• What is your family situation?
• What are your child –care and first aid qualifications?
• How do you feel about me working from home or popping in any time?
• Why do you like children? (this often flushes out those who don’t, and is subtly different from “ what do you like about looking after children/”
• What are your strengths?
• Why did you leave your last three jobs?
• What are some of the things you would do with a child of this age?
• Do you have a philosophy or approach to child care?
• What are your feelings on setting boundaries and discipline?
• What are the bad things about the job?
• What are the worst kinds of parents to work for?
• The baby has been crying for an hour and nothing seems to work, what do you do?
• The baby vomits a feed, feels very hot, falls asleep and you can’t wake them up. You can’t contact the parents. What do you do? ( right answer: call an ambulance)
• I ask you to do something a certain way and you think it’s the wrong way. What do you do?
• How much notice do you want to give for holidays? And how much notice should we give for our holidays without you?
• Can my toddler or preschooler call me to come home, or to come and get them, or for a chat any time on your mobile if needs be and I will call back or reimburse you for the call?
• Do you own your car and is it insured? If so is it fully comprehensive?

Aupairs almost never overlap, however sometimes families will ask the nanny being replaced to stay on for a limited period to help make the transition smoother. This short period of overlap can either be a great help or an extra source of aggravation, depending on the circumstances and your point of view.

On the good side, the initial work load will be split between two people and you will be able to adjust to your new responsibilities. The current nanny will be able to give you alot of advice on what works for the children, daily routines, methods of discipline used, the quirks of each family member and she will have more time to show you around than the mom will.

On the downside the current nanny could be a bit intimidating. She will appear to be more confident and efficient than you. With your emotions at that moment in a new job and trying to fit in and be liked by the children this could all prove to be overwhelming. The children will openly show their dislike for you and their need for the current nanny to stay. This is a person who they have gotten to know and build a relationship with so you would have to try really hard to be patient and understanding. The plus to this situation is that one day you will be replaced and the children will then prefer you.

Try not to feel inadequate and remember that in time you will be more comfortable in your position and more efficient and the children will have grown to like you. Being new in any job is an uncomfortable and uneasy feeling, and as a care giver to children, it is doubly as hard because you are dealing with a mom’s most precious gifts – her children.

Even when your predecessor is no longer around, the family will still have fond memories of her and both parents and children will bring her up in conversation. As frustrating as this may be remember that one day they will be talking about you in the same way. This phase will pass once the family and children have become accustomed to your ways.

Looking after children is a fantastic experience even with all its hurdles. Enjoy each day one at a time.

In the beginning the children may find it difficult adjusting to you and your way of doing things. You will have to work hard at earning their trust and co-operation. This could be difficult as you are trying to find your footing in a new job at the same time.

The first few weeks are however very important in bridging a relationship with the children as this will set the tone for the duration of your employment with the family.

One of the best things you can do is to be as flexible as possible and work with the current routine that has been instilled in the children. The children will feel more secure if you stick to their daily routines and you use the same methods of discipline as the parents and previous nanny. However do not become too forceful as this will call cause alot of unnecessary stress.

When the children are being uncooperative, avoid confrontations with them and try your best to make the situation into a game or some level of fun. If for example they are taking to long to get to the car, turn it into a race saying whoever gets to the car first will win a treat.  Another idea would be asking them for assistance so that they can feel important. For example you could ask them how to get to the library.

If you still have problems try starting a game on your own and waiting for them to join in because it looks interesting. That way you could start a discussion with them and this would be a good start to building new relations.

Never loose your temper and storm out the room, throwing your own tantrum because the children will not co- operate. Instead breathe in and out and walk away and come back a few minutes later and try again. The children are just testing you to see where your weak points lye.

If you haven’t quite decided whether or not to employ the services of an Au pair, then this list of advantages will surely help to convince you that there are far more advantages than disadvantages when making this important decision.

Advantages:

• Undivided attention. The children receive undivided attention with an aupair.
• Undivided time. Children have one on one contact with their extra mural activities and homework where as an after school care for e.g. would have to divide their time amongst the children.
• Regular feedback. The parent would get daily or weekly feedback on the child’s progress in great detail where as at school it would be of a far more general nature.
• Transport. The aupair has her own car and valid license so she can take and collect the children from school and take the children on fun outings and even on more important events such as a doctor or dentist visit.
• Time control. The parent has more control over the stimulation that the child receives in terms of what toys are played with and what activities take place in the home. Most families with aupairs request that the amount of TV viewing is limited. This is possible as the aupair is committed to playing with and / or stimulating the young child and supervising the time of older children.
• Healthy alternative. From a health perspective children are less likely to catch the common cold that go around at crèche. They will also eat a healthy meal because there is not as much importance on the cost of supplying food to a large group of children and the aupair has the time to prepare healthy meals.
• Healthy marriages. During the school term, parents are able to spend time together while smaller, often less important tasks, such as running errands are seen to by the aupair. If the family goes on holiday they have the option of taking the aupair with them so that the parents can spend some time on their own.
• Help at hand. The aupair can assist with the running of the home e.g. she can do the grocery shopping, pay bills and run errands.
• Friendship. The aupair becomes a member of the family, in many ways and can provide a solid friendship and positive influence to young children.

Disadvantages:

• Expensive. An aupair is often a more expensive alternative to other childcare options such as a childminder or nursery school.
• Attachment. The child may get very attached to the aupair.
• Socialisation. The child might not develop as quickly as her peers on a social level because she won’t be exposed to other children on a daily basis. This is if you have a full day aupair so your child does not attend school.
• Trust. Parents need to trust the aupair because she will be exposed to all the families’ private affairs.
• Change. The girl that is an aupair could be using it only as a gap year job and constant changing of aupairs for children could have a negative effect on how they perceive latter relationships.

Deciding to employ the services of an aupair should not be a decision that is taken lightly and it is suggested that parents thoroughly investigate possible candidates, should they decide to go ahead.