Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions expressed are my own.
There are what seems like a million childcare options available these days. Most of them outrageously expensive, and how do you choose between them? One that is often overlooked but can be most affordable (especially if you need many hours and have multiple children) is an au pair.
This is one of the options that I have personal experience with, and therefore it is near and dear to my heart. As a child I grew up in a one-parent household. My parents were divorced and my father traveled for his job. A teacher with 3 children at home my mother needed some help. We had some neighbors who had moved to the United States from France a few years earlier whom my family had become close with. They had an older cousin who wanted to come to the United States. It was arranged that she would come and live with us and help my mother to care for us in exchange for housing and some additional pay.
Enter my au pair Violin. She was awesome. She ate tomatoes like apples, wore heels every day and taught me conversational French. My mother didn’t have to worry about our before and after care because she was always there to get us on and off the bus. She helped us make meals, get homework done, work on projects, she was always there for us. I have one very fond memory of coming home after winning an award for crazy hat day and her happiness, ohhh that big giant hug. She was family. Who could love your children and care for them more than family?
Many people also think of having an au pair as being for the rich. In reality it’s one of the most cost effective childcare options. My family was not rich by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, if my mother had been forced to pay for before and after care for us, tutors, and also an occasional babysitter, it would have cost her much more money, especially because back then there was only half day kindergarten and my brother was 5. It is actually one of the most cost-effective childcare options.
Au Pairs provide so much more than childcare to your family. Au Pairs help with light household chores, laundry, meals and errands. The cost of an au pair is PER FAMILY, not per child, as with daycares and your children are in the comfort of their home if they are sick. No need to worry about who is going to watch them while you go to work until their fever breaks.
This weekend only, new families who register from January 23rd through January 27th will save $75 on their registration fee and $400 on their program fee. Families who select their au pair by February 23, 2015 will save an additional $500—for a total savings of $975! To qualify, families must welcome their au pair by October 2, 2015.
If you are interested in exploring this option of childcare and benefitting from this great promotion contact Michelle Mazzaro, a local childcare consultant. She can be reached at 845-558-5097 or visit mmazzaro@aupairnews.com Check them out on Facebook!
