A couple years ago we interviewed and selected Miss Chelsey Hart to be an au pair with our small family in a country town in regional NSW. Little did we know at the time that this Minnesotan native from a small country town herself would become a close family member and life long friend.

Chelsey spent seven months with us and we treasured every minute of it. After a few weeks of settling in she proved to be invaluable and really became a perfect fit for our family and the hectic schedule we live day to day. Through the highs and lows of daily family life, she was in the thick of it from day one.

It was obvious that she had come from a great home with loving parents and nothing seemed too hard for her. Chelsey was mature, hard working, honest and loving and came with an unusually high amount of common sense. She was very practical and always managed to get the job done. It was just a pleasure to have her stay with us and when it came time to farewell her we all cried when she left us at Sydney airport to return home. We thank her parents, Debbie and Pete Hart, for loaningus their wonderful daughter for those seven months.

Since that time, our families have grown quite close and we have enjoyed family holidays together in Europe, Australia and more recently in America where we were invited to celebrate Chelsey’s older brother’s wedding and stay with the family for a couple weeks. We could not have been more warmly welcomed by the entire Hart family. We enjoyed 4th of July celebrations, large family dinners, BBQs and water skiing and so much more. The whole Hart family treated us like their own and our bond has grown even stronger. So much so, Chelsey and her family are planning another trip out to Australia again early next year. We cannot wait to see them all again.

When we engaged Chelsey through Smart Au Pairs we could not have expected to have enjoyed such a wonderful and ongoing relationship with an au pair. We also have a very similar relationship with another Smart Au Pair applicant, Hannah Pinnekamp from Germany. Her family visited us in Australia too and we are now lucky to have an extended family in Germany. Whilst these two girls are not our daughters, they became so close with us that how we effectively view them as extensions of our family. Not a week goes by where we don’t text or Facetime each other to catch up.

We could not have asked for a better experience with both these young ladies. We asked for an au pair for six months and received a wonderful new family member for life!

When you welcome an au pair into your home, you will be responsible for giving them safe and secure board and accommodation. Naturally, your household expenses will rise and with that your grocery budget. Enough food is an integral part of feeling safe in a home and as with any members of the family you should ensure that your au pair will be well nourished and happy with the food they have access to.  But if you are managing a tight budget and have cost constraints, you also want to avoid spending more than is necessary or buying too many luxuries, and it may be essential to manage your food budget well from day one.

As you plan a food budget that includes your au pair, begin by considering your au pair’s food needs just as you would for any other member of your family. An au pair will want enough food, healthy and nutritious food, food that caters for any dietary restrictions or food allergies, not forgetting to food that they actually like!

You should also weigh this up against your concerns. These may include:

• – Overspending on expensive and luxury items
• – Wasting money on food that doesn’t get eaten
• – Planning for meals, buying ahead of time and having food available as planned
• – Combining their eating preferences, habits and culture with your family’s food culture.

Once you have considered these aspects you can start to calculate what it will cost extra to feed another adult in your home.  Look at your family’s weekly food spending and calculate how much of that is spent on each adult. For example, if you spend 25% of your weekly budget on each adult then you can expect to add at least 25% for the au pair. Leave some room in your budget to allow you to buy their favourite food and treats and for extra items like sauces or condiments which they may use regularly.

With a clear food budget and strategy in mind, the next step will be to communicate this clearly with your au pair and try to ensure that there are no misunderstandings regarding your or your au pair’s expectations toward food. The following suggestions can make the process easier.

• – Communicate your expectations about food early on. Go through your food pantry and fridge with you au pair and discuss a typical week’s meals for your family.
• – Let your au pair tell you their food preferences, routines, likes and dislikes.
• – Buy weekly, especially in the beginning. This will help you avoid unnecessary waste.
• – Plan your menu with your au pair. This will give them a better understanding of how you use each food item and if you will need anything for a specific meal.
• – Give your au pair the option to buy some extras, within limits, just as you would allow extras and treats for your family.
• – If your au pair has a very different food culture from your own, you can encourage them to try eating your food as part of their experience of getting to know a new country and its cultures.
• – Speak to your au pair agency for advice. They may have very handy suggestions or figures available to assist you in managing a budget.

Smartaupairs is an au pair agency in Sydney that specialises in finding and placing au pairs with host families across Australia. Throughout their thorough process of au pair background checks and screening, their team aims to match au pairs perfectly with families. They also provide extensive training and preparation material, as well as continuous support to the host families and the au pairs to help make the au pair experience as happy as possible for all parties. If you are interested in finding the perfect au pair for your family, register on their website or call 02 9451 3888 for more information.

Every day in Australia will be a day very different to the European lifestyle – the weather is fantastic and the Australian people easy-going and friendly – but there is so much more for au pairs to experience. Add these top experiences to your not-to-miss list during your Au Pair Australia adventure.

1. Learn How To Surf

Australians love the beach – the clear waters and clean white sand really make the Australian beaches something special. So why not make the most of the location and learn how to surf? Surfing lessons are held at many beaches throughout Australia and even if you don’t master the skill, it’s still a fun experience not to be missed.

2. Do A Food Or Wine Tour

The fresh produce in Australia is amazing, so whether you love fruit, chocolate, cheese or wine, you are sure to be delighted. A food or wine tour is a great day experience, allowing you to taste all of the local delights and is also a great way to spend a day with friends or fellow au pairs (and the best part is you can enjoy responsibly without worrying about who is going to drive). Popular areas for food and wine tours include the Hunter Valley for au pairs in New South Wales, the Barossa Valley in South Australia or the Swan Valley and Margaret River region in Western Australia.

