Au Pair/Nannying

we were about to set up shop with an au-pair. and what we were going to offer was a ski pass(if she wanted it) to big white which is a decent mountain near kelowna B.C. a car and about 800.00 cdn a month. plus room and board. it was pretty attractive offer.the individual would have had the use a a fully contained suite as well. the good offers are out there and some even come with a nice family like us. i'm sure there are some horror stories though . grandma has decided to move to kelowna so our child care needs are now taken care of. good luck if you go for it.

Register with an agency.

I was a live in nanny for a year in NY (only an hour and a half away from my home town). I knew other nannies and au pairs (foreign nannies) and all except one were bad experiences. I think you're really lucky if you get a good situation. As one au pair put it once 'they promise you the sun, moon and stars' and then you accept the job and find out the truth. My experience also is that the au pairs are the ones that really get taken advantage of. JUST MAKE SURE and CLEAR before you sign the contract that it's exactly what you can deal with. Weekends off, a SET start and finish time during the day. No obligatory babysitting, they can ask you but you can say no. NO 'on call.' AND make sure it's the money you want, don't settle for less than you deserve. Speak to agencies to find out what you should really get and stick to that. Also, something I fell for was not realising the pay they told me was before taxes!!!!!!! So I got a lot less than I thought I was going to. Keep that in mind.

Oh and I agree- definitely do it through an agency, then you have their support and help and aren't on your own.

I had the mansion on the French Riviera with pool and a Citroen 2 PK car for the au pair (one of those that you see in Louis de Funes movies). She had her own studio apartment in the house with bathroom, kitchenette and terrace in front of room. I paid the wage required by the official instances (it is very regulated). And I fired her! She came from another au pair job in the middle of nowhere, sharing a bathroom, always cleaning, etc. and then she got spoiled, spoiled, spoiled. She even went as far as ordering a particular brand of breakfast cereals!! Doing kids' laundry? Why? They still have clean clothes. Use telephone without asking. Come barging in any time so we had no more privacy. And you can't really complain too much, because will she take it out on the kdis afterwards? (this was the time with the Louise Woodward drama). She sat topless by the pool (though she had nothing to show for, I chose her ugly and skinny enough), went around an artist's village offering to pose nude, came on to all the men that were in the neighbourhood (she actually "attacked" the neighbour's son)... Can't remember all the details anymore. But I never took an au pair again. A good babysit is all you need. So, if you are thinking of having the great life as an au pair, I can only tell you this: you are not suitable for this job!!! Being an au pair is a very serious job with lots of responsibility. ANd unless you have lots of experience with kids and really really love kids , I would advice you to look for another job. Learn French and go work for Club Med. You'll have all the fun you can dream of!

Scorpio, don't get me wrong, I am not just looking for a good time. I DO love kids, and would love to do it, but, if you are going to just work with kids you may as well stay home, there needs to be some attraction to leave your home country. The bad stories scare me more than the good attract me, if that makes sense- ie I am not solely looking for a cruisy life, but I definitely don't want a hard, scary life. I am going to give an individual response to each thing in your post, and trust me, I am not lying/just saying it.

She had her own studio apartment in the house with bathroom, kitchenette and terrace in front of room.
As long as I have a private bedroom, private bathroom, and a private area to watch tv, lounge in a chair to read a book etc when NOT on duty, I would be happy.

I paid the wage required by the official instances (it is very regulated).
That's all I want!!! Not to get ripped off... to be treated fairly, moneywise.

she got spoiled, spoiled, spoiled. She even went as far as ordering a particular brand of breakfast cereals!!
I am completely unfussy- as long as there is toast and jam/honey, hell, even a banana would do, I am happy.

Doing kids' laundry? Why? They still have clean clothes.
I am a washing freak- 3 spare pairs of clean undies aint enough- 'what if something happens and I don't get a chance to wash the dirty ones and run out'- I am a WASHING FREAK!!! And same for everything like that- I tell my Mum she has made me a nutcase, from her cleaning obsession!!!

Use telephone without asking.
I hate talking on the phone! And, I hate to cost people money/inconvenience them, so wouldn't dream of doing so. Even when I babysit for good family/friends I don't help myself to food in the fridge or anything- eat what they say is there, etc, and that is all.

Come barging in any time so we had no more privacy.
I would worry more about what I am barging in on!!! Scary thoughts sometimes!!!

