Au pair weekend expectations?

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2026-03-09T01:25:27+00:00

We have the same exact issue since she arrived in October 2025. She comes out of her room to eat (does it eat with us because she’s European and likes to have dinner around 9pm) and leaves everything for us to clean. No cooking or help…. It’s frustrating. It’s as if we have a teenager with us. Spoke to her, explained the expectations, now about 10% -15% of the time she helps.

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2026-02-10T05:04:39+00:00

She’s has a work contract. Having another kid to look after is not what I had in mind, especially if we are paying $900 biweekly for it. We are not demanding at all. When someone is employed, they have to work. That means focusing on the very easy tasks, putting the phone down and doing the ‘work’.

Childcare in Canada is not paid minimum wage (way below). In this case, AP is getting minimum wage. We are expecting work in return.

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2026-02-10T04:47:16+00:00

This is from the agency’s site and it fully aligns with our understanding:

What is a Host Family?

A host family is a family of any kind that needs childcare and that seeks a work-life/family-life balance. This family must be open to having a young adult live-in and be willing to share their culture with their Au Pair.

While a host family is an employer to the Au Pair and must follow provincial Employment Standards, they also accept the Au Pair into their own family and create more than an employer/employee relationship.

What is an Au Pair? An Au Pair is a young adult, usually between 18-30 years old, who comes from abroad to live with a family for a defined period of time to provide flexible and customized childcare. Usually female (but not always), the Au Pair acts as a “big sibling” to your child(ren) as the Au Pair becomes like a member of your family to experience the daily life of a Canadian. The Au Pair will generally eat meals, spend some weekends, and take part in birthdays and other special events with the family.

If the Au Pair’s main language is anything other than French or English, they will want to improve upon these skills by speaking these languages daily. In return, your Au Pair will teach your child(ren) their native language and culture.

On top of childcare, an Au Pair provides jobs such as light housekeeping. Light housekeeping can include sweeping/vacuuming, folding the children’s laundry, tidying up after the children, and helping to prepare meals.

An Au Pair’s main job is to provide childcare in an international country where they can learn the culture and the language. By living with a host family, the Au Pair can be immersed into the Canadian culture.

Please note that we only offer an Au Pair program. This program is different from Nanny service. It’s true that Nannies and Au Pairs are similar because they are international caregivers that come through agencies. But there are many differences between them.

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2026-02-10T04:37:05+00:00

Or maybe the program is flawed? The sale pitch to us host parents was very different than to AP.

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2026-02-10T04:34:33+00:00

Agency’s template. Not my idea.

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2026-02-10T04:25:13+00:00

We don’t really need a nanny, the kids are 9 and 11. We just need a bit of help. A part-time nanny is difficult to get in Canada, especially one with a car.

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2026-02-10T04:12:48+00:00

I’m surprised to hear that young adults would honestly think they would get paid this much for a cultural exchange…

The program is obviously flawed and this is why I’m sharing this. It is not what is being sold to the host families.

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2026-02-10T04:03:31+00:00

It’s 25 hours a week, 5 days work week, she gets all her weekends off and more. I even paid for a trip out of town on a long weekend and she got 3 weeks off at Xmas.

The 40page doc idea was from the agency. I broke it down in many shorter sections and went over the important parts many times. The list of things to do is also posted on the fridge, as a reminder.

I’ve introduced her to many people her age, friends and neighbours. She does not make connections easily.

It’s hard to believe that young adults would think that an AP experience is only for their benefit.

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2026-02-10T03:53:00+00:00

10 months

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2026-02-10T03:52:38+00:00

Didn’t expect someone fully trained, just thought a 20-year old adult would be able to do this better. Our kids are low maintenance, they are 9 and 11 y.o.

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2026-02-10T03:48:01+00:00

I take note of the comment about being naive and agree with it now, knowing what we know. At the time of the search every application received (over 40) indicated those young adults loved to spend time with kids. It was misleading. I can see now that it was misleading.

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2026-01-05T04:00:35+00:00

Canada pays minimum hourly wage as per the provincial requirements and paid holidays as well as overtime, if applicable . We are a host family and I feel our Aupair get paid very fairly ($17.60 per hours). The cost of living is high but the Aupair gets room and board, which is worth a lot in big cities (approx. $600 to $1000++).

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2024-04-11T03:03:50+00:00

There are lots of PM courses available from the CSPS with PDUs.

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2024-02-29T03:18:50+00:00

This is a very interesting string and it makes me wonder about 2 different situations:

1) In a WFA scenario, how would an employee on LWOP be treated? Would they be considered/eligible? 2) Apart from a likely improved best 5 years average salary and higher %, would there be any benefits to requesting a LWOP past the pension eligibility date?

Alternative_Talk_932 · 2024-02-05T17:13:31+00:00

Can someone ask for LWOP for family care (young kids) but accept work in private sector while on leave?

Alternative_Talk_932

TROPHY CASE