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Changing Au Pairs

Host family changes au pair

Taking in an au pair that is changing host families.
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Changing au pairs: advantages and disadvantages

Taking in an au pair that is changing host families; what exactly does this mean? An au pair that wants to change host families is already in your country, but wants to work in a different family. To be honest, when we first heard about au pairs that wanted to change host families, we had a lot of prejudices. If the au pair needs to change host families, the au pair musthave a difficult personality, right? Wrong!

Over the years, we have found that most au pairs actually want to change host families because their previous family had expectations that were way too high, or because the host family was exploiting the au pair. Unfortunately, some host families mistake the au pair program for a domestic worker program and treat their au pairs like maids.

Sometimes, however, an  au pair and host family just don’t get along. Or, maybe the financial situation of the host family has changed (unemployment, sudden illness) and now the host family can’t afford to pay for the au pair any more. In these cases, it makes sense for an au pair to change host families on short notice. We have had many positive experiences with au pairs that wanted to change host families. 
   This is because:
  • the au pair is available on very short notice
  • the au pair will be thankful for being taken in by a new host family
  • the au pair is usually highly motivated
  • the au pair has already gathered some experience working as an au pair
  • the au pair now knows what to expect from a host family, and how to express their ideas and concerns
  • the au pair is not a beginner in the language any more
  • the au pair will probably be happy about the fresh start after their negative experience with the former host family