And you can't really complain too much, because will she take it out on the kdis afterwards? (this was the time with the Louise Woodward drama).
Louise Woodward drama concerns me the most about being a nanny- the connotations associated with it. I would never dream of hurting a kid. My sister, yeah, but she is bigger than me!!! lol No way could I hurt an innocent child!!!

She sat topless by the pool I am very self concious of my body- I wear full piece bathers, a bra under pjs etc, when not in y home with JUST my family, I shower just before bed- I hate not being fully dressed around strangers/people. (though she had nothing to show for, I chose her ugly and skinny enough), That you chose her ugly enough and skinny enough says to me that you were perhaps a bit concerned about the male/s living in your household, and an ugly girl was your control mechanism. I don't want to go to a household where the husband would even think of looking at another girl. Someone who cheats- I lose all respect for. As such, I would not be looking to attract someone elses husband- whoever/whatever they are- the wife got them first, and everyone else needs to respect their marriage. But husbands who want to stray and would make life uncomfortable for me- scare me- BIG TIME

went around an artist's village offering to pose nude, came on to all the men that were in the neighbourhood (she actually "attacked" the neighbour's son)...
I truly am a GOOD girl. I am not lying. I am good, honest, kind and very judgemental of people who do things like that.

So, if you are thinking of having the great life as an au pair,

I can only tell you this: you are not suitable for this job!!!
I'm not. I want to assess the pros and cons of this life changing event, and clearing up the myths is the first step.

Being an au pair is a very serious job with lots of responsibility.
I am the most responsible person on earth. Honest.

ANd unless you have lots of experience with kids and really really love kids , I would advice you to look for another job. Learn French and go work for Club Med. You'll have all the fun you can dream of!
I can think of nothing worse than working for club med- I am a very mature 19yr old. I am an 'old soul' I am told- I am like a mum without the kids. I have had many difficult years in my life, and have had to grow up very quickly, and as such want to do something good, but would love to have some fun at the same time, ie if you want to go on a holiday and want me to come, I would love to- I love the family atmosphere- it is TRUE fun

I hope this clears up my original post. I want to do my ground work before committing to something as life changing as this would be.

Goldilocks, I can only wish you luck. A few things: getting a skinny and ugly au pair is nothing much about insecurity. When you get older and wiser, and you will be married, believe me, you'll understand that you don't want to get temptation in your house. Even if your husband is as faithful as can be, put it often enough right under his nose, and one day he might just crack. After all he is only a human being. And honestly, how would you even know of the husband will never look at another woman? I am a single mom now, and pretty attractive. The husbands of my long married friends do nothing but compliment me and how stupid eg. my boyfriend is not to treat me better and shower me with compliments. Their wives are fine with it. Nothing wrong with just looking. But there is no way I would ever accept an invite to stay over at a friend's place when the wife is not there. You don't look for trouble when there aren't any. So dear Goldilocks, if you are a pretty girl or you have a nice figure, your chances for getting harassed by the man one day will become bigger.
As for working for Club Med, what is wrong with that? I did it. I was very old fashioned, and never had a sexual relationship while working for Club Med. It is hard work working for Club Med, whatever you do (I was a tourguide, but they also have jobs dealing with kids). But it was also a lot of fun. As you meet so many different people. You get the chance to live in different countries, and discover it. More variety in your work. And the pay is better than an au pair. It was a unique experience that I have never regretted in my life. What fun do you expect in the au pair job? At night you will be mostly alone, wheras in Club Med you will be with other people your own age. You'll make great friends. I know in my time Club Med had a bad reputation. But it is not like that. It is what you make of it yourself. If you have no values in real life, you won't have any there neither. If you do, you will stick to them when in Club Med. That is what life is all about. Learning not to follow the crowd, but be your own person.
There are probably is many bad families as au pair girls. You have to be lucky I guess. I know many more families where it didn't work out than where it did.

Hi,
Can i suggest you try to au pair in Itlay. I have found a great family here and know of lots of other families in the local area that are looking for au pairs.
I took care of three children aged between 2-10 years, they were well behaved and enjoyed having me around. I also got the opportunity to go to a local school to learn italian where i met lots of friends that i could social with after work hours. the family were wonderful and made me feel like one of the family after a fews days after my arrival.
Italy is a wonderful country full of culture and i would advise trying a family there and have a wonderful experience like i did.