For families
The first week with a new au pair, a checklist for families
What to hand over, what to write down and what to watch in the first five afternoons, so the arrangement settles quickly.
16 September 2026 路 2 min read
The first week decides whether an au pair arrangement runs for a term or for three years. It is not about the children warming up, which happens on its own. It is about whether the au pair has what they need to make good decisions when you鈥檙e not there.
Before day one
- Write the grid. Which school, which gate, which time, which activity on which day, and where. Put it on the fridge and in a shared note on both phones.
- Emergency sheet. Your numbers, a second adult鈥檚 number, the schools, the doctor, the medical aid number, allergies, and the security company. Tape it inside a kitchen cupboard.
- Access. Gate remote, house key, alarm code, and a note to the security company that the au pair is authorised.
- Tell the school. Name and phone number of the person collecting. Most schools won鈥檛 release a child to someone they haven鈥檛 been told about.
- Car. Add the au pair to your insurance as a named driver if they鈥檙e using your car. Do one drive together on the actual route.
Day one
Be home. Do the school run with the au pair, introduce them at the gate, and run the afternoon together. It costs you an afternoon of leave and saves weeks of confusion.
Days two to five
Leave a written plan for each afternoon and check in once by message, not five times. Watch for three things when you get home: are the children calm, is homework done and signed, and did the au pair tell you anything you needed to know without being asked. That third one matters most.
The handover
Five minutes at the door, every day. What happened, what鈥檚 due tomorrow, anything unusual. Some families use a notebook on the counter; some use the chat on Au Pair Nation until they鈥檝e swapped numbers. Whatever it is, do it daily in week one.
Pay and paperwork
Pay on the day you agreed, in the amount you agreed, from the first week. Sign the written agreement before the first full week if you haven鈥檛 already; the contract guide covers what goes in it. Register for UIF in the first month.
Set the tone on housework
If you want the kitchen tidy after the children eat, say so on day one. If you catch yourself asking for the whole house, stop: that鈥檚 a different job at a different rate.
End of week one
Sit down for ten minutes. What worked, what didn鈥檛, what needs changing. Ask the au pair the same. Adjust the grid. Most arrangements that fail do so because nobody said anything in week one and everybody was annoyed by week six.
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