Cultural Care is offering $1000 in savings if you sign up before August 31. 

Read our review of Cultural Care.

Solve the childcare dilemma with a live-in au pair

Kathy Weiss
Reader Submitted August 21, 2009

PressCitizen.com

An announcement yesterday by the Boston-based Cultural Care Au Pair that they are offering $1,000 savings to new families who apply to its live-in childcare program by August 31st comes at an opportune time. Families already struggling with job layoffs and our ailing economy also are being hit with soaring childcare costs.

According to the National Association of Childcare Resource and Referral Agencies, in 2008, the average price of full-time care for an infant in a center was as high as $15,895 a year. Parents paid up to $11,680 a year for full-time care for a four-year-old, while parents of school-age children paid up to $10,720 a year for part-time care in a center. Average prices for full-time care in a family child care home were as much as $10,324 for infants, $9,805 for a 4-year-old, and $7,124 for a school-age child.

Not surprisingly, the NACRRA's report found that average monthly child care fees for an infant were higher than the amount that families spent on food each month. In every state, monthly child care fees for two children at any age exceeded the median rent cost, and were nearly as high, or even higher than, the average monthly mortgage payment.

Surely there's an easier option at a lower cost. Cultural Care gives families a chance to customize their schedule for up to 45 hours of childcare at a weekly cost of $320 per family; not per child. And with the new $1,000 discount, the program becomes even more affordable.

Imagine: stress-free childcare that is less expensive than daycare or a nanny. Cultural Care au pairs are experienced, well-screened and trained childcare providers from over 40 different countries. These young people, ages 18 to 26, wish to devote a year to living with an American family in order to improve their English skills, learn about our culture and take classes. (Most au pairs in the Iowa City area fulfill the requirement of their J-1 visa by taking free ESL classes offered at a local church.)

Several local families participate in Cultural Care's program and appreciate the educational aspects of teaching their children about another language and culture. They also appreciate not having to get their children up early in the morning to head to a childcare center.

To learn more about hosting an au pair, visit www.culturalcare.com. To qualify for the $1,000 discount, apply online and include this code on your application: pcbts2009.