having good English. However, she did not drive well at all and had an accident with our new car in the first week. Our counselor explained that most au pairs that are qualified with 200 hours in infant care happen to come from Thailand and this is why the agency pushed the girls from Thailand. I did not know that! I finally matched with a local au pair who was also in rematch and she is great. My Thai au pair could not find a family and had to go home. My advice? Don't assume that the au pairs assigned to you can drive and speak English well. Interview the girls more than once and be ready to rematch if they don't come with the qualifications they say they have."

Nancy from Portland Oregon

"I had a very good experience with Culture Care. I had two au pairs from Brazil that stayed 2 years. My children are now in high school and they drive so I don't need an au pair any longer. We still stay in touch with these two wonderful girls and this summer my son is backpacking in Brazil and will stay with one of the au pairs in her family's home for a week! We are so excited to be able to offer this experience for our children - if you get with the right agency it is a wonderful cultural exchange for the children as well as the most inexpensive childcare available out there!"

Dolores from Michigan

"The interview process is key to picking a good, mature and reliable au pair. My local counselor taught me how to do this and she had many good tips that were not in the au pair agency's brochures and materials. When your counselor comes to interview you - you should be sizing her up to see if she knows her stuff. If not, move on and go with another agency. A good experienced counselor is key to successful matches!"
Melissa from Princeton NJ

"I am a single host mom and I have a very demanding career in marketing. My au pairs are older, mature and good drivers who take over the household when I am working and traveling. I count on my local community counselor to make sure the agency is sending me applications that meet my very specific needs. If your agency does not send you the kind of au pair you need, change agencies. I did a few years ago and now every year the matches run smoothly."

Juliet from Maine

"Au Pair childcare has been so great for me and my young family. My husband and I work full time and we really needed inexpensive, reliable childcare with a live-in. My au pairs have been from Brazil and Mexico and they were great - hard working and fun to be around. At present we have a lovely young lady from Bolivia and she is full of energy, which is good as my young sons have her on the run from morning to bedtime. Try to match your family's style and personality with your au pair's personality. If you are an active family - pick an active go-getter but if you like to read and listen to classical music, choose an au pair who is quiet and prefers reading to snow boarding and parties!"
Jane and Jim from Maryland

"I just finished my first year with a girl from Peru. She has decided to stay for an extension year and my family of 5 are very happy she is going to be with us for another year! I wish we could keep her for 5 years but the programs only allow the au pairs to stay for 2 years. I have used daycare, nannies and high school girls after school and au pair care is just heads above all of these childcare options. You have a built in childcare giver who doesn't run out at the end of the day; they are a delight to have around with all of their energy and my Peruvian au pair likes to get down on the floor with the kids and play. They love her. My older nanny did more work around the house, but she didn't get on the floor and play with my young children and she often watched soap operas during the day even though I told her not to. My au pair doesn't watch TV and she prefers to take the kids out for walks and to the park. I highly recommend au pairs for young children and it is the least expensive childcare available today."
Pamela from Seattle

"I found the search for a good au pair agency to be quite bewildering and confusing! I just matched with my first au pair and I used the Au Pair Clearing House to help me negotiate the different agencies. It is a consumer website and there is nothing else like this online or anywhere else. I highly recommend reading their articles on what the agencies don't tell you and how to do the interview with prospective au pairs. I thought the au pairs would do general housework and the first agency I called said they did, but then I read on the Clearing House site that this is a huge mistake to make in expecting any au pair to take over the household chores. I told my girlfriend to look at this site before she chooses an au pair agency and she also found the site to be very helpful. So, if you are asking for advice: my main advice to any new family looking for au pairs is to check out this consumer site FIRST and then pick an agency."
Connie from Pittsburgh PA

"The first agency we signed up with said all the right things and they were cheaper than their competitor. We thought agencies were all alike, but the counselor didn't tell us the differences between cultures and countries and the first au pair we signed up with didn't drive well and did not settle in nicely due to cultural shock. It was a very rocky year for our children and us. The next year, we signed up with their competition and even though we spent more money we got an agency was much more established and their counselor was very experienced with a graduate degree in psychology. She told us to consider German au pairs since their English is very good; their driving usually excellent and they assimilate much better in American culture. We have been with this agency now for 5 years and we are very satisfied and have had great au pairs since."
Kathy from Stamford CT.

