This is my experience of using an au pair for childcare in the UK. An au pair is a person who lives with a host family in the UK and provides childcare and light housework for 20-25 hours per week. In exchange for these responsibilities, they are given weekly pocket money, a room, and full boarding.
In 2015 I got a new job outside of the city where we lived. My kids were 7, 5, and 1. Even though my working hours were 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., commuting to work meant I stayed out later. I knew we’d have trouble finding childcare that worked with me and my husband’s work schedules. We also had a limited family support network. So we couldn’t get much help with childcare.
After a lot of research, we decided that getting a live-in help would be the best option for us. Instead of hiring an au pair, we went for a mother’s help. A mother’s helper has more childcare experience and can care for the children and do housework for about 40 hours per week. They are essentially an extra set of hands that help the parents.
My sister already had a mother’s help and the feedback was very positive. As a result, we decided to go with the same au pair agency that she did. Because of the limited family support network, child care is a constant challenge for African parents raising children in the diaspora. Having a mother’s help, on the other hand, enabled my husband and I to provide flexible wrap-around care for our children while we were at work.
Using An Au pair for child care in the UK- The process
We registered with the au pair agency and completed the host family application form. We were sent some candidate profiles to review. The most difficult part of the process was sifting through the profiles because we needed the mother’s help to meet certain requirements. For example, we wanted a non-smoker and a Christian.
Despite the fact that the mother’s helps are vetted by the agency. It was still time-consuming to find someone who was a good fit for our family. We eventually narrowed it down to one person, whom we interviewed. The interview went extremely well, and she accepted the offer to live with us.
After that, the process moved very quickly. We paid a yearly agency fee of £595. Both parties signed a mother’s help contract, and we agreed to pay a weekly allowance of £150 to our mother’s help.
Our Mothers Help
Our mother’s help was a middle-aged woman who came from Romania. She had experience of raising her own kids. She was a good addition to our family and our kids grew to love her. Our mother’s help lived with us for 18 months and we are still in contact with her.
After she left, we got our next au pair from Au pair world. However, she wasn’t a good fit for our family so she left after a week.
Our last au pair experience was in the summer of 2017. We had a summer au pair who stayed with us over the summer. It was a very positive experience because the kids got along well with her. We are still in contact with her.
Summer 2017 marked the end of our use of au pairs for childcare in the UK. While it was a mostly positive experience for our family. We felt like we now needed our own space as a family. Furthermore, after school club was a better option for Kamsi and Kaima, our two oldest, while Somma, our youngest, was in nursery.
Things To Note When Using An Au pair for Child Care
- An au pair or mother’s help must have their own bedroom
- It is best to sign a contract that clearly defines the remuneration, babysitting hours, termination clause, sick pay, and daily schedule (what a typical day would look like).
- An au pair will assist with “light housekeeping.” These are typically household chores associated with children. A mother’s helper will typically assist with more tasks than an au pair because their contracted hours are longer.
- An au pair or mother’s helper must have free days to attend language classes or do other things they enjoy. It is best to sign a contract where the remuneration, babysitting hours, termination clause, sick pay, and daily schedule (what a typical day would look like) would be clearly defined.
- Have regular catch-up “meetings” with your au pair or mother’s help. I used to meet with mine every two weeks to see how they were doing.
Frequently Asked Questions About Au Pairs
- What if the au pair does not speak English? The au pair’s English language proficiency will be stated in their candidate profile. You can also assess this during the virtual interview process. Most au pairs take English language classes to help them improve their English.
- How much are au pairs paid? They are usually paid a minimum of £100 per week. Mother’s help are paid a minimum of £150-200 per week depending on their hour and conditions.
- Can my au pair take my kids to after school or complete homework with them. Yes, they can do this. They can even drive if they have the proper driver’s license.
Conclusion
Now that you have read my experience of using au pairs and mother’s help for childcare in the UK. Would you consider using an au pair or a mother’s help? If yes pls leave a comment to say whether you think this would work for your family.
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