Here are some of the things you should look for when getting your next au pair….

• • • TIDY:  No matter how good your au pair is with your children, if you’re a clean and tidy family and they’re messy, that can really niggle away at you.  The good news is, is that it’s habitual, so tidiness can be learned.
    • PRIVACY:  Having an au pair live with you needs to be balanced. You want them to be part of your family, but you also want them to respect your privacy so that you don’t get on top of one another.
    • AU PAIR ROLE:  Make sure you know what’s important in the au pair role versus what’s a nicety.  Try writing a two column list, that will help you choose correctly.
    • INDEPENDENCE:  You don’t want your au pair to be another child that you have to take care of.  That would defeat the object. Make sure they have a certain level of independence.
    • ATTITUDE:  We find that attitude plays a huge part when selecting an au pair.  I say that because au pairs either have a good attitude or they don’t.  Typically, it’s not something that can be learned.
    • PERSONALITY:  You want someone that can have a good rapport with your children.  Someone they can get along and have fun with. Some families go wrong because they choose the personality that most matches them rather than their children.