Au Pair Extraordinaire

A great option if you have professional childcare experience or a recognized childcare qualification

As an Extraordinaire au pair you can provide up to 45 hours of childcare assistance per week. You will receive a weekly stipend and are provided with a private room and full board (3 meals per day), and other benefits. As a member of the household, you may appreciate the value of gifts and other benefits that your host family may provide during your time in the United States. Benefits may include home computer, telephone and internet use, personal transportation or use of a family car, recreation and leisure activities, as well as the availability of other household items that you may use.

One of the great things about being an au pair is the opportunity to study at an American college or university. With a maximum annual study allowance of up to US$500 (provided by your host family) you are able to select and study a course of your choice.

The course you select will depend on the educational opportunities in your community and your work schedule. To meet the educational requirement, it may mean that you will need to supplement the education allowance with your own money.

Living with an American host family as an Extraordinaire au pair not only introduces you to American culture and lifestyle, you will get to know so many other cultures through the friends you make during your stay. You will be one of over 4000 au pairs from more than 60 countries who travel to America each year with Au Pair in America. A real cultural exchange experience!

You can apply if you

  • Are aged between 18 – 26 years
  • Love caring for children
  • Hold a full driving license and consider yourself a confident driver
  • Hold a recognized childcare qualification, OR aged between 20 -26 years with 2 years recent full time childcare experience as a nursery school teacher, nanny or childcare provider
  • Have successfully completed a year-long J1 USA au pair program within the last 3 years
  • Are a secondary school graduate or equivalent
  • Have a good standard of spoken English
  • Have no criminal record
  • Have no spouse or dependents
  • Want to spend a year living with an American family

“As a nursery school teacher, I can continue doing something I love, while discovering a breathtaking new country.” Emma – England

Hannah Cox

Location: Washington, DC
No of children: 2
Age: 21

A day in the life of…Hannah

Hannah, from the UK, has been with her host family since October. Find out all about Hannah’s American Adventure.

There are so many reasons why you should apply to become an au pair in America. Starting with meeting your host family and forming an awesome relationship with your host children! I’ve now been in the US for 5 months and loving my life in the USA! Applying with Au Pair in America is brilliant as you have monthly meetings with your Community Counselor and other au pairs in your area, a secure health plan, access to educational courses, help with meeting other au pairs and lastly the opportunity to come and have the adventure of a lifetime!

Why did you choose Au Pair in America?

I decided to apply to the Au Pair in America program as it gives me the opportunity to discover a new country whilst doing a something I love! I moved to Washington D.C in October to live with my host family.

Describe a typical day with your host family.

An average day for me starts around 7:30am when I help with breakfast, get the boys ready for school and then dropping them off for 9am. I then either exercise, meet up with friends for brunch or just relax. When I pick the kids up at noon we are pretty much free to do whatever we want. We go to parks, restaurants, play dates, swimming, libraries or run errands. They have a lot of energy to burn and D.C has awesome outdoor activities. Their parents return home at 6.30pm each night and put the children to bed. I occasionally babysit at the weekends but my host parents are great about giving me advanced warning if they’d like me to do so.

What do you do during your free time?

I love to go and watch baseball, football, basketball and ice hockey games as we don’t have these in England. I hang out with friends and we go shopping or out to eat a lot. There’s always someone in my network of friends that is ready for a new adventure!

What travelling have you done?

My host family took me to the Caribbean with them which was totally fantastic! They were also kind enough to take me to Boston with them for Christmas and I really felt part of the family. In February I took a week’s vacation to visit a friend in Colorado. Flights between States are pretty cheap here and airports are easy to access with great transport links. I’m also going to Vegas next for my friends 21st birthday. I’ll be sure to visit other places throughout my year in the States!

I’ve now been in the US for 5 months and loving my life in the USA! Applying with Au Pair in America is brilliant as you have monthly meetings with your Community Counselor and other au pairs in your area, a secure health plan, access to educational courses, help with meeting other au pairs and lastly the opportunity to come and have the adventure of a lifetime!