There are many childcare options available to families in New Zealand today. They range from home-based childcare, centre-based childcare, kohanga and play centres, to name a few. With these different options in mind, there are also different price points. Having an au pair; live-in home-based childcare, is one option worth considering as their cost model is paying per hour and not per child. Au Pair Link is a Ministry of Education licenced childcare provider, connecting experienced au pairs with local families to deliver quality early childhood education programmes.
The cost of an au pair with Au Pair Link is less than $350 per week (plus a one-off placement fee) for their most popular programme, Au Pair 123. As an indicator, this will give you 40 hours full time childcare with access to weekly playgroups and children’s outings. In addition to this, you’ll get on-call support from a dedicated qualified teacher. Your au pair would have received a three-day orientation with Au Pair Link at the beginning of their placement, gain child first aid training and have undergone an extensive pre-screening process with medical checks, police check, character references and interview by Au Pair Link staff.
Whether you have one child or four, the cost remains the same. With this and other benefits listed below, you’ll receive value for money and be confident that you are working with one of the best in New Zealand.
- Flexibility
Before an au pair joins your family, you negotiate your working hours with them. What this means is that you don’t have to worry about preparing your child for preschool, getting stuck in traffic in those peak hours as your au pair can have drop offs/pickups and feeding sorted.
- You have more time
When part of the au pair’s role includes duties such as making the child’s breakfast, dressing them, and picking up or dropping them off to activities, it’s an opportunity for you to spend more quality time with your little ones. It opens up more time for you to sit with your children and share what happened in each other’s day.
