Au Pairs, Nannies And Mothers Help
The words Au pair, Mothers Help and Nanny are very regularly applied loosely, so we are going to clarify this for you. All are often Live-in jobs with the responsibility of looking after children, helping them emotionally and mentally to develop and not being afraid to descipline them when necessary.
Nannies
Nannies usually have some Qualifications or Training, such as a Diploma in Childcare and Education (NNEB) or a Level 3 National Vocational Qualification, but you dont need qualifications to be a Nanny just many years experience in working with children.
Mother Help
Sometimes called Parents Help, this is a Live-in helper usually they will assist the parent with the children and the chores surrounding them, and sometimes they can take full charge of the children. They are not just required to help with the children but also expected to help with a variety of tasks relating to the house. Sometimes more expereinced Mother helpers can be paid the same as nannies, but its normally around £90 - £150 a week. The hours expected is about eight hours a day between 5-6 days a week plus some babysitting when required.
Au Pairs
Although Au pair duties are very similar to that of Mothers Help or Nannies, their purpose for coming to help is for more than to look after children and house chores. Many want to learn different cultures and languages and this gives them plenty of opportunity to do so. Au pairs are not meant to work more than 25 hours a week over a five day period, plus 2 evenings of babysitting thus they should be given a weekly pocket money of no less than £55 a week in the UK or a considerably less generous 60 Euros a week in Europe.
Au pairs should be treated on equal par to family members other than employees, au pairs are not normally expected to take full charge of the children but this can vary depending upon experience. Sometimes Au pairs like to stay just for the holiday period normally from July to September while the children are on summer holidays this is known as a Holiday Au pair during this time it may be impossible for the Au pair to attend a language school.