Some families who have hosted more than one Au Pair may be familiar with this story… you get plenty of applications and you think you’ve found “the one.”  Your first few email conversations go extremely well and you are excited that you may have found the perfect applicant.  Then she drops the bomb… she ______ (insert appropriate selection… “has food allergies” or  “has a serious boyfriend“).  Now what?  Do you just accept it because everything else about her is exactly what you were looking for or do you continue your search?

Food allergies… although seemingly not a huge concern, food allergies can make things difficult when it comes to meal preparation, grocery shopping, special occasions etc.  If your Au Pair has food allergies, just make sure both you and the Au Pair communicate clearly and compromise on if they will have to make their own meals or buy their own groceries.

The last thing any family wants is to have their Au Pair pining away in her bedroom, sad because she not only misses her family, but ALSO her boyfriend.  This can be a recipe for disaster if the Au Pair chooses to go home and leaves the family without childcare.  If you find an Au Pair who admits to being in a relationship, ask lots of questions… and make sure the Au Pair is prepared to be away from her boyfriend for a long period of time.

There are many great foreign Au Pairs looking for host families in Canada.  You should never have to make concessions or sacrifices when choosing an Au Pair.  Despite how perfect the Au Pair may seem, if something crops up that brings her down a notch in your scale, then keep looking.  Consider how her habit, lifestyle or whatever it may be that you are concerned about will effect your family and how your household operates; sometimes, it just isn’t worth the headache, heartache or hindsight.