Hi Ladies. I thought I'd try starting a thread dedicated to sharing experiences and advice about hiring and having nannies/aupairs for our children. I don't know how many of you have one, but it seems like the questions pop up pretty regularly.

We are applying to host an Au Pair for the next year, starting in August. For those who aren't familiar with the term, this is a young woman from overseas who becomes a live-in nanny and sort of cultural exchange student in your home for a year. You pay a small weekly stipend and provide room and board. She takes care of the kids and their needs (food, laundry) for up to 45 hrs/week. The cost for a year is about $14,000 total. (that includes program fees, stipend and such) It's not cheap, but for someone like me with 3 kids, it's really a bargain, especially when you consider that most nannies these days charge over $12/hr!

I'd love for everyone to share their experiences, ask questions, and give advice. :scratchchin: Childcare is a major issue for us MomMDs!

Are Au Pairs in the states really allowed to work 45 hours per week? I live in Switzerland and au pairs here are only allowed to work a maximum of 30 hours per week plus you have to pay for their language classes (this is the student part of their exchange). We haven't gotten an au pair because we are English speaking at home and we can only get an au pair permit if we are german speaking at home (so that they can learn the language from us). But I have lots of friends with au pairs, mostly from Central/Eastern Europe and most of their experiences have been good. One bad thing can be is they change every year and you and your kids have to get used to a new person. And sometimes it is like having another child (a teenager) in the house, which can almost make more work for you. I don't know how much au pair experiences in Europe compare to the states though. Good luck in your search.

Thanks.

I think the role of au pair is a bit different here in the US. They can work up to 45 hrs/week. We do pay up to $500 tuition for classes because they have to take 6 credit hours during the year that they are here. It's more of a nanny who gets to live in another country and take a couple of classes than the way it sounds like it's set up where you are.

There's a program called Educare here that is new. It's a 30hr/week working and 12 hrs of credits program. More education, less nanny.

Hi Texas Rose!

We just have one child -- 2yo daughter -- and for the most part we've gone through craigslist to find childcare. The first year was marked by a live-in part-time nanny who was a bit of a disaster (great for our daughter, lousy for us, made us feel like strangers in our own home!)...

The past year we've been sharing a nanny full time with another family, so that the two kids are together with a great nanny 50 hrs/wk. We're trying to find another family in our area to continue this arrangement through next year, and it's nerve-wracking that we haven't found anyone yet, as our current arrangement ends July 6... When I go into 3rd year, our daughter will be 3+, so it will be a good time to start something school-like and to get an au pair...

We also rent a room to a wonderful woman with reduced rent in exchange for ~5 hr/wk childcare to cover those weird hours that come up w/ med school and a husband who travles. She's a medical translator who is also on a med school trajectory.

So, there are many ways to do this...to find loving, energetic childcare...

Jen, sorry I didn't see your post sooner! I like the creative problem solving you've done with your childcare. Flexibility is such a great trait in parenthood.

Well, it's official. We've matched with an Au Pair who is coming to our home on Saturday! She's already in the country and had to find a new host family because of a problem with her previous host situation. (not her fault. They couldn't pay her. )

I'm excited that she's coming, and she sounds great, but at the same time I cannot believe that we just invited a complete stranger to come live with us! :scratchchin: She's 24 and from France. She has good childcare experience and references, so from here we just have to trust that this will work out. Once again, I think flexibility is key.

The great news about this, though, is that I no longer have to fret about who is going to pick my daughter up after her drama club meeting at school. I don't have to worry about getting the kids dinner on a late study night when my husband is out of town. And, I don't have to flip out if one of his trips falls over a call night for me when I start rotations in 6 months. What a weight off my mind!

Anyone who wants to know how it's going can check in with my weblog or PM me, btw.

Hey! We have hired a family member to live with us to work as a nanny. Our daughter will be in Kindergarten and the nanny will also be taking college classes.

Does anyone have any suggestions about software programs for doing payroll for the 'nanny tax' for her?

Thanks! Kim

just wondering-do you pay ur nanny for a holiday (like the 4th of july) when she does not come to work? what is the norm?
good luck with the au pair TexasRose

Our au pair arrived this afternoon. So far so good! She must be so overwhelmed at this point. The kids were a little intimidated by her accent and her height at first. (she's like 5'11. I'm only 5'2!) But everyone seems to be settling down. She's very down to earth and because she's 24, very mature. I think this is going to work well.

Kim,

You probably don't need a software program tohelp you do your nanny taxes. It seems complicated but, it really is quite simple. I didn't know anything either about how to do taxes properly but I learned. It probably took me 1-2 hours to figure it out. I live in California and went online for our state's Employee Development Department (EDD). They have all the info there. I spoke to a live person at the end to confirm I got it right. You can do the same in your state.

Basically, I had to download a form to get assigned an EIN (employer identification number). I also needed my nanny's full name, address and social security number. That's it!
On each weekly paycheck, I withheld 7.5% of her salary (social security) and 0.7% (I'd have to confirm this number) for her contribution to SDI (state disability insurance). Because she earned less than 20,000 annually, I was not required to withhold or submit any additional taxes, nor did I have to send payment monthly. I was able to do it on my regular tax form due April 15th. My nanny elected to do her taxes on her own.

In terms of 'forms' I did not use anything official. Just a plain piece of paper with my family's last name as a header. I did the same for her "W-2" form given at the end of the year. It worked fine for us.

Hope you find this useful.

TexasRose, any news? We don't have kids yet, but when we do we will most likely have an au pair. I'd love to hear about your experience. Interestingly enough... my husband and I were both au pairs - He was in France for two years (he's English) as an au pair. I was just an au pair for a summer job in France. I'll have to ask him about how much he worked... I was pretty much 24/7, but my job was short term. good luck - hope everything is going well