Au Pairs vs. Nannies: What’s the Difference?

Comparing Au Pairs vs Nannies

The difference between an au pair and a nanny lies in their roles, relationships with the family, and the unique benefits they bring. An au pair is a young adult participating in a cultural exchange program. They live with the host family as a temporary family member, providing childcare while sharing their home country's culture and language. This arrangement fosters a close bond between the au pair and the family, creating a dynamic that goes beyond professional caregiving.

A nanny, on the other hand, is a professional caregiver hired to focus solely on childcare. While some nannies may live with the family, many commute from their own residence, and their relationship with the family remains professional rather than familial. Nannies typically do not provide a cultural exchange component, as their primary focus is the child’s daily care and household support.

Now, let's take a closer look at the specific differences between an au pair and a nanny, including living arrangements, cultural exchange, and cost.

Living Arrangements

Au pairs live with the host family, sharing meals and family activities, while having their own private room in the family’s home. This setup integrates them fully into family life. Nannies, conversely, may live with the family or commute, depending on the arrangement, leading to a less integrated caregiver role.

Cultural Exchange

A unique aspect of au pairs is their role as cultural ambassadors. They bring perspectives from their home country, often teaching their host family about their customs and even introducing a new language. This enriches the family’s cultural exposure. Nannies, however, do not typically offer this cultural exchange, as their role focuses exclusively on caregiving tasks.

Cost

Au pairs are paid a weekly stipend that includes room and board, making them a more affordable option for many families. Nannies are paid wages based on experience, hours worked, and number of children, making their services potentially more expensive overall.

Age 

Au pairs are typically young adults between 18 and 26, while nannies can be of any age. This may affect the dynamic between the caregiver and the family.

These distinctions make hosting an au pair the perfect solution for families looking for flexible, personalized childcare that suits their unique needs, preferences, and budgets.

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Understanding the Au Pair Program

So, what is an au pair exactly? Au pairs are young adults from other countries who travel to the United States on an au pair J-1 visa. They participate in a cultural exchange, au pair program that provides live-in childcare. In exchange, they receive the opportunity to live with and learn from an American family for a year or more, while also receiving a weekly stipend. The live-in nature of an au pair allows them to provide flexible childcare that works for your family’s schedule.

An au pair can help your family with many of the responsibilities of childcare, such as:

• Helping with homework
• Taking the kids to and from school
• Preparing your children’s meals
• Cleaning up after the kids
• Taking your kids on outings
• Helping the kids get bathed and dressed

An au pair can help with dozens of different responsibilities, allowing your family to take some of the stress out of raising kids. So, what sets au pairs apart from other types of caregivers?

Costs of an Au Pair vs. Nannies

Many families wonder if an au pair is cheaper than a nanny. The cost of an au pair vs. a nanny is notably different. The out-of-pocket expense for a family looking to host an au pair is often lower than the cost of paying a salary to a nanny.

AuPairCare program costs cover the standard training and placement of each au pair. The host family then pays the au pair a weekly stipend. This stipend also factors in the value of room and board, further reducing the financial burden on the host family.

Nannies are paid as employees, and their rates often vary based on the number of children in the household. The cost of each type of caregiver is another clear difference between au pairs and nannies.

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Relationship-Based Care

One of the most powerful differences between a nanny and an au pair is the emphasis on relationship-based care that an au pair provides. Au pairs don’t just live with their host families. They share meals, go on family outings, and create irreplaceable memories together.   

During their time with a host family, au pairs truly become temporary family members. This lets au pairs form strong relationships with the children they care for. Many families have shared that their au pair becomes like an older sibling to their children as they develop a close bond during their time together.  

Positive relationships with caregivers are essential for the developing minds of children. In fact, a study by the American Psychological Association found that children with supportive caregiver relationships outside of their immediate family may grow into better-adjusted adolescents and adults.   

Children also learn from the way they see the people around them interacting. Seeing positive interactions between their caregivers, including between their guardians and au pair, can help your child feel secure. As they become a part of your family, au pairs provide another consistent way for children to see these supportive relationships in action.

The meaningful relationships that a host family develops with their au pair is an additional impactful difference between an au pair and a nanny. This relationship creates countless benefits for the children an au pair cares for, such as:

• Giving children another trusted caregiver available to support them

• Ensuring that there is always an adult there to focus just on the needs of the kids

• Creating consistency, reliability, and comfort in their schedule with an au pair

• Providing children with a meaningful cultural experience

The meaningful relationships that an au pair forms with their host families can help encourage the healthy development of the children they care for. Additionally, au pairs create countless learning opportunities for your children by bringing their unique culture to your family.

Cultural Exchange With an Au Pair

While both a nanny and an au pair can be live-in caregivers for children, au pairs are unique in that they come from different countries all over the world. Au pairs travel from their home countries to live with and learn from families in the United States.   

