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Finding a great childcare provider takes time and effort. Even if you use a nanny service or an au pair agency like Cultural Care Au Pair—that recruits, interviews and screens candidates before they are accepted onto the program—you should never skip the crucial step of personally interviewing candidates on your own to ensure the best match.
Below, you'll find questions from our Cultural Care Au Pair Interview Guide, a comprehensive list of 50+ nanny and au pair interview questions to ask once you've identified preferred applicants. We recommend reviewing the list first and selecting the questions that best relate to your family. Topics include:
A candidate's general childcare experience
Your family’s needs
A candidate's personality, maturity level, and interests
The specific ages and needs of your children (infant, toddler, school-aged child, special needs child)
Cultural sensitivity and adaptation
Behavior management and conflict resolution
Before the interview begins, highlight the au pair/host family interview questions that are relevant to your household situation. Keep in mind that—when it comes to au pair interview questions— the ones marked with an asterisk (*) should be reserved for candidates with more advanced English proficiency. We wish you the best of luck in the interview process and hope it leads you to a caregiver you feel confident and excited about!
Questions about a candidate’s general childcare experience
These interview questions will help you assess an au pair or nanny's previous responsibilities and their attitudes toward children in their care.
What were the ages of the children under your care?
What were your specific responsibilities? (Refer to each childcare experience separately)
What was the most difficult part of that job? What did you like most about that job?
What do you like most about taking care of children?
What do you find most challenging about caring for children?
How many hours at a time are you used to caring for a child? What would be the maximum number of hours you could care for a child before needing a break?*
How would you discipline a child who misbehaves? How would you comfort a child who is upset?
What do you think children need most from an au pair/nanny?
Have you been in an emergency situation with a child in your care? If so, what happened and how did you respond?
Questions that relate to your family's needs
Use these au pair interview questions to assess if a caregiver's abilities and expectations align with your family's needs.
What would your ideal host family/employer be like?
Are you okay with our family’s schedule? (Talk in detail about your family’s typical schedule; will you expect them to work early mornings? Evenings? Weekends? A 9–5, Monday–Friday schedule? Setting expectations during the interview process is critical for a successful match.)
What additional household responsibilities are you comfortable taking on as our au pair/nanny? Talk about your specific household needs as it relates to the children; for example: meal prep, laundry, light cleaning, setting up appointments, etc.
Are you a strong swimmer? Would you feel comfortable watching children while in or around water?
How long have you been driving? How often do you drive? Where do you drive? Would you be comfortable driving the children to school and lessons every day? Adapt the question to your own needs, vehicle, and driving expectations, i.e., local vs. highway driving, or suburb vs. city driving.
Are you interested in helping my child(ren) learn words and phrases in your native language?
Do you like having a busy schedule or prefer something more relaxed?
Do you like being given specific instructions or do you prefer to plan the day yourself? (Or is either ok?)*
On a scale of 1–10, how flexible are you? (1 being very rigid and 10 being extremely flexible)
On a scale of 1–10, how neat are you? (1 being a slob and 10 being extremely neat)
Questions about a candidate’s personality, maturity level, and interests
These au pair interview questions will help you understand a caregiver's personal relationships, personality, and interests, which is key to determining if you'll complement each other well beyond just their au pair duties.
Why did you decide to become an au pair/nanny?
What will your priorities be during your year/contract with our family?
How would your friends and family describe your personality?
If you are comfortable doing so, could you share a little bit about your childhood and your relationship with your family?
What do you like to do in your free time?
Have you ever lived on your own? Traveled on your own? If not, do you like the idea of living and traveling on your own?
Do you do your own laundry? Cook your own meals? Clean your own room/apartment/home?
How independent would you say you are you on a scale of 1–10?
What are three things you’ve accomplished that you are proud of?
Do you smoke or use any tobacco products If yes, how often?
Do you drink alcohol? If yes, how often?
Questions about the care of a baby (0 months–1 year)
When you have a baby, finding a caregiver with proven infant experience is important. (Specifically, au pairs caring for children under two must be infant-qualified, meaning they have at least 200 hours of experience with babies 0-12 months. Please note that au pairs cannot be solely responsible for infants under three months of age.)
Use the following questions to determine an au pair or nanny's expertise in infant care.
What do you like about caring for babies?
Are there things you find challenging about caring for babies?
How would you try to bond with my baby?
What activities might you do with my baby?
How would you soothe my crying baby?
What would you do if my baby won’t stop crying?*
What potential safety hazards might exist in the house for my baby? What about safety hazards outside of the home? What steps would you take to make sure my baby was safe?*
Questions about the care of a toddler (1–3 years)
Toddlers are a fun and active age group! These questions for an au pair are specific to toddlers, and will help you ascertain a candidate's experience with this dynamic age.
What do you like about caring for toddlers?
Are there things you find challenging about caring for toddlers?
What indoor and outdoor activities might you do with my toddler?
How would you comfort my toddler if they were upset?
What potential safety hazards might exist in the house for my toddler? What about safety hazards outside of the home? What steps would you take to make sure my toddler was safe?*
Questions about the care of a pre-school or school-aged child (4+ years)
School-aged children have very different needs than those of babies and toddlers. These questions to ask an au pair or nanny will help you ensure your caregiver is well-suited for this age group.
What do you like about caring for pre-school and school-aged children?
Are there things you find challenging about caring for pre-school and school-aged children?
What indoor and outdoor activities would you do with my child?
How would you comfort my child if they were upset?
Would you be willing and able to help with my child’s homework?
What potential safety hazards might exist in the house for my pre-school/school-aged child? What about safety hazards outside of the home? What steps would you take to make sure my child was safe?*
Questions about the care of children with special needs
If your family has a child or children with special needs, you'll want an au pair or nanny who brings both special needs experience and a patient, appropriate demeanor. Use these questions to help determine if a caregiver is the right fit.
Can you describe your experience with children with special needs?
What have been the joys and challenges of caring for children with special needs?
(Describe the responsibilities inherent in caring for your special needs child.) Would you be comfortable with these tasks?*
Questions about cultural sensitivity and adaption
In the case of hosting an au pair, evaluating how well and how quickly they will acclimate to a new home, community, culture, and language is important. These questions to ask an au pair will help determine if a candidate is likely to adapt with ease or face more significant challenges.
What are some ways you plan to adjust to living in a new country and culture?
Have you experienced culture shock before? If so, what was that like and how did you handle it?
Have you ever been homesick? If so, how did it resolve? What would you do if you felt homesick once you joined our family?
What steps do you usually take to make new friends or connections in an unfamiliar place?
What are you most excited about experiencing in our area? What do you think might be the biggest difference or challenge for you here?
Are you comfortable sharing your culture and traditions with our family? How would you do this?
Questions about behavior management and conflict resolution
Regardless of your child(ren)'s age(s), caregivers will encounter situations requiring intervention, redirection, and conflict resolution (with children, parents, or others). To understand how well they'll cope when this happens, consider asking these questions.
If my child refused to listen to you or follow a rule, how would you handle it?
What is your approach when a child is having a tantrum or a major meltdown?
How do you encourage good behavior rather than just reacting to misbehavior? Can you give an example?
Can you describe a time when you resolved a conflict with a previous employer or host family?
If you disagreed with something that your host parents/employer said or did, how would you handle it?*
Conducting a thorough, thoughtful interview with each of your prospective caregivers takes time, but it’s an essential step in the long run. With our list of best au pair interview questions, you'll be well on your way to finding a wonderful nanny or au pair that meets all of your criteria!
For more au pair interview questionnaires and other resources, read our au pair interview tips.
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