An "Extraordinairy" Program
I recently had a couple of parents ask me if I would recommend the au pair program for babies, infants or multiple young children. My initial reaction was YES, get an au pair. Although, I did give one caveat.
I suggested they look into the Au Pair In America Extraordinaire program. It is a unique program offered by Au Pair in America that is focused on matching host families with highly experienced au pairs. The au pairs are typically former nannies, educators or nurses and are generally (although not always), very experienced. You pay extra for these au pairs, but it is well worth the piece of mind.
I had an au pair extraordinaire when I had 2 children under 2 and my experience was nothing less than stellar. So, if you find yourself in a situation where you need some unique or more experienced help, I would definitely consider the au pair extraordinaire program.
Here's a snapshot of my experience: My Au Pair extraordinarre was from Germany, was 26 years old, ran a 20-child day care in a hospital for children born of drug addicted parents. She was on the ball- and, I am convinced had eyes in the back of her head. My au pair knew all the developmental milestones, what to do when the kids were sick, and more. The best part-- she made me a more informed Mom!
So, the bottom line is.... au pairs can be great for those with special circumstances- like babies or multiple infants. You just have to find the right program for you!
Note: Some agencies argue that they offer experienced au pairs too and dont make you pay extra. However, I have yet to really come across au pairs from other agencies that have quite the extensive experience of the extraordinarre's.
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I would also encourage other
I would also encourage other parents to use an au pair to care for their babies. I had my 9 month old in a specialized daycare for infants and it was a nerve racking experience!! The au pair was able to provide special, constant dedication to my child. She was 21, from Germany, and had past experience caring for the babies of relatives. She knew just what to do and how to communicate with my baby and after a while (it always takes some getting used to) I didn't think twice about leaving my baby in her care. I did not use the extraordinaire program, but rather an infant specialized program with au pair care. I want other parents to know what a great and trustworthy baby-care program au pairs can provide!
Infant Specialized Program by Au Pair Care Agency
Hi - I do think that an au pair can do a good job taking care of an infant. However, that said, the type of au pair who should be in charge of a baby (under 22 months) should be mature, responsible, have excellent judgment and problem solving skills and, the most important skill she should have is babycare experience!
Au Pair Care Agency has a new Infant Specialized Care program that provides families with a trained, live-in au pair who specializes in infant care and child development. If I were to host an au pair and I had an infant, I would start with this program first!
Read the entire article on www.aupairclearinghouse.com where we rate, review and write articles on all the 12 au pair agencies in the nation.
Edina Stone
Founder & CEO
www.aupairclearinghouse.com
Worth Checking Out
I've been helping my sister find an au pair for her 9 month old daughter so that she can go back to work full time. After reading this post and the comments I went to the aupaircare.com web site to get more info and it says that infant specialized au pairs have at least 200 hours of documented childcare and get special training in infant safety (certification in infant CPR – big selling point for my sister) and learn how to “nurture healthy growth and encourage language development.” Apparently the girls are also trained in Infant Sign language, how cute would that be! I thought it sounded a little too good to be true so I told her to call their 1-800number and, shockingly, she was able to speak to a real person! Apparently she hasn’t been able to get past other agency’s phone systems. My sister said the woman she spoke with was really helpful and actually answered all of her very specific questions, including how they conduct background check and what kind of local support is offered, without just giving her the scripted responses.
From what she told me, AuPairCare nominates au pairs to be the infant au pairs instead of the au pairs applying specifically for this program. So she decided to go ahead with this agency, I’m glad to know that the au pair that will take care of baby niece will have been carefully chosen because of her experience and will get additional infant training. (Good thing too because I babysat as a teenager but I never had any sort of formal care instructions so if there had been a real emergency like the baby started choking I wouldn’t have completely panicked, don’t tell my sister that!)
Jillian
Worth Checking Out
Yes, AuPairCare is a wonderful agency and we've been very pleased with their customer service, their programs and their selection of au pairs. With that said, please remember that any young adult that is going to be taking care of your infant still needs to have a nurturing personality. No matter how much "training" they go through, if they don't have a nurturing personality, maturity and a good sense of responsibility, no amount of training is going to make up for that!
Also, a reminder, the Infant Specialized Program is 1 day of training that teaches the au pair the basics of taking care of an infant (cpr, how to change a diaper, bottle feed, burp, etc.)
Our first au pair was with us for 4 months, we paid the extra $1000 to have her do the Infant Specialized Program and soon found out she just didn't have a nurturing personality. We chose an older au pair (25) thinking she would have more maturity and more experience, but no such luck! She rarely held our twins and found it more convenient to put them in the bouncy chairs or swings. I am a stay-at-home mom with 4 under 4 and this did not sit well with me. Especially since I was here and always involved in the day to day activities with the children.
We rematched and our second au pair has been with us for 3 months now. She is 24 and wonderful!!! We opted not to pay for the Infant Specialized Program and were blessed that she is a natural with our babies. She loves them like they are her own and I never worry about their safety or their needs being met. Again, I think sometimes it just comes more naturely to some than others.
So, again, it is a wonderful program, but please remember to screen your au pairs carefully and make sure you choose someone that really loves babies. This is going to be the person who spends the most time with your child while you are working 40-60 hours a week! :)