‘’Our last Au pair was young and French and she didn’t work out, so I ‘ll get someone older and from a different country this time ’’

The assumption: “I should have seen this one coming. I won’t be so easily fooled the next time around’’

The reality: Look a little closer. What is it about the fact she was young that made her not work out?
There are many reasons and benefits of hosting an Au pair. All parents want the best for their child and make the best decision they can about whom to hire. But misunderstandings and disappointments do happen in spite of best decisions. At times they can be resolved and everyone is generally better off for having gone through the situation and gotten out of it intact. At other times, things never get back on course and Au pairs have to leave, what happens if it does not work out with the Au pair?.

While relieving to have an unfavorable situation end, endings can shake up a parent’s sense of what they want in an Au pair and their use of judgement. Perhaps they ignored their gut feelings that said she was not ‘’right’’. Perhaps the choice of an Au pair was right for the parents but not for the children. Perhaps the parents don’t know what went wrong. They grasp at straws to figure it out.

She was young – so get an older person the next time. She was not educated – so get someone with a college degree the next time. Her English was not fluent – so get a native English speaker the next time.

When parents start grasping at straws it is a sign of just how desperate they are to regain confidence in their use of judgement. While the obvious can be true, better to look a little closer and ask further questions. Dig dipper. What specifically was it about her youth or language skills or other characteristics that made her not work out? Read more about how to interview my Au pair and the process of selecting an au pair.The answers will give you good data points to use in judging your next round of Au pair candidates. Review Au pair applications, be critical.