There are a bunch of misconceptions about au pairs, so I thought I would try to put together one document that clears up the ones I personally hear most often.

First, having an au pair is affordable. An au pair costs about $370 per family per week (plus room and board.) The average cost of care for an infant at a center in the Twin Cities metro area, according to mnchildcare.org, is $321, and $179 at an in-home daycare. This is per CHILD, not per family. So for one child, ihaving an au pair is slightly more expensive but significantly more flexible. For more than one child, it’s actually less expensive!

Second, au pairs do not come here to get married. They come to do child care, to improve their English, to share their culture and learn about ours, to take classes – many reasons. While some of them do end up falling in love and marrying, the vast majority stay for the duration of their visa and then go back home. The State Department is constantly reviewing all au pair programs to ensure this is the case.

Third, au pairs are experienced, caring child care providers who love children. We exhaustively check childcare and personal references and provide transcripts to prospective host families. We give them personality tests and physical exams, and we are careful to select only candidates we feel will be successful with our host families.

Fourth, au pairs are good drivers. They all come with either an International Drivers License, or their home country’s license if they aren’t able to get an IDL where they live. So they all have passed at least one driving test. It is true that some of them have difficulty transitioning to our roads. We offer a course at our orientation that helps with that transition.

If you have questions about au pairs, please let me know! I’m happy to answer anything!