Brazilian au pairs in St Louis This has been a lifesaver for us, we moved back home to St. Louis after being gone for a long time. It was during Covid, did not realize the schools were so backed up. The shortest wait of the time we could find was 14 months, and we had no idea what to do. So we had a nanny, she was really good, but unfortunately unreliable with her schedule, and that just messed up our work schedules. So I talked to some friends and somebody suggested a au pair, it has been wonderful. If you have the space in your house for it, I don’t really think there’s any other way to go. The cost upfront feels like a lot, but when you average it out, it is much more reasonable than paying for a full-time nanny or a daycare. Plus, in our opinion, the fact that we have somebody to take our kid around to the zoo and museums and the science center, etc. as opposed to just being a daycare with a bunch of other little kids is much better for his learning overall. So I really cannot think of any downsides with the program, if you have the space in your house, and you’re OK sort of figuring out how to incorporate somebody else into your day-to-day life….This is the way to go.

Disadvantages of being au pair Is a good opportunity to meet new places and people and get a bit of different cultures. In the other hand this program has so many things to fix, starting from the health care insurance which is not good or affordable at all, LCCs that are not enough trained to help so many people, life in the US is extremely expensive for us and even more when we have to pay taxes that takes a 10% of that small we make. Families pay yearly thousands to the agencies, but it would be fair us receiving at least a good part from that to make it part of our salary, because at the end of the day we are WORKING 45 hours per week.

Mixed Experience with Hit-or-Miss Au Pair Agency My family has been using this agency since 2019, and the journey has been quite a rollercoaster. We've had the pleasure of welcoming three amazing au pairs into our home, two of whom joined us during a rematch phase. However, the experience has been inconsistent, to say the least. Before the pandemic hit, the au pairs underwent a thorough two-week, in-person onboarding process. Since then, this crucial step has been eliminated, and the impact has been glaring. There's been a noticeable decline in the understanding of the job and their responsibilities. When I inquired about reinstating the onboarding process, the response was dishearteningly casual: "the girls didn't like it." As a host, it's unsettling to have au pairs arrive at my doorstep unaware that they've signed up for a childcare role. Furthermore, the agency appears to operate with a one-person-deep approach to every task. When someone goes on vacation, communication becomes nonexistent. It's frustrating and leaves us feeling abandoned when we need assistance or clarification. On a brighter note, the Local Childcare Consultants (LCCs) have been a saving grace. Their dedication and effort in fostering relationships with both families and au pairs are commendable. It's evident that they invest the time and energy to ensure a positive experience for all parties involved.

the experience… the company can review the experience of the host family an how they want to be with the au pair, how is going to be relationship with her, how many things they are going to share.

Reaching out periodically was great as… Reaching out periodically was great as it kept the momentum going for searching for an au pair.