"I was with Au Pair in America for years and it was a great experience for me and my family. We finally sent our last child to college a few years ago and we miss having the au pairs. Our counselor was fantastic - very knowledgeable and available. We also learned so much about different cultures, including Germany, Poland and Austria. We had a very good experience. My advice? Pick a good agency, make sure your counselor is experienced who calls you back and is involved with her au pairs."

Very satisfied family from Randolph NJ

"Watch out for hidden fees in the smaller au pair agencies - they don't have the staff and expertise as the other more established companies. I used goAUPAIR and they were great. They are one of just a few agencies that offer male au pairs too, if that is what you are looking for. My au pair was from France and she was very good - she spoke English well, drove nicely and my children loved her. We spent a week in Paris and her family had us over for a very lovely dinner, my husband and I. It was very special and I thank goAUPAIR for introducing us."

Jean from Seattle</p>

"My husband and I are doctors and we have 5 children. We have very busy lives and I don't know if I could run my house and our professional careers without the help of our au pairs! I have used several agencies and they all seem to be the same but I have found that Au Pair in America is very good and reliable. Culture Care is fine too. The trick is to find a good counselor and office staff that will give good customer service and make sure they screen the au pairs carefully. The information on the Au Pair Clearing House site was very helpful to us in choosing not just the agency, but how to work with the au pairs and the counselors after you finally match. This website is a very useful tool in working with au pairs and agencies in general. Most of my au pairs come from Germany as I find them to be better drivers and their English is usually excellent."
The Wellington family from Rhode Island

"Expert Au Pair was the agency we went with on advice from a neighbor. We were literally in the dark about the whole process and we decided to start small - they have a summer program where the au pair comes over for just 3 months. It was a great way to get used to having some one live with us and to see how the kids would handle a young babysitter. It worked out very well and the next summer we signed up for an entire year. She is still with us, Brit from Norway, and we are very happy! This is a family run business and they are caring and warm and know how to give customers what they want!"
Denise from Tampa, Florida

"I never got used to having someone in my home all the time - I just hated it. I am not a very warm and fuzzy person and I know that - so it was very hard to have an au pair in my home. But my husband and I are lawyers, with very busy schedules and long hours and we had to have someone drive our kids to school and to after school activities and work on Saturdays. It really galled me to think of my au pair sitting at home, waiting for the kids to get picked up at 3:30 from school, and her not doing anything around the house! If I had another option, I would never use an au pair or any live-in for childcare."
Linda, Washington DC

"I loved my au pair from Thailand. Mai was funny and respectful and very smart. She was 26 and a teacher already. I was a stay at home mom, and she was more like a mother's helper. I had to drive her everywhere as she couldn't drive - my counselor told me many girls from Asia do not drive well <!--(click here to go to "Top Ten Tips to Avoiding the Most Common Mistakes in Hiring an Au Pair")-->. If I had to work outside of the home, Mai would not have worked out - but in my case she was a great friend as well as a great help to me and my 5 young and active children."
Marcy, Montclair, New Jersey

"We selected the au pair agency by the good reputation of our local community counselor. She is a dynamo and we were impressed by her knowledge and honesty on the phone the first time we spoke. There are so many agencies and they all look and sound the same and it is hard to choose one. But when we spoke to and met our counselor, we knew we were home."
Amy, Boulder, Colorado

"My au pair had an affair with my husband and I was the last to find out. Everyone in town knew and it was right under my nose. Finally, my community counselor came over and had a long talk with me. We tried to send the au pair home, but my husband left me and the au pair went with him. They are now married and have a family of their own. I am very bitter about it still. You are asking for advice? Don't hire a pretty au pair or any attractive, sexy childcare giver - you never know what will happen." <!--(click here to go to "Top Ten Tips to Avoiding the Most Common Mistakes in Hiring an Au Pair".-->
Angry Divorcee from Seattle - name withheld by request.