Cultural exchange is one of the foundational elements of the au pair program. These caregivers come to the United States to experience the culture of their host family, while in turn teaching their host family about their home culture. The J-1 visa that au pairs receive to work in the United States is specifically for visitors participating in a cultural exchange. 

AuPairCare’s au pairs come from more than 40 countries around the world. In addition to providing care for your kids and helping out around the house, they can also help immerse your family in their culture and even teach them a new language.

This unique opportunity to expose your children to a new culture can have lasting benefits, such as:

• Increasing your child’s awareness of different cultures

• Helping your child become curious and open-minded

• Developing a deeper sense of compassion in your child

Hosting an au pair is also a powerful way to help your children learn a new language. Your family’s au pair can immerse your children in their native language by naturally introducing new words and phrases that are connected to your child’s life. 

Learning a language through immersion is one of the best ways to develop long-lasting proficiency. Speaking multiple languages offers many benefits, especially for children who begin learning their second language at a young age.

Bilingualism is connected to higher cognitive abilities. In particular, speaking a second language can help children become better readers, as it supports their language development. An au pair can create organic opportunities everyday to encourage your children to learn a foreign language.

An au pair can help prepare your children for our interconnected world in many ways, like:

• Teach them to accept others
• Helping them understand cultural differences
• Developing their cultural competence
• Immersing them in a foreign language
• Introducing them to foods and traditions from around the world

Au pairs bring much more than an extra set of hands to your household. They also bring their unique cultures, languages, experiences, and more. Dozens of families in the AuPairCare community have shared stories of how their au pairs have enriched their lives.

How AuPairCare Can Help Find the Right Au Pair

Finding an au pair to add to your family can seem daunting. From coordinating the details of their visa to ensuring that your au pair is the perfect fit for your family’s childcare needs, starting the process of finding an au pair can seem like a challenging journey. 

Partnering with our experienced and highly-rated au pair agency can make this process as easy as possible. AuPairCare ensures that the process of finding and starting to work with an au pair is seamless and stress-free.

AuPairCare’s experienced staff handles screening candidates to find au pairs with the experience, education, and passion to contribute to your family. Many members of our staff are previous au pairs or host parents, giving them unique insight into what makes an au pair successful in their placement.

This experience also helps the AuPairCare team ensure that each au pair meets the requirements and regulations set by the U.S. Department of State. This way, you don’t have to worry about anything! These requirements include that the au pair must:

• Have proficiency in spoken English
• Be between 18-26 years of age
• Have a secondary school education or equivalent
• Pass a background check
• Pass a reference check

AuPairCare also has additional training requirements to ensure that each au pair is prepared to provide high-quality childcare to their host families.

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AuPairCare’s Au Pair Academy  

When comparing a nanny versus au pair, another difference is the level of training, education, and preparation that each brings to their host family. While there are no formal requirements to become a nanny, au pairs must meet guidelines set by the U.S. Department of State.  

In addition to these requirements, AuPairCare requires that our au pairs receive additional training through the Au Pair Academy.

Every au pair is trained in safety, CPR, first aid, and child development before first meeting their host family, but this isn’t all that makes AuPairCare’s Au Pair Academy special. AuPairCare also provides ongoing, advanced training for au pairs during their placement to keep them up-to-date on the best practices in supporting the growth and development of the children they care for.  

Finding the Right Caregiver for Your Family

Hiring a nanny, a babysitter, or even sending your child to a childcare center often means doing your own research on the difference between a nanny and a babysitter and hoping your choice is a good match. When working with AuPairCare, we handle this process for you.

Our tenured staff, most with experience working as or hosting au pairs before, carefully considers your family’s wants and needs to match you with the perfect au pair. To ensure your au pair is the right fit for your family, we:

• Provide families seeking a caregiver with a searchable database of au pairs

• Actively help recommend au pairs to families by considering each family’s needs

• Help set up and facilitate introductions and interviews with your au pair candidates

• Handle the paperwork, including helping your new au pair secure a visa

• Schedule your au pair’s flights and help you plan for their arrival

Our staff at AuPairCare is committed to finding your family not just a caregiver, but a meaningful addition to your household. Our detailed program helps us connect you with an au pair that will truly become a part of the family during their stay.

What Can an Au Pair Add to Your Household?

Parenting is stressful. Studies have shown that, over time, parental stress can impact the development of children as they are shaped by the long-term interactions they have with the people in their environment. Adding an au pair to your household can lower the stress of parenting, while also creating another positive relationship for your child to help them thrive.

Choosing to host an au pair as a caregiver for your children has benefits that reach far beyond getting some much-needed help with the kids, such as:

• Giving your children a enriching cultural experience

• Serving as an extra adult in the household whose main focus is the kids

• Helping your children with homework

• Lending an extra hand for household chores

• Monitoring your children’s growth and development

• Developing meaningful, lasting relationships with your family

Finding the right caregiver for your family is a monumental and important task. Choosing AuPairCare as your au pair agency can make that task easier.

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