Many more families now work shifts and traditional child care options may not work.

An au pair can work really well in families where one or both parents work shifts, such as emergency services such as doctors, nurses, police officers and the fire brigade but also those working in the hospitality industry such as restaurants and the entertainment industry are often out in the evenings or overnight. Even those who work in the medical profession on a nine-to-five basis, sometimes have additional ‘on call’ duties.

Register now

The advantages of live-in child care are even greater for families who work shifts, as the au pair is already at their home and familiar with the children, some are even happy to provide overnight child care for night workers.

For some employees shift work means an extremely early start. In this case, the au pair can get up with the children at a normal time and get the children ready for school and take them there. Any other child care solutions, if at all they are available at such early times, usually means getting the children up much earlier then usual and dropping them of somewhere prior to school hours, which is stressful to the parent and tiring for the children.

And working late in the evening part of your working patterns, a nursery or childminder either is not available after 6pm or charges significantly extra. An au pair who is already at your home can provide the extra flexibility required.

Many au pairs are very comfortable with parents who work shifts. As long as they can attend language classes and know more or less in advance when to expect to be in charge of the children, they can be an ideal solution for working parents, especially those in shift work.

The benefit of live-in child care is that both au pair and children can go to bed at a usual time and in their own comfortable home, meaning a fresh start the next day. It really helps that the au pair is familiar with the children and with the home.

Sole charge and overnight

It is important to stress to host families that an au pair is not a professional child carer. Before you leave them in charge of children, especially those younger than school age, it is vital that you give them clear and full instruction and a settling in period before you leave them in charge of your children for long periods of time or overnight. Our handbook guide gives detailed information about how to ‘train’ your au pair.

Considering an au pair for the first time?

We provide additional support for host families who are considering an au pair for the first time. We also arrange short term placements, particularly suited as a trial but also ideal for those who are employed on short term contract and may change location after a few months.

Register now