Host families are contacting the Aupairclearinghouse.com for information about au pairs from China. Recruiting from China is a new trend in the au pair industry and the first Chinese au pair was hosted by the Au Pair in America agency in 2004. Since then, over 2000 au pairs from China have been welcomed into American families. Their services are in demand from parents who seek to expose their children to Mandarin and by parents who have an adopted child from China.
Most au pairs are recruited from Beijing, the capital of China. Not all Chinese parents approve of their daughter signing up to become an au pair - there is a bias against "domestic" work and many parents want their Chinese daughters to seek a professional career or attend University instead of caring for children, doing laundry and running errands for host families.
Despite the cultural bias and the weak economy, the number of Chinese au pairs continue to rise. It is exciting to learn about Chinese culture and I look forward to reporting on this trend as it unfolds.
Please visit our website aupairclearinghouse.com to read more about Chinese au pairs.
If anyone has a Chinese au pair, please leave your comments here or at the Clearinghouse.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Edina Stone
Hi. I have an adopted baby girl from China and my partner and I are so thrilled to welcome her into our family. We are thinking about hosting an au pair from China. We want to introduce our daughter to her culture and the Mandarin language. What agency would you recommend?
ReplyDeleteProud Dad of Adopted Chinese Girl
Hi Jake. Congratulations to you and your partner on the arrival of your new baby.
ReplyDeleteIt is a great idea to introduce your daughter to her culture and the language of her homeland. Hosting a Chinese au pair will cover both of these objectives.
Au pairs from China were first recruited in 2006 by the Au Pair in America agency (APIA). They are listed in our Top Three Industry Leaders for 2009 (see article posted here).
Of course, other agencies have since jumped on the bandwagon as the demand for Chinese au pairs is on the rise. You can start with Au Pair in America, and if you don't like them, try the other two listed as our top three picks for 2009.
Congratulations again and please visit our website, aupairclearinghouse.com to read about hosting an au pair and other news on the au pair industry.
Enjoy!
I knew I'd start to see questions and comments on the Internet about adopting Chinese children since this is becoming more of a reality with the increase in relations between the US and China. While I have not adopted a child, I have been closely involved in an adoption since one of my good friends went through the process. While her experience has been very positive, she has been troubled by the question of whether she should focus solely on teaching her daughter English or both English and Chinese. Unfortunately, she has gotten advice from different people that supports both alternatives. Since she herself does not speak Chinese, she has decided to try and find an pair that is bi-lingual. She hopes that this will give her a better sense of what it would be like having two languages in the home.
ReplyDeleteI read the article about cultural differences on the AuPairClearinghouse site and shared it with my friend. She was so focused on the language decision that she hadn't given real thought to the challenge of cultural differences which, I guess, could be even more of a concern than language.
I hope that I (and she) can get advice on these issues as she very much wants to proceed with selecting an au pair but is concerned about making the "right" decision. Comments would be appreciated.