The library
Everything nobody tells you beforehand.
18 plain-English guides on visas, money, paperwork, daily life and safety — written for au pairs and host families who want the detail, not the brochure.
18 guides
Getting started · 6 min read
What an au pair actually is (and isn't)
A cultural exchange with childcare at its centre — not a nanny contract, not a cleaner, not a cheap babysitter. Here is the line, and why it matters legally.
Read the guideGetting started
The first month: a week-by-week settling-in plan
Most placements that fail, fail in the first four weeks. This is the structure that prevents it — what to agree on day one, week one and week four.
Both sides7 min readMoney
Pocket money, hours and time off by country
What host families are expected to pay each week, how many hours they can ask for, and the minimum days off — for the main European and English-speaking destinations.
Both sides8 min readMoney
What hosting an au pair really costs a family
A full monthly budget including pocket money, food, insurance, transport and the language course — plus how it compares to a nursery place or a nanny.
For families6 min readVisas and paperwork
Au pair visas: how the main routes work
Who needs a visa, what the common routes are, how long they take, and the documents that hold applications up.
For au pairs9 min readVisas and paperwork
The paperwork a host family needs to get right
The agreement, the insurance, the registration and the tax position — the four things that turn an informal arrangement into a legal one.
For families7 min readGetting started
Writing a profile that actually gets replies
The specific details that make a profile stand out, the phrases everyone uses that mean nothing, and how to write a first message that gets answered.
Both sides6 min readGetting started
40 questions to ask before you say yes
The video-call questions that surface problems early — for au pairs interviewing families, and families interviewing au pairs.
Both sides8 min readDaily life
House rules that prevent arguments
The unspoken expectations that cause most household friction — food, guests, noise, screens, phones — and how to write them down without sounding like a landlord.
For families5 min readDaily life
Homesickness and culture shock: what to expect
The predictable emotional curve of a year abroad — when the dip usually hits, why it hits, and the things that genuinely help.
For au pairs6 min readSafety
Safety, scams and red flags
How to spot a fake profile, the money scams that target au pairs, and the warning signs in a real family that mean you should walk away.
Both sides7 min readSafety
When a placement isn't working
How to raise a problem before it becomes an ending, what fair notice looks like, and how a rematch actually works.
Both sides6 min readCountry guides
Being an au pair in Germany
The German au pair system is one of the most clearly regulated in Europe. Here are the rules, the money, the registration steps and the culture.
Both sides7 min readCountry guides
Being an au pair in Spain
Later days, bigger families, warmer weather and a looser framework than northern Europe — what that means in practice.
Both sides6 min readDaily life
Driving as an au pair: licences, insurance and nerves
Whether your licence is valid abroad, how the family should insure you, and how to handle driving children safely in an unfamiliar country.
Both sides5 min readDaily life
Actually learning the language in a year
Most au pairs arrive at A1 and leave at A2. Here is how the ones who reach B2 do it differently.
For au pairs5 min readContracts & templates
The au pair agreement, clause by clause
Most countries require a written agreement before they grant the visa — and every good placement starts with one. Here is what goes in it, clause by clause, with a free template.
Both sides8 min readContracts & templates
The weekly schedule: how to write one that holds
'About thirty hours, flexible' is where placements go wrong. A one-page weekly grid fixes hours, duties and handovers before they become arguments. Free template included.
Both sides6 min readBrowse by topic
- Getting started4
- Money2
- Visas and paperwork2
- Contracts & templates2
- Daily life4
- Safety2
- Country guides2