Tips For Transitioning From One Au Pair To Another

Your au pair’s year is coming to end and you have chosen a new person to continue taking care of your children. The children have most likely created a bond with the current au pair and you might be wondering how the transitioning will go when the new au pair arrives. Will the children like her? How are the children’s lives impacted by this change? How long will the transitioning phase last until life feels normal again and everybody knows their routine?

Well, it is important to help your au pair to adjust to the new environment and culture. You can read more about it here: Adjusting to a New Culture

However, the children may need some help in adjusting to the new au pair and dealing with the emotions of having to say goodbye to their current au pair. Here are some tips that you may find helpful during the adjustment period:

Home

Before your current au pair has left, you can start talking about her life in her country months before her departure. Depending on the child’s age and maturity you can talk about her family, school, and life in general just to make sure your child(ren) understand the au pair has a life somewhere else. This will help make sense to the children why they need to say goodbye to their au pair.

Introduce

Before the new au pair's arrival you can talk about her with the children: where is she from, what language she speaks, etc. You can also show her picture to the children. This way they can already know a little bit of her and feel a little bit more familiar with her.

Excitement

Discuss the possible exciting aspects of having a new au pair. For example, the children can show their rooms, favorite toys, and playgrounds to her. Make sure the children will get a closure by saying goodbye to the au pair and express their love and care for her. Discuss the ways you can keep contact with the au pair once she’s back in her home country.

Routine

Depending on the time of the year, try to keep the children’s routines the same as much as possible. This can relieve the stress of having a somewhat unknown person taking care of them when they know what is next.

Contact us for more information about hosting an au pair. With 30 years of experience, we can answer all your questions about the au pair program. We provide our families with reliable, affordable and personal service for a rewarding experience with a carefully screened au pair.

Apply with us to host an au pair today.