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What does an Au Pair Do? Duties and Responsibilities Explained

An Au Pair is mainly responsible for childcare and light household tasks related to the children. Typical duties include playing with the kids, helping with homework, preparing simple meals, and keeping their rooms tidy. All responsibilities should be clearly listed in the Au Pair contract before the stay begins.

Explore the details:

What should an Au Pair do
What should an Au Pair NOT do

An Au Pair has different responsibilities according to the H ost Family's needs. The main task is taking care of the children and playing with them. As a temporary family member the Au Pair is also expected to participate in light housework, for example, folding the children's clothes and cleaning the table. These duties should be determined and agreed upon before the Au Pair travels to the host country. To make this official, Host Families can use the Au Pair contract provided by AuPair.com, which will also be needed in case of requiring a visa.

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What should an Au Pair do

Typical Childcare Duties

Here are the duties and responsibilities of an Au Pair:

Playing with the children
Driving and picking up the kids from school and other activities
Cooking easy recipes
Keeping the children's rooms tidy and clean
Ironing the children's clothes and doing their laundry
Helping the children with their homework
Putting the kids to sleep
Helping the host kids with personal hygiene (tooth brushing, changing diapers etc.)
Light shopping
Loading and unloading the dishwasher

Working Hours and Free Time

The Au Pair's primary chore is to take care of the children. Au Pairs work between 20 and 45 hours a week depending on the host country. Host Families have to respect these working hours and give the possibility to their Au Pairs to attend a language course and have free time to fully enjoy the experience of living abroad.

Download the Au Pair contract
The scope of responsibility should be described in details in the Au Pair contract - and the contract should be signed before the program start date. Learn more

Video: Au Pair Duties and Responsibilities

In the following Video, we're looking at Au Pairs' duties and responsibilities, as well as the most economical ways to use AuPair.com.

What should an Au Pair NOT do?

Housekeeping Tasks an Au Pair Should Avoid

Au Pair responsibilities, Au Pair duties, What does an Au Pair do

An Au Pair should not be mistaken for a nanny or a housekeeper. The Au Pair program provides a cultural exchange for both parties. An Au Pair is not in charge of the household. Here are some duties that the Au Pair should NOT do during her stay with the Host Family.

Responsibilities Outside the Program

Cooking for the entire family
Cleaning non-shared rooms or working in the garden
Washing the car
Doing laundry or ironing clothes for the whole family
Clean windows
Taking care of others' children besides the host kids
Taking care of pets unless previously agreed

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Can an Au Pair have a second job?: It depends. If the Au Pair is an EU citizen and is staying within the EU, then he/she can have another job. For the rest of the cases, it depends on the visa the Au Pair holds, the amount of hours she already works and the specific labour laws of the Host Country.

Can Au Pairs work more than 45 hours?: No. Every country has its own regulations for how many hours/week the Au Pair is allowed to work, and they correspond to a specific monthly pocket money. In some countries, like the USA, this includes extra babysitting hours. In other Host Countries it depends on the agreement between Au Pair and Host Family.

Can I become an Au Pair?: The Au Pair program accepts participants who meet mainly education, family and age requirements. Please take a look at the full list of Au Pair requirements. If you meet them, register as an Au Pair today and find a Host Family that matches your criteria.