Au Pair in Italy: salary, working hours, holidays, etc.

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Very useful site, easy to manage and with a lot of au pairs from all the world

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My name is Sara, I am 19 years old and I come from the North-East of Italy. Being an au pair has always been a wish of mine and, now, I can say I have achieved it. In September 2022, I understood that it was not the right time to tackle university and that I needed to take a break. My dream is to work with children, so an experience like this would only have made me grow and encouraged me. Having studied languages in high school, I was very passionate about French and wanted to keep it active, so my destination had to be France. I signed up on the aupair.com website to start looking for my future Host Family. I had the opportunity to contact many Host Families. I organized a Whatsapp meeting with each of them, which was essential for understanding the family's requests, getting to know each other and also giving you a first impression of the family. But how do you choose the “right family”? It's simple, you feel it inside yourself. You have to trust your sensations and emotions. I had a particular interest and curiosity that pushed me to choose them. My Host Family lives in a large house in the countryside in the Jura department, in Burgundy-Comté. Peace and nature are the two key words to describe the place. The family has a 4 year old boy and an almost 2 year old girl, with whom I spoke only in French, but sometimes I taught them words in Italian or English (with the parents' permission). My life as an Aupair consisted of waking up the children in the morning around 7, preparing and having breakfast with them, changing them and taking them to nursery. After that, as far as I was concerned, I had free time until 3.45pm, when I left to go and collect the children. During the morning, as initially agreed with the parents, I cleaned and tidied up the children's rooms, the playroom, took care of the (children's) laundry and contributed to keeping the house tidy. The rest of the time I dedicated to myself, therefore doing sports and personal activities such as reading and studying for my future goals. When the children and I returned home in the afternoon, most of the time we found their father already, but I still stayed to play with them until their mother returned (around 6/6.30pm). On Wednesdays, schools in France are closed: the child went to the garderie, a sort of center where he did activities together with other children; while the little girl stayed in nursery until noon and after which I went to get her and took care of her (we played together and I had to make her take a nap). The weekend was usually free and I spent it either staying with the family or going to visit various cities. How was your relationship with the children? I was their first Au pair and I must admit that there were some difficulties at the beginning. The children were still young to understand the concept of "new family member" so I tried as much as possible to approach them like an older sister. It was difficult for the older child to have to accept me into the family, but with time and the help of his parents it got better. With the youngest child, it was hard for the first few weeks but then an infinite love broke out. With each passing day, our bond grew stronger and stronger. Sometimes I felt like a big sister, other times like a second mom. I could talk about her for hours and hours. Advice for future Aupairs Contact more families, always make video calls to fully understand what is being asked to do. Ask about your spaces such as your bedroom, bathroom, etc., your interests in certain activities (e.g. sports), whether you have the opportunity to attend language courses and the free days you have. Also already ask for some information regarding the monthly salary. Don't give up at the first difficulty, don't be afraid if it seems difficult to create a relationship with children. You are there for them so you will grow with them and get to know them better. You also need to remember that your parents are there for you too, so if you have any problems talk to them, they will be able to help you. Personal considerations My stay was supposed to be 5 months, from January to early June because then I had other plans for the summer and in September I would have had a university test. Unfortunately, due to health issues, I had to bring forward my return by a month. It hurt a lot because I had become so fond of the Host Family, especially the children. I have learned many things in these (few) months away from my Italian family. I worked a lot on myself for various personal reasons, and it was one of my main goals of this experience. I've learned that I can do it just fine on my own. I learned to be independent. I have learned to appreciate the little things. I have learned to enjoy the little moments with the right people, those who give you smiles. Those smiles that you find in two little children and that turn your life upside down. Those smiles that give you the strength to carry on. Thanks to this experience I understood that children are my path. I'm happy I took that plane in January and it's a choice I would make a hundred more times. Heartfelt thanks to my Host Family who have become my second family.

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It is not easy to find an Au Pair and the search takes a lot of time, but through the site AuPair.com you can read and filter a lot of information that facilitates the selection. In the next step, unfortunately many of the girls you contact do not bother to answer or they do so after a long time, so you have to be very patient. It's gratifying at the end to find, like a pearl in the sea, the right person who is perfect for your family. With Fabiola there was an immediate understanding and availability, there was respect, desire to learn and pleasure in being together. Fabiola was committed the whole time and was very positive and smart in managing her life outside the family, creating her own network of new friends. Unfortunately, covid brings periods of limitation and monotony, but the moments of discouragement together have been overcome. It was great to have someone join the family that we could count on, spend time with, and who earned our trust right away. I really liked her simplicity and her way of thinking that went well with ours, with the same standards of principles and the right open-mindedness, as well as her determination to understand and memorize our language. She integrated well and became a big sister to the children and a friend to us.

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All just wonderful!!!! Education trust esteem and respect. Fantastic!!!!