Au Pair Year: Insights & Consider­ations for Post-Sch­ool Adventur­e

What do you want to do after school? Do you have clear ideas or aren’t sure? And how should be your teenage time between school and job? My adolescence should be:

Alive

Unforgettable

Perfect

Amazing

Instructive

Refreshing

You’re now asking for the connection of these words? Look at the letters downstairs. Au Pair! Would be that an option for you?

I chose this theme, because our actual unit deals with family and teenage time and Au Pair is a good alternative for many girls with traveling, family, new experiences and children in one.

At first I wanna give you some general facts about the Au Pair program:

As an Au Pair you spent twelve months in a family in, for instance, Great Britain, the USA or New Zealand. There you are responsible for their kids while your host parents are working. In addition to that you will do some general jobs in household like put something away into the dishwasher but remember that all your responsibilities are centred around the children, so you’re not expected to do heavy housework.

Furthermore you will become a part of the family, learn about the dealing with children and become more and more independent. After these twelve months you spent one more month for travelling wherever you want.

These are the conditions you need to become an Au Pair:

You have to be between eighteen and twenty six years old, spent at least 200 hours with children and of course have many language skills. In addition to that you need a driving license and an excellent police clearance. Non-smokers are favorites and last but not least: you should have your Abitur or a closed apprenticeship.

To be an Au Pair means to have a job. A hard and nerve-racking job.

You work maximal 45 hours per week and not more than ten hours on one day. 195 US$ you are getting for wage after a week, these are 150€, every week! And two days in week are completely your private time. Furthermore the education won’t be ignored, because you will visit colleges, which are payed from the Au Pair program for the course of your choice.

What a great way to experience American College life and improve your resume!

Don’t be afraid about not having enough knowledge’s about the dealing with children: before you finally move to your host family you will take one week in a training school with many other Au Pairs. There you get a speed education about safety, healthy food, typical diseases of kids, first-aid and the right behaviour in a conflict.

There is one important fact I have to mention: you choose your host-family by yourself. It always can happen that you don’t feel well in the family and then you have to change, so don’t decide too fast and be really sure about your decision.

I really hope I gave you a quick view about all facts and the program.

But, being an Au Pair has some dark sides, you should know.

The following fact could be a disadvantages for your travelling month: in some countries, for instance the USA, you come of age with 21. If you are younger than 21 years, it could happens that you are not allowed to check in in some hotels without an adult or maybe can’t lend a car for driving to some places.

So, would you say ‘Spending one year as an Au Pair before being 21 is not worth’?

And there is one more fact, which could change your opinion about the Au Pair program. Most of the girls think that this is a very exiting experience. On one hand it’s true, but on the other hand the daily routine is nearly the same every day. The children in America are also going to school every day and have to learn a regular daily routine.

The majority have another mind about this and want to do every day something other. If you have to care for school aged children, you’ll have quite a bit of free time during they are at school. But it also can happens, that you are responsible for infants, who need care round-the-clock.

This is more a fixed routine and a very stressful work. Can the work of an Au Pair went into very boring and monotonous? What is your opinion to it?

The court convicted the girl and she got a live imprisonment. There were also other cases, where the Au Pair’s were charged from the host-parents, that they should have punched their children. Isn’t this dramatic? You never know what could going on with your host family.

And this is my last statement:

‘Children are always unpredictable and if anything happens with them, you are the one to blame for it.’

Okay, in conclusion we can say, that the topic has many pros but also some cons, which cast the program in a negative light. So think very well about it and be sure that this is the right option for you. But in my opinion, it’s a great chance to make new experiences and to get through the time between school and studying.