We all know that choosing childcare is no easy decision. As parents, we want a high-quality solution we can trust that provides flexibility and enrichment. This month, we decided to take a look into a little-known childcare option that hundreds of thousands of American families have been turning to for the past 30 years: hosting an au pair!
We say “little-known” because many people aren’t exactly sure what an au pair is or does, much less how to find one. An au pair is a young adult between the ages of 18-26 from another country who comes to the U.S on a J-1 cultural exchange visa and lives with an American family for up to two years. The au pair can provide up to 45 hours per week of childcare while experiencing life as part of an American family.
We recently caught up with Candice Chevaillier, a mother of two whose family has hosted au pairs in Seattle for several years, to get an inside look at what it’s like to host an au pair, and why her family chooses the Cultural Care Au Pair program year after year as their childcare option.
Macaroni Kid: Hey, Candice! Tell us a bit about your family.
Candice Chevaillier: My husband and I live in Seattle with our two children, Griffin (8) and Mason (5). We’re currently hosting an au pair from France and she’s a great addition to our family.
MK: That’s awesome. So why did you initially decide to host an au pair, as opposed to other childcare options?
CC: We wanted to have a wonderful cultural exchange experience. We used to live in France and wanted our boys to keep their second language, so we decided to start hosting au pairs to expose them to multiple languages.
MK: Can you share how Cultural Care Au Pair has supported you throughout the process of finding and hosting an au pair?
CC: The staff at Cultural Care Au Pair have been very helpful throughout the matching process -- setting up all of the paperwork and making arrangements and connections. Their system of reviewing profiles makes a challenging process so much easier. We’re really glad to have the support.
MK: We’d love to hear some of your favorite memories about hosting your au pairs...can you share some with us?
CC: There are so many, but one of our favorites was when we took our au pair dogsledding up in Whistler, BC! I think it was such a highlight for her and it was very fun to give her this adventure. We loved seeing how much she enjoyed this experience, as it was something she had never gotten the chance to do before.
MK: Do you have any words of wisdom for families who might be thinking about hosting an au pair?
CC: Yes, you should absolutely try it out! We are currently interviewing for our third au pair. We really love the program, and it is invaluable to have someone that can lend another helping hand in a very busy family. We especially love the cultural sharing component, as well.
Learn more about hosting an au pair.
