I was talking to host mom Sneha Campanella about hosting an au pair this September— specifically about how sometimes it’s hard to convince a spouse to give it a try. Husbands and wives aren’t always in agreement about the best childcare arrangement and the au pair program is sometimes a harder sell because of the live-in component (although this often turns out to be what parents love most about hosting au pairs). Sneha, who lives in a suburb of Boston with her family—husband Rob and children Druv, Simran and Safia—shared a little bit with us about how she finally came to welcome Mexican au pair Adriana earlier this year.
How did you first learn about the au pair program?
I learned about program through my friend Neha (a Cultural Care host family since 2009).
What was your spouse’s biggest concern about hosting an au pair?
His biggest concern was having someone else living in our home and losing privacy.
How long did it take your spouse to come around?
Not long. We had tried nannies and had some not-so-good experiences. After learning about having an au pair it took about 2 weeks to realize this made sense for us.
What made your spouse finally agree to try the program?
Seeing how stressed I was trying to juggle work and three kids. We were always needing an extra set of hands.
How have you both found the program to be working for you so far?
The program is awesome. It definitely fills our needs at this stage in life. We are lucky to have such and amazing, caring, flexible au pair!
Thank you Sneha for sharing your experience!