3. Visit Sydney

If you can organise even a weekend trip to Sydney in New South Wales, you can cross off a number of popular tourist hot spots. Climb the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge, walk up the stairs of the world famous Sydney Opera House and soak up some sun on one of Australia’s most famous beaches, Bondi Beach.

4. Learn About The Indigenous Culture

Take part in an activity or tour to learn about the Aboriginal people and their vibrant culture. Discover the beauty of Aboriginal art and sample ‘bush tucker’ or traditional Aboriginal food. Ask your local visitor centre or go to the Tourism Australia website for information on available experiences near you.

5. Go Camping

Many Australians go for weekend getaways and camping is an affordable, fun way to really experience the great outdoors. There are many campsites all over Australia and many have facilities such as powered sites and showers to make camping more appealing to those who do not want to rough it. The brightness of the stars in an Australian sky away from the lights of the city is truly something worth seeing.

6. Meet The Local Wildlife

You cannot come to Australia without meeting a kangaroo! There are many amazing wildlife parks and animal farms that allow visitors to get up-close-and-personal to some of Australia’s friendliest wildlife. Australian zoos are also great to visit and will have many species of Australian wildlife to see.

7. See A Show

Australia has bred some impressive talent (think Hugh Jackman and Chris Hemsworth), so ensure you experience some of Australia’s awesome entertainment industry. Go see a musical or live show at one of the many theatres or take in an Australian movie or two.

8. Visit The Great Barrier Reef

It is one of the wonders of the natural world and stretches 2300 kilometres – if you get a chance to visit the Great Barrier Reef, take it! With over 3000 individual reef systems and hundreds of tiny tropical islands, it will be an experience you will never forget.

9. Get The Adrenaline Pumping

Australians love adventure so if you want to do something a bit different, the options are endless – from bungee jumping to skydiving, horse riding to jet boating, Australia has it all.

10. Go To A Sporting Event

Australians love their sport –and the atmosphere at a big game can be just as exciting as the game itself! AFL (Australian Football League), basketball, rugby and cricket all attract big crowds, so find out from your host family what sports are on during your stay, adopt a local team to support and enjoy the experience.

Smart Au Pairs is an au pair agency in Sydney that specialises in finding and placing au pairs with host families across Australia.  Many of the Smart Au Pairs team have themselves been an au pair or nanny and/or spent time living, working and studying overseas, so are able to offer support to ensure your au pair experience is fun, rewarding and memorable. For further details on becoming an au pair, register on their website or call 02 9451 3888 for more information.

As any working parent will know, trying to arrange care for your children outside of normal school hours can be a nightmare, especially if you work full time. The cost of these services can also be prohibitive for some families, particularly if you have more than one child. But are there any alternatives for before and after school care?

One of the most affordable alternatives to before and after school care is hosting an au pair. An au pair is a usually a young person from a foreign country who lives with your family for a few months (3 to 6 months mostly) to experience a different culture, country and often language. In return for accommodation and meals in your home, they can provide around 25-35 hours of child care support and light housework. Their duties can include dropping the children at school in the mornings and picking them up in the afternoons – and this is where your family can benefit from not having to resort to often expensive out of school hours care.

Using before and after school care may work well during term time, but what about during the school holidays? Not all schools offer vacation care so you may be forced to make alternative arrangements. These changes of environments can sometimes be stressful for children, and choosing to hire an au pair can go a long way to ensuring continuity of care during both the school term and periods of holidays.

A great time of the year to get an au pair is around the school holidays. Most working parents need to use vacation care during the holidays but if you have an au pair, you may be able to use it less or perhaps not at all. An au pair may be able to work during the day as per the agreement you decide upon with them before the start of their placement. Of course au pairs are not meant to work full time, unless they are appropriately financially compensated – a reputable au pair agency can help you to iron out the details before you decide to welcome an au pair into your home.

Smart Au Pairs are able to help you find an au pair that will blend seamlessly into your family and offer your children (and you!) a culturally enriching experience that they will value for a lifetime. All au pairs are fully screened to ensure your children are in safe hands while you are away from them. Get started on your au pair search with Smart Au Pairs and say goodbye to high childcare costs today.

As a businesswoman and a mother, you work hard to maintain a healthy work life balance. You want to realize your potential in the workplace, but also want to be the best mum you can be for your kids. Hosting an au pair could help to ensure that your time at home with your children is good quality time and that your goal of being the perfect working mum is realised.

A helping hand

The biggest advantage to hosting an au pair is having someone on hand to help out with those mundane tasks that seem to eat away at your time. An au pair can help with things like making the kids’ bags are packed for school, tidying up after the kids while you’re at work and making sure that cake is picked up for the cake sale on Friday that you almost forgot about. This means that when you get home from work, you can spend time with your children and catch up on the day without worrying about all the administration that can really get in the way of quality time.

Convenience

Another reason an au pair can be great for a working mum is that they’re able to work their schedule around yours. As a businesswoman, you know that sometimes ‘predictable’ is just not the name of the game and an au pair will be able to work the flexible hours you need during the week. They can adapt their schedule from week to week and you will know that you always have a reliable and familiar person around to help out when you need it.

Familiarity

Your children will have the added benefit of having one main caregiver besides you. This means that they can build up a relationship with their au pair and have one person looking after them after school as well as babysit when you and your partner need some quality time too. The main advantage of having one trusted carer is that you can make sure that your au pair knows exactly what your expectations are and your children will know that the rules stay the same no matter who’s in charge.

Hosting an au pair can really make a difference in a working mum’s life. To find out more about the benefits of au pairs and to start the process of finding the perfect au pair for your family, get in touch with Smart Au Pairs today.