Struggling to find reliable childcare than can adapt to your schedule? Hosting an au pair might be the solution you’ve been searching for. In this interview, we speak with Au Pair in America host parents Miriam and Jason in California who share how hosting an au pair for live-in, intercultural childcare has helped them work around their full-time work schedules and expand their children’s cultural understanding.
Join us as Miriam and Jason explain their childcare journey with Au Pair in America, sharing how hosting an au pair has significantly reduced their stress levels as parents and enriched their children’s lives.
Robin: Hi everyone, I’m Robin Leon with the team at Au Pair in America, and I’m here today with one of our amazing host families in California. Thank you for being here. Can you tell everyone a little bit about yourselves?
Miriam: Yes, my name is Miri.
Jason: And my name is Jason.
Miriam: We live in Southern California. We have three beautiful children: a six-and-a-half-year-old boy, a four-and-a-half-year-old girl, and an eight-and-a-half-month-old baby. We’re two very hardworking parents just doing our best to appreciate every day.
Robin: That sounds fantastic. And I know that you’re currently hosting an au pair.
Can you talk about your experience with Au Pair in America so far?
Jason: Yeah, so we’ve been in the program for about three years and we are on our third au pair. We’ve had a really wonderful time in the program, and we’ve hosted au pairs from Israel, Brazil, and the latest is from Colombia. It’s just been a really wonderful experience having somebody from a different country getting to know our children and really helping out with two working spouses—it has been a tremendous help.
Robin: When we were chatting earlier today, you mentioned that you are constantly talking with friends, family, neighbors, and people at the grocery store about the benefits of the au pair program. Can you talk a little bit about why you enjoy hosting and what you share with others in your area about the benefits of the program?
What do you feel are the greatest benefits of the au pair program?
Miriam: There are several reasons why we are so pleased with the au pair program. And as we continue to be a part of it, we continue to discover benefits. First, we landed here just because of need—we are two working parents, so we need help at odd hours—it’s that hour and a half in the morning and then in the evening, not necessarily during the day, was where we needed help before we had the baby. And it’s so hard to find someone who’s going to come in during those hot spot times.
So initially, as we were looking at various options, having somebody who is here in our house who’s able to be on in the morning and in the evening was really a game changer for us. And quite frankly, I think that it was able to alleviate enough pressure that it enabled us to envision being able to have a third child. I’m not sure that we would have been able to do it if we hadn’t had that help.
We love the cultural experience of having someone from another country in our home, teaching our children their language. We’re racking up the number of languages which our children count to ten in. And we keep in touch with our au pairs when they go home. We follow up with how they’re doing… our kids love talking with them, and we look on the globe to see where they are, what city they live, and I think at this very young age, it’s helping our children to expand their horizons of understanding different cultures around the world.
Robin: You hit on so many really important points. I love the idea of “hot spots” of time because that’s so true for parents—you have these times during the day that you really need help, and they don’t necessarily fall in between that typical childcare window. So flexibility sounds super important. I love all of your comments about cultural exchange, because we always say cultural exchange is the beating heart of the au pair program.
How do you balance your needs and your au pair’s needs?
Miriam: The key is communication. [We’ve been in the program for] three years now—so for this third time, we interviewed an au pair that we loved, and we had such good chemistry. But as she shared with us a little bit more about what she wanted to do when she was here, I just felt like it wasn’t going to be compatible with our routine. And I shared that with her. I asked her what she thought—she knew just what she wanted and we knew what we needed. And she commented that she appreciated how well we understood the program and that it wasn’t the right fit. So, I think knowing what we need and being able to clearly articulate what our expectations are and what the routine is going to be has been really helpful.
And then, of course, we want them to have a great time. We always tell our au pairs that it only works if everybody is happy. So we’re clear about what our needs are, and then in their spare time, we want to help them—we want to make recommendations of places for them to go and things for them to see—and it’s worked out really beautifully.
Robin: It sounds like that open and honest communication from the jump is really important. And I love your thoughts about clear expectations and really doing smart interviewing on the front end. That’s really, really smart.
