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Childcare woes/Aupair

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    #32
    Shefwedfan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭Shefwedfan


    RiseToMe wrote: »
    Hi OP,

    My wife recently returned to work and we faced the same issue. I worked both for myself and for somebody else and in the end I cut right back and just do the childminding myself. There isn't a whole lot of options out there unless you need full time care.

    Thanks, it is looking like that alright


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    #33
    pwurple
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,449 ✭✭✭✭pwurple


    We had 3 au pairs, all three from aupairworld.net. One didn't work out, she just had no interest in being an aupair, misled us, and only wanted a place to stay in order to meet her irish boyfriend. She only lasted a week.

    The other two girls were real dotes, great with children, and they loved babies. Our first au pair was when our youngest was 6 months old.  I highly recommend aupairs, I think it's great for the children to have that exposure to other ways of life, the au pair gets a fab experience, and you get some flexibility hopefully. Both of my daughters still speak bits of Spanish and Portuguese and have experience with foods and cultures, skype with our au pairs families etc. We've been to visit them in their home countries as well. Overall loved it (bar that one misstep)
    Obviously don't exploit anyone. For your own sake as well. They are looking after your children for goodness sake, the last thing you want to do is have a gripe with them. Other girls would come to visit our au pair, and some were very upset about how they were being treated.. having their wages docked for using a tea-bag, or being expected to walk miles in the rain to pick up children from school instead of given a Leap card for the bus. 
    You do need to do the legwork yourself. Yes it's hard work, you have to interview a lot of people to find someone who suits your family. An agency can't do that for you. But it's well worth it for your children. Besides, it's not that often. Our first au pair stayed 2 years, the other one was a year.


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    #34
    st1979
    Registered Users Posts: 936 ✭✭✭st1979


    Previous poster is right it can be a very positive thing for host family. I sometimes get foreign students to work for a month on the farm and like an au pair they live with the family. We as a family I think become less insular and that can only be good for the kids. Big change and worry before you get the first au pair. And truthfully if there is not an economic benefit to me I would not have got the first au pair or farm student. And for the people who are against this system. What way do they recommend the foreign au pairs or farm students to get work and learn which helps them further their career.
    My last au pair is now working in Dublin in a crèche renting a 3 bed flat in a dodgy area with 6 others. And after paying her ridiculous rent and bus fares and food she will not have the disposable income she had as an au pair. But it's a new chapter in her life and she is very excited.


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    #35
    yellow hen
    Registered Users Posts: 4,030 ✭✭✭yellow hen


    I've never had an au pair but we do keep students during term time and I whole heartedly agree with the previous poster about being less insular as a family. Other benefits we found were that we were generally more organised around mealtimes etc and ate better and more broadly. The kids always adore the students and just see them as an extension of our wider family.


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    #36
    Shefwedfan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭Shefwedfan


    Quick update, spent last few weeks on Au Pair World to no avail. Last week was concerned so signed up to Cara International.

    Today got an offer which looks good.....just wondering if anyone has used Cara before? Thanks


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    #37
    jlm29
    Registered Users Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭jlm29


    I’ve never heard of Cara OP, but one other thing you could do if it doesn’t work out is stick an ad on local radio, depending on where in the country you are. I know it might only be an option if you’re rural/semi-rural.
    I know of a few people who have found childcare through radio- usually people who need very part-time childcare, and it’s generally been older middle aged ladies (sorry for generalising, but the demographic who might be listening to regional radio!!) who haven’t been working outside the home, families reared, looking for something to do and glad of the extra cash.


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    #38
    Shefwedfan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭Shefwedfan


    jlm29 wrote: »
    I’ve never heard of Cara OP, but one other thing you could do if it doesn’t work out is stick an ad on local radio, depending on where in the country you are. I know it might only be an option if you’re rural/semi-rural.
    I know of a few people who have found childcare through radio- usually people who need very part-time childcare, and it’s generally been older middle aged ladies (sorry for generalising, but the demographic who might be listening to regional radio!!) who haven’t been working outside the home, families reared, looking for something to do and glad of the extra cash.

    We live on Dublin border, address is not Dublin but Eircode is :P

    Local radio would probably be classified at 98FM or FM104:D


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    #39
    jlm29
    Registered Users Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭jlm29


    Probably wouldn’t have the same success rate as tipp fm!


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    #40
    spaceHopper
    Registered Users Posts: 3,991 ✭✭✭spaceHopper


    We got our first child minder from the local magazine my wife put an add in. She was in the 50s with two grown up children and was happy with 3 days. It might be better if you offered 3 days a week and could fix one or two of them. You might get more bites


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    #41
    pwurple
    Closed Accounts Posts: 12,449 ✭✭✭✭pwurple


    When you say You had no luck on Au pair world... as in no interest, or no one applied that you liked? We had hundreds of responses any time we used it, had to keep hiding and unhiding the profile to manage it. I am surprised if you got nothing at all.

    Maybe it is the location, we are in cork city, and a lot of them already know someone nearby so they have a safety net.

    Ask the other parents around has to be your best bet. There could be some network there that maybe you have not discovered yet.


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    #42
    Shefwedfan
    Closed Accounts Posts: 18,958 ✭✭✭✭Shefwedfan


    pwurple wrote: »
    When you say You had no luck on Au pair world... as in no interest, or no one applied that you liked? We had hundreds of responses any time we used it, had to keep hiding and unhiding the profile to manage it. I am surprised if you got nothing at all.

    Maybe it is the location, we are in cork city, and a lot of them already know someone nearby so they have a safety net.

    Ask the other parents around has to be your best bet. There could be some network there that maybe you have not discovered yet.

    We got some applications but all from outside EU so I was recommended to stay in EU due to work visa etc

    We then started to contact people direct, Germany & Poland first, then rest of EU. Anyway that has come back said not interested.

    I am not sure it is because we have looked for a drivers license? we dont smoke and asked for someone that doesn't smoke as well.....apart from that nothing out of norm.


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