How long do you want to work as au pair in Canada?
How long do you want to work as au pair in Canada?
Now this is a tough one if you’re going in as a first time au pair in Canada, but lucky for you I have figured it out and am going to share. I really envied all the girls I know that have only done one month as an au pair because they got to go to a new place, and come home before they started to really miss anyone. I did six months in Denmark. And this was a little too long for my liking. It wasn’t a problem with the family at all. It was a combination of boredom due to living in the country side and cold weather.
The perfect amount of time that I recommend is six – nine months. In six months you will learn to balance your duties as an au pair but still feel the urgency to really get out and enjoy yourself before you go home. In many cases, you can extend your stay with the family if you want to.
The reason I say six months is because you may not like the family, the place, the living conditions. There could be something that you really dislike about the situation. If you chose to be with the family for more than a year and you’re unhappy about something, you’re going to end up miserable and put yourself off ever being an au pair again. Sometimes everything is great except the kids, they could be kickers and tantrum throwers and you can’t really do much about it and it’s very hard to terminate a contract arguing that you don’t like child.
Working as Au pair
You could end up loving it and extend and stay with them for years. But you should really rather play it safe and do short periods at a time. The reason I don’t recommend one month is because a month goes by really quickly. It’s normally at the end of the first month that you start to get the hang of things and are ready to do and see more. Don’t waste your money on a ticket only to leave right before the good stuff starts. After a month you will feel more confident in your new surroundings.
After your first try at it, if you decide you would rather do a month and see more places I say go for it, but for a first time experience a little longer is the best choice.