"My wife matched with an au pair from Poland and then she got sick with cancer and was dying. My au pair saw us through a very difficult time - she was very caring and loving to my young children and to my sick wife - taking care of her during the day while I was at work. It was not the happy, cultural exchange year my au pair had expected, but I will always be grateful to the au pair and the agency who allowed her to stay for the full contract."
John, single host Dad, Summit New Jersey

"The agency didn't tell me that this au pair was a party girl and was not interested in watching children all day Monday through Friday. My kids said all she did was talk on her cell phone and watch TV. Our au pair from Brazil couldn't wait to take our car every night and every weekend and go to parties, clubs and goodness knows, where else! Our counselor didn't tell us, a new family, how to screen for "party" girls - we found out the hard way. We had to send her home after she got pregnant" <!--Click here to go to "What the Agency Doesn't Tell You".-->
Susan, host mom from Philadelphia PA

"I loved America and everything about it - the people and the different states and cities and the shopping and the warm and caring people who are smart and generous. My host family was very hard working - not all American families are millionaires! They work hard for what they have - their cars, homes and clothes and toys for their children. I respect that. I am a hard worker too but after I left the USA to return to South Africa I cannot find a job here. My host family and I keep in touch and the kids write to me on my birthday. I wish I were back in the USA working as an au pair again! It was the best time of my life."
Connie, au pair from South Africa

"My host family was very sweet and good to me during my 2 years in America. I am from Norway and at first I was very homesick. My counselor was very good about coming around to visit me and take me out for a coffee and we would talk about my feeling sad and lonely - she assigned me to another au pair from the Netherlands and this was a big help in getting over my homesickness and getting used to being in this country, which is very fast paced and overwhelming to deal with. I would say my only advice to new au pairs (and host families) is to interview your local counselor because she or he is the one you will be working with during the year and this makes a huge difference in how your year goes. Most agencies are the same - try and find a great counselor either by word of mouth or interviewing them before you pick an agency."
Lise from Norway

"I came into a host family who lived in Pennsylvania - they had a very nice big house and I had a great au pair suite and a new car to drive and a cell phone. However, they were not interested in having a relationship with me and basically ignored me the first month I was there. The counselor didn't help me at all with this problem and I finally decided to switch families (rematch). After many weeks my counselor finally found me a very great family in CA. They didn't have such a big house and I had to share the family car and the bathroom with the kids but I fell in love with them and stayed two years with this family. They treated me like their daughter and were very loving and caring. My counselor in CA was very nice too and understanding but it was the second family's interest in me and caring that made my years in America the greatest time of my life! My advice to all au pairs is: do not stay with a family that does not respect you and treat you well - go into rematch early to save your year and to avoid sadness and worry."
Annabelle from Brazil

"I worked for an au pair agency for about 10 years. It was fun and I had a great time meeting so many different young women from all over the country. I finally left after the competition from other agencies that were less expensive crept into my area (as a result, my cluster dwindled in size). I just wasn't making the same money I used to so I retired and now I am substitute teacher in an elementary school. Advice? I would say to all new host families: treat your au pair with respect and kindness; really listen when your counselor comes over to interview you and explain the program to you and your spouse; treat your counselor with respect and professionalism - many times the host moms who were working professionals outside of the home would ignore my advice and it always came back to bite them in the 'you know what!' LISTEN and LEARN and your au pair experience should be a great one. Don't nickel and dime your au pair and send your counselor a holiday card with a check in it every year - she is servicing your family and au pair and you may be treating your mailman better than she!"
Elaine from NYC