Friday, October 12, 2012

Au pairs from all around the globe are providing an alternative child care option for Kansas City families

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Kansas City is a home-away-from-home for dozens of au pairs from all around the world. They agree to live with a host family for one year, providing in-home childcare of 45 hours per week, learning about life in the USA, taking classes and sharing the languages and customs from their home country.

This alternative solution to childcare comes with many benefits. It is ideal for families who want to have their children cared for in their homes, work odd hours and need a flexible care schedule or perhaps simply want their children to experience the benefits of cultural exchange. Aupairs provide busy parents with an extra set of hands and extra set of eyes, making day-to-day parenting a little easier.

On the flip side, the au pair program gives young people ages 18 – 26 the opportunity they might not otherwise get to live, work and study in the United States. The agency helps screen potential families and au pairs to help ensure a safe and successful experience.

While Kansas City is not as well known in other countries as other bigger cities like New York and Los Angeles, it is growing in popularity. There is a growing au pair subculture that is alive and well, welcoming new au pairs to the city every month. During their time off, they frequently hang out with each other and go out together at night. Social media has made connecting with other au pairs even easier. There are all kinds of online communities where au pairs exchange information and get to know each other prior to finalizing a match.

“When making a match, it’s really not as much about the city as it is about finding a good family,” said Brazilian au pair Claudia Leu. “If you are in a big city with bad family, you will be unhappy. When a Kansas City family asked me to match, the girls I had been talking to from Kansas City said they thought I would like it very much. It’s actually much bigger than I thought.”

Another Brazilian au pair, Ivy Pires, came to live in Lee’s Summit to help care for her host  family’s special needs daughter, Abby. Abby was born with a brain abnormality that has affected her development, and she is in need of constant care and attention.  Ivy jumped right in when she arrived and instantly formed a bond with Ivy. Abby has improved greatly over the months that Ivy has been here and she now attends school a few days a week. Ivy’s nurturing nature and loving personality has made a great difference in this family’s life.

Lifelong bonds are formed between host families and their au pairs. With each new match, a new story begins. Many families keep in touch with their aupairs after they leave. The aupairs come back to visit or the family goes to visit the aupairs in their  home country. Some families have attended their aupairs wedding and the host children have been in the wedding. The aupairs become big sisters/big brothers and daughters/sons to the host family.  The Kilfoyle family of Prairie Village have had nine aupairs over the years, many of their aupairs have been back to visit , they made the switch to male aupairs a year ago because they have two active boys and felt a male aupair would be a good fit. Male aupairs are wonderful they come with far less drama and integrate very well.
While many host parents do admit that the thought of having someone from another country living in their home was a little odd at first, a few months into the exchange, those same parents can’t remember how they did it without their au pair. One family likened the aupair experience to a foreshadowing of when their children would be teenagers. The Shapiro family in Parkville have 6 children and the Host Mom regards her Brazilian aupair Rafaela as her oldest daughter. They are considering sponsoring her after her 2 years as an aupair are over because they do not want to see her leave.

There are currently 16 AuPairCare au pairs in Kansas City and many more with other agencies and many past host families all with stories to share.

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AuPairCare is an au pair agency that matches international au pairs with American host families for live-in childcare. Tatjana Alvegaard is the local representative and has been a host mom for the past 10 years, welcoming a new au pair into her home every year to care for her two daughters.



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