When it comes to child care, hosting an au pair helps make parenting easier — it saves you both time and stress! Whether it’s getting your children to and from school, taking care of them on sick days or lending a helping hand in between, au pairs provide support when you need it the most. If you’re in need of a new child care routine, consider these benefits of hosting an au pair.
Here are 9 times hosting an au pair makes parents’ lives easier:
1. Summer Break from School
As school winds down, the heat is on for parents to find reliable, weekday child care assistance. But hosting an au pair will help you escape the heat of summer child care stress! Whether it’s getting your children to and from summer camp, taking them to playdates or just keeping them entertained while you’re at work, an au pair will give you peace of mind when school’s out for the summer.
2. Date Nights
For many parents, time spent together usually revolves around the children – but everyone needs some alone time with their partner to reconnect every once in a while! Hosting an au pair solves the date night dilemma. With an au pair, you’ll receive up to 45 hours of child care per week with a customized schedule of up to 10 hours per day. That creates some flexibility in your schedule to plan a (real) date night on birthdays, anniversaries, or other occasions.
3. Afternoons Filled With Errands and Appointments
With young children in tow, sometimes even the quickest errands become an ordeal. What could have been an easy trip to the store can quickly turn into a lengthy affair as you try to corral your little ones. By hosting an au pair, you’ll be able to coordinate time to quickly run out for errands or appointments while your au pair makes sure your kids are happy at home.
4. Snow Days
When snow days are called, many parents (especially those with young children) face a similar kind of anxiety. Suddenly, you either have to find last minute child care arrangements or clear your schedule to care for the kids. With an au pair living in your home, you won’t have to stress about finding snow day child care. Your au pair will be ready to help when snow days strike.
5. Teacher Professional Development Days
Teacher development days are a treat for kids – but can be a stressor for working parents. Rather than worrying whether or not to request a vacation day when you see a professional development day looming in the horizon, hosting an au pair provides welcomed relief. With an au pair there to support you, you can join your kids in celebrating their days off rather than stressing about them!
6. After School in the Spring
With warmer weather comes the start of outdoor sports and more time to play outside. But that (sadly) doesn’t mean work gets out any earlier for parents – which makes spring the perfect time to host an au pair. As your kids’ after school schedules get busier, your au pair can help them get to practice, playdates, and wherever else on time while you finish up your workday.
7. Delayed Openings at School
Tired of getting to work late whenever there’s a delayed opening at your child’s school? If you get a lot of snow in the winter, that time off quickly adds up… but hosting an au pair can help!
Your au pair will make sure your kids are in class by the time the bell rings on delayed openings – and you’ll get to work on time too.
8. When the Kids are Home Sick
Sometimes it seems like right when your child recovers from some sort of bug, they’ve already caught another one. Suddenly, you’ve taken four… five… six days off of work to take care of them while they’re home sick. Sound familiar? If so, an au pair will help make life a lot easier! One of the best benefits of hosting an au pair is that they’ll be home to provide loving care to your child on sick days.
9. On Days When You Need Some Me Time
There’s nothing wrong with needing a little me time every once in a while. And yes, it is possible to have that (even with young kids)! With a customized au pair schedule, you’ll be able to plan some much-needed time to yourself to relax and recharge.
For parents, life is filled with a mixed bag of surprises and stressors. Hosting an au pair provides support for all sorts of curveballs and situations like the nine listed above – and makes life a whole lot easier for you and your family.
Hoping to gain some much-needed child care support from a trusted au pair? Make parenting easier by hosting an au pair! Click Here to learn about hosting with Au Pair in America.
