An au pair is in charge of taking care of the
children. He or she will get food and accommodation provided by the family free
of charge, and a small allowance in addition (sort of pocket money). The family
must also allow the au pair her time off.
Most of the time, the main reason for coming to Milan is: to learn Italian and
get experience abroad. Indeed, au pairing is an ideal way to become fully involved
in the Italian way of life! During the time off, the au pair is free
for what she wants to do: learning Italian at school or being lazy in Milan.
Au pairs are not professional child minders and will not be a qualified nanny.
Au pairs should not be responsible for children under 2 years of age.
There is no set conditions to become an au pair in Milan. However, one
will probably prefer girls (it can be boys... but it's rare) between
18 and 27, citizens of the European Union (in order to avoid visa problems)
and experience with children is likely to be demanded.
The minimum is 2 months and the au pair cannot stay
more than 2 years.
What the au pair must know
She will have to take care of the children, i.e. :
- speak the language, at least enough to understand and talk,
- be sure they get up on time; dress them; make sure they get dressed themselves,
- take them to school/nursery/activity classes...,
- play with them,
- be in charge of their meals,
- tidy up their rooms,
- be free to baby-sit them if needed, some evenings.
What the family has to do
The family has to welcome the au pair in thinking that she is not an
employee but a home help for the children. Therefore they will make sure:
- the au pair must have her own bedroom,
- the au pair will work to a maximum of 25-35 hours
per week She should have minimum 2 days (2 x 24 hours) off during the week
(make available the au-pair's agreed free time and days off ),
- they understand that having an au pair doesn't mean someone who is
going to do the housework, the dishes....etc. However au pairs may
be asked to do some housework, especially related to the children,
- the family pay an allowance (pocket money) each week (usually about 60 euros per week),
- it may be good to register the au pair at the family GP. She must
also be registered on the house insurance.
Some addresses...
If you want to register as an au pair or as a family, you can
contact:
You can also consult:
- AFJE (England, Irlande, Spain, Italy, Germany, France) - http://www.afje-paris.org
- Butterfly et Papillon (England, Eire, Spain, Italy, Germany, USA, Australia)-
http://www.butterfly-papillon.com
- AuPair Search (all) - http://www.aupairsearch.com
- GOELANGUES (England, Irlande, Spain, Italy, Germany, USA) - http://www.goelangues.org
- GreatAuPair (serving 140+ countries) - http://www.greataupair.com
Usually agencies will ask registration fees from the family, the au pair
or both.
Copyright EasyExpat Ltd © 2002-2008. All rights reserved.