Au-pairs welcome in rural NZ
16 Jul 2009
Foreigners keen to spend their gap year in New Zealand are finding favour with Kiwi families, especially in rural areas where child minders and day care facilities can be at a premium.
Taranaki Regional Council human resources adviser Karen Smylie, who’s just employed a young German woman to look after her children, says she’s one of a growing number of families opting to employ a live-in au-pair because of the financial benefits and reduced hassle for children.
Win-win
The option is seen as a win-win situation for both the families facing child-minding issues and young foreign visitors keen to experience New Zealand life and improve language skills as part of their break between school and university.
German au pair Carrina Roth is typical of an increasing number of au pairs arriving in New Zealand. She will spend six months looking after Karen Smylie and her partner’s children on a farm at Eltham near New Plymouth on the west coast of the North Island.
Small village
Roth says that until she arrived in Eltham she thought her hometown of Aschaffenburg in Germany was a small village.
Her "village", near Frankfurt in Bavaria, has a population of 68,000, slightly more than the city of New Plymouth and about 30 times bigger than the town of Eltham.
The 20-year-old will look after Flynn and Lachlan at home, while Smylie returns to her advisory role.
"It takes the pressure off when I get home. I can just play with the kids and don't have to worry about cooking tea or tidying up the house. The children see a lot more of their father when they stay at home during the day too," said Smylie.
Au-pair convert
Smylie says she's a convert to the services of the au pair, having first employed one a year ago when she returned to work after the birth of her second son. "Actually this was the only option," she admits. "There was a two-year waiting list at the nearest day care centre."
Many families are also finding it is a good financial option. With most au pairs taking on the role for the overseas experience, the wages, and therefore their cost, are relatively low.
Smylie says that in Taranaki weekly rates for a live-in au pair top about $200 regardless of the number of children under their care. Whereas weekly daycare rates for babies up to three years old are around $160 for 30 to 35 hours.
Flexibility
Cecilia Robinson, managing director of Auckland-based company Au Pair Link Ltd, said interest in attaining the services of an au pair was growing quickly in Taranaki, with rural families dominating inquiries.
She said an au pair was not only cost effective compared with daycare but they saved parents the hassle of dropping off and picking up their children from a daycare facility each day.
"Most people have a spare room and a 20 or 21-year-old girl doesn't cost too much extra to have at your home. And they don't go home at 5pm so there is that flexibility that lets parents get out and have a bit of a social life," she said.
More information:
Taranaki region
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