Au pair as a boy, possible or not?

Au pair experiences are not only for women. Because of the most of the au pair are always girls, we talk about «jeune fille au pair» but it is a misnomer. Now, mindsets are changing and there are more and more boys leaving to become an au pair. Actually, anyone can become an au pair!

Can I become a male au pair?

This is a question that keeps coming up in our au pair meet-ups: «Is it possible to become an au pair when you are a boy?». Our response is all the time the same. Don't worry gentlemen, the answer is yes, it's possible to be a male au pair. More and more of you want to go as an au pair in order to learn a language, discover a new culture, travel, etc., even if the majority of au pairs are still girls.

To give you examples, when I went to England as an au pair in 2019, I met a group of au pairs, consisting of about ten people, including three boys. But in six months of au pairing, I met a total of 6 au pairs boys. Two French, one Italian, one Spanish, one Hungarian and one Czech. And even our founder, Manuela, has an au pair boy to take care of her daughters. Indeed, Henri, the bro pair, made a Take Over on our Instagram account where he responded to a lot of au pair questions. Find out it in highlight stories.

Boys au pairs are still not very present on au pairing platforms. That's could explain why host families naturally turn to girls who represent the majority of applications. But some parents wish to find a male au pair to become their son(s)' big brother. Unfortunately, this is still only a minority. Therefore, a young man who aspires to become an au pair must make a special effort to do so.

How to become a bro pair?

It is obvious that to become an au pair, you need a good profile! To help you here you find the most important things you need to focus on it when you edit your au pair profile:

• Your significant experiences with children. ⚠ Experiences with children in your family (brothers, sisters, cousins, etc.) are not indicative of your skills with children.

• The minimum language level for your departure. Depending on the host family requirements, highlight your level in French, English, etc.
• Driving license. It's not mandatory because not all of our host family are looking for an au pair with a driving license, but it could be a plus, an advantage.
• Write a recent and relevant CV. You want to be an au pair, so be sensible and write all your childcare experience and not about your summer job as a carpenter.

If you follow these points, you're going to increase your chances of finding a family. But you really have to make a difference. Put yourself in the families' shoes and ask yourself why you would click on one profile rather than another.

A qualitative profile with many pictures of you with children, during sports, bike rides or whatever, can already get you visits on your profile. But more than just photos, an au pair application should show and prove your motivation to be an au pair and skills with children. Focus mainly on these points:

• Multiply the letters of recommendation got from babysitting,
• If you have the BAFA, specify it,
• If you have done tutoring, talk about it.

Indeed, even if mentalities are changing and some host families are looking for a big brother for their child(ren), you should still think about reassuring these families about your application and show them that you are a reliable person and that you are the one they need!

⚠ Be active on your profile, even if you have the perfect profile, if the host family waits too long for an answer from you, you may miss out on a unique au pair experience.