Emily, the mother of two little girls, had been struggling to find decent childcare. She was wary about hosting an Au Pair but knew their family needed more consistency.
From Host Mom Emily:
Our Au Pair, Theresa, has made a major impact on our family.
My ‘ah-ha’ moment came during a quiet car ride after I picked my daughters up from school and we were heading back home, where Theresa would care for them for the rest of the day.
My four-year-old Jane looked up and said, “Mom… thank you for getting Theresa for us.” In that moment, my heart swelled with gratitude for our au pair and the love she shows to our two daughters, ages 2 and 4.
As any parent of toddlers or young children already knows, this simple statement packs a lot of power.
We’ve struggled finding a consistent caretaker or babysitter.
Especially one that our children would look forward to spending time with and would actually run to, instead of the usual teary-eyed and emotional departures we’ve grown accustomed to.
We were skeptical when it came to having an au pair live with our family. But after only four months, we know we hit the au pair jackpot with Theresa. She is the perfect blend of professional and loving, firm yet patient.
Theresa truly became part of our family, not just a childcare provider.
She is very much a part of our family and helps ease the daily challenges of managing busy careers and a busy household with young children.
Before our Au Pair, we were juggling a complicated schedule of different babysitters, constantly on the hunt for new caretakers, and spending a lot of time project managing and training new people, without feeling like we had someone who was truly invested in our family and our children.
But now, we feel very confident that are children are receiving the best care possible and we feel more refreshed to have an extra set of helpful hands in the evening. It has also been a fun adventure helping her explore our community.
She has enriched our lives in so many ways…
During the last four months our Au Pair has:
- Hosted her family from Germany for Christmas at our house, having a chance to share our culture with her family and vice versa
- Taken a course in Tampa, Florida which gave her academic credit as well as an opportunity to travel and explore another area of our country and meet other au pairs from around the world
- Baked a traditional German dish from home and also shared in baking some of our American favorites
- Walked in our community’s Christmas parade
- Went camping with us and hiked Sleeping Bear Dunes, one of the top 10 “most beautiful lakeshores in the world”
- Explored the world’s largest ArtPrize competition while it was in Grand Rapids
- Learned to drive and navigate our community and took her first hot yoga class (and now regularly attends)
- Has made other au pair friends in the neighborhood and regularly goes to the movies, coffee, or exercise meetups
- Wiped countless runny noses and tears. Laughed through dozens of competitive games of Hungry, Hungry, Hippos. Received more hugs and snuggles than we can count.
We are filled with gratitude in knowing that our children are cared for by someone they’re attached to.
“Mom, Thank you for getting Theresa for us.” This was the most heartfelt affirmation that an au pair was absolutely the right choice for our family.
And to Go Au Pair we say, “Thank you for helping us find our Theresa!”
