Home Food & Cooking Travel Health Writing Pregnancy Raising Kids Money Reviews Pets Home & Garden Odds & Ends Emergencies Magazines $10 & Less

Nannies and Au Pairs are both childcare providers, but there are distinct differences between the two. On the most part, nannies and au pairs are women.

Nannies are professional childcare workers that often work as full-time live in help, although some do live out.

Nannies only perform those duties directly associated with the care of the children in their care and do not do any other task, such as general housework.

Many nannies have years of formal training, although some have no training other than experience.

Parents should be sure to discuss their parenting and disciplinary expectations with the nanny before she takes over the care of the children and it is wise to do spot checks on her, just as you would with any childcare provider.

Au Pairs are young foreign women who travel to a different country for the purpose of providing childcare. Like a mother's helper, Au Pairs are often given household tasks to do, in addition to their childcare duties.

Au Pairs live with their host family and should be treated as a member of the family, albeit one with childcare duties. They perform these duties in exchange for room, board, and a small stipend.

On the whole, au pairs are not trained childcare professionals. Instead, they are young women who see the job as an ideal means of traveling to another country at little or no expense to themselves.

• Au Pairs should be supervised when working with children.

In the U.S., au pairs come over as part of the USIA exchange program, which has strict rules governing their employment. For instance:

• An au pair cannot care for a child under three months of age.
• Au pair's must live-in
• Au pair's cannot be required to work more than 45 hours a week
• Only women between 18-25 years of age are eligible to enter the U.S. as an au pair and can work for no more than one year
• In the U.S., foreign au pairs can only be hired through a federally approve agency.

The small stipend paid to an au pair, in the U.S., is set by the State Department and is based in part on the current minimum wage standard.

Nannies are professionals and should be paid as such. How much they receive will depend upon their experience and the number of children they care for. A nanny that lives-in will receive a smaller salary than one who lives out. It is hard to place a fixed range upon the salary paid to nannies, but the medium range is $200-600 a week, which is not bad when you consider that most nannies work 60 hours a week.

Numerous organizations and employment agencies act as a go-between, helping to match up families with child care providers.

• When using an agency, you will be required to pay a fee. This can be quite hefty, especially for an au pair, for which the fees can run to $4000.
• In exchange for this fee, most agencies will conduct a background search and they will check the applicant's references.
• For au pairs, they will conduct an interview to help match the girl up with a host family. They will also help arrange travel for an au pair, figure out which visas she needs, and will mediate conflicts between the caregiver and client.
• Fees for nannies are often much lower, and because nannies are 'local', it is easier to find one on your own by resorting to referrals from friends or by placing, or responding, to an advertisement.
• If the agency you deal with does not perform background checks, or if you are hiring a nanny or au pair on your own, pay to have a background check done yourself. Be sure to check all references.

When hiring a nanny or au pair, be sure to discuss living arrangements and the work that is to be preformed, length of time they will work and when they will have off. Also, make sure that your childcare philosophy matches with your potential caregiver.

• Try to arrange for a trail period to see if you, the caregiver, and your child get along well. This is extremely important when the nanny or au pair lives in.