It is a matter close to my heart to find the best possible match for the Au Aair and family
Annika Grüske
My name is Annika Grüske, I was born in Siegen in July 1974 and
have lived in Cologne since 2001.
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In 2007 and 2008 my two children were born and I realized that I need help if I want to reliably pursue my actual work as a self-employed physiotherapist and alternative practitioner.
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Since 2008 until today we have consistently employed Au Pairs from different countries. (Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Georgia, Madagascar, Namibia, Colombia and Indonesia)
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Living together with the Au Pairs (girls and boys) was always very positive and enriching. We have had great experiences with incoming Au Pairs as well as with changers.
Selection criteria
Au pair / host family
linguistic proficiency
residence
interests
If the children are of an age at which they like to communicate, the Au Pair should have at least an A2 language level.
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Does the Au Pair / host family speak a second foreign language (e.g. English) so that you can avoid communication problems?
Does the family live in an urban or rural area?
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Is there good accessibility to take part in German courses?
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What options are there for spending free time?
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Are au pairs / host families more sporty, sociable or enterprising?
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Are there vegans, vegetarians, or food restrictions due to religious or health requirements?
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age
experience
In our experience, age wasn't that important. A sense of responsibility does not grow with age, the au pairs have to bring that with them.
The experience of the au pairs plays more of a role when it comes to looking after babies and toddlers.
However, motivation and willingness to learn are even more important.
A few words about changers
But the changers are particularly close to my heart.
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Unfortunately, I have repeatedly found that not all au pairs are happy with their host families.
Sometimes it is due to misunderstandings due to language difficulties, too high demands on the au pairs or excessive demands on the young people. Often the living conditions of the families and the temperament of the au pairs did not match, but sometimes the chemistry between the two parties is simply not right.
In some cases I have also experienced that families had already decided on someone else before the au pair's arrival, who was probably available earlier, so that there were young people who had no accommodation when they entered Germany and have desperately seized every opportunity that was presented to them.
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These situations regularly break my heart and in the last few years we have tried to take mainly changers into our family and to place them. The experiences with these Wechsler Au Pairs in our family and also in the families we have placed have been consistently positive!