Back to the cultural exchange of it all… what else can you share about the cultural exchange experience—something that you’ve learned from an au pair, a favorite dish that they’ve shared, or a cool cultural event or holiday that you love celebrating now?
What have you learned about other countries or cultures by hosting au pairs?
Miriam: Oh, there are so many… One of our au pairs loves to cook, and she was constantly bringing recipes from her country—teaching our kids about foods from her country, making dinner, even though it wasn’t in her responsibilities to make dinner for the family, it was something that she really loved doing. She was our first au pair with us three years ago, and there was a bread recipe that she made that I still make every week, and I think of her every time I make it. It was something I had wanted to do, and she had such a simple and delicious way of doing it that she just showed me, despite the crazy, demanding schedule, that it’s possible to do it, and I still do it. So, it was a real lasting gift to our family.
Robin: I love that, and I love that you mentioned that you still stay in touch with your au pairs—that’s such a beautiful benefit of the experience. We have host families who visit their au pairs in their home countries, and au pairs have come back.
Shifting gears just a little bit, I would love to know what your thoughts are on childcare costs in your area [of California]. Can you talk about the cost of childcare in your area?
Jason: Before we started the au pair search, it was really important for us to understand how much it costs for a nanny or part-time help. Here in Southern California, the cost for the au pair program is significantly cheaper [than traditional childcare], which was kind of shocking.
The second thing that we talked about previously was you just don’t get that flexibility with a traditional nanny. Typically, the people we were talking with would only be able to work certain hours of the day—so it’s a very regimented schedule. As we started this journey in the midst of COVID, we really needed that additional flexibility, knowing kids would often get sick, schedules would have to change at a moment’s notice… once we ran the numbers and saw that the au pair program is actually significantly cheaper, even factoring in all the costs with the agency and so forth, it really just made the decision a no-brainer.
Robin: You mentioned the kids getting sick and those unexpected things that pop up in parenting—we call them life’s little surprises at Au Pair in America. Au pairs are such an important option when it comes to adapting to all those things that pop up.
I know you’ve been out of the childcare search for several years, but maybe in talking to friends and neighbors you have a sense for the availability of childcare in your area. Are there waitlists? Is it possible to get in a center environment?
How available is childcare in your area?
Miriam: It’s really hit or miss. Getting into a center is one thing, but there’s also an accountability factor. We know a lot of families, dear friends of ours, very hard-working people whose nannies just quit with no notice, and they are just in a pickle time and again. The reliability of having somebody who’s here who we have a very close relationship with and trust, someone who’s going to be there when those things do come up has been invaluable.
Robin: Flexibility, reliability, affordability—I can see why you’re singing the praises of the program throughout your town.
What is one word that describes your experience as a host family?
Miriam: I would say “relief”—there were so many times that I was in such stressful situations on my way out of town to run a big event, getting a call from our kids’ daycare that one of them was sick and needed to be picked up, Jason was out of the country, babysitter wasn’t answering her phone, couldn’t get a hold of anyone, you know, going, “Okay, am I turning around to go back? Am I canceling? Am I sending my assistant to go to the event? Am I canceling my event?” And I think so often about that particular moment that I don’t have to worry. There’s so much uncertainty and so much fluctuation when one has small children. And this was just a huge variable that I don’t have to worry about anymore. I know that there’s somebody reliable whom I trust is available, who will be there for my kids in those moments of the highest pressure.
Robin: That’s great. And I can hear your junior assistant (the baby) agreeing with you in the back room—there’s nothing better than a happy baby. Well, thank you both so much for your time and all your great thoughts. We appreciate you being a great host family, and it was such a pleasure chatting with you.
Miriam: Thank you for having us.
Are you a parent in California who could benefit from some relief in the form of reliable, in-home childcare? Au Pair in America can help you select an au pair who is the perfect fit for your family!
We understand the importance of reliable, high-quality childcare, and our team is here to provide comprehensive support, from matching you with the right au pair to providing year-round assistance and a personalized support team. Learn more about how Au Pair in America can make a difference for your family today. Want to see how our costs compare to other childcare options? View our au pair program fees here and see if you’re eligible for a discount.
