Working Moms

Posts Tagged ‘Child Care Options’

What is an Au Pair?

Au Pairs are live in nannies.

What is the difference between an Au Pair and a live in nanny?

Au Pairs are often young European or American women under the age of twenty five (25). Au Pairs live with the employer for a short period of time, usually one year or less, in exchange for housing or airfare or a weekly salary. Au Pairs have restricted number of hours they can work. Au Pairs also must be provided with a separate bedroom and you must give Au Pairs weekends off.

Where can I find an Au Pair?

To find an Au Pair, you should start with an Au Pair agency. The Au Pair agency will do the Au Pair background check and provide Au Pair services. There are plenty of Au Pair agencies around. You can contact a Au Pair agency and have then do a Au Pair search for your need.

Au Pairs are more popular in European countries and Great Britain than in the Americas. In London, for example, you often find au pairs from Greece, au pairs from Sweden, au pairs from Switzerland, au pairs from France and au pairs from all sorts of other European countries. Young Europeans become au pairs to travel to other countries and see the world.

What is an Au Pair like?

Most Au Pairs are nice but because they are young, some au pairs are louder than others. You can find an au pair with the right personality through your au pair search. Most au pairs will do an ok job as a live in nanny but they are not professionally trained as a live in nanny so if you need someone more professional, a real live in nanny may be what you are seeking.

What should I expect as an Au pair?

As an au pair, if you are lucky, you will be working in a home of a good employer. All au pair employers have already been through an au pair background check, however some will be nicer than others. Some are respectable, nice and well mannered while others can be rude and act inappropriately around young au pairs.

Child care is an important part of any moms who cannot take care of their children themselves because they have to work either at home or outside of home. Finding suitable child care options for your children depends on various factors such as:

• your budget,
• your needs, and most importantly
• the children’s needs.

Here are some of the child care options available to moms.

Full time child care options

Hiring full time help or full time child care for your children is ideal. However, most working moms or work at home moms cannot afford to hire full time child care help. Full time child care is the most expensive child care option but the best for working moms to be able to spend time with their children, even for work at home moms.

Part time child care options

Having part time child care help can free your time to do your work at home. Hiring a part time child care service provider is less expensive than hiring a full time child care service. You need to hire the right person though. You need to check references and make sure that your child will be in good care.

No child care options

If your budget does not allow for any child care services or if you have a need to take care of your children yourself, not hiring any child care services is also a viable child care option for working moms. However, you may find that you have much less time to spend on your work. Also, if you do not work for yourself, it can be impossible to find a job that will allow you to take your child with you.

Other child care options

There are other child care options available to working moms or moms working from home. These child care options tend to be cheaper than hiring professional child care service providers. These child care options are:

• child care co-op option
• baby sitting trade option
• asking older children to watch younger ones
• hiring an adolescent babysitter