An au pair (plural: au pairs) is a domestic assistant from a foreign country working for, and living as part of, a Host Family. Typically, au pairs take on a share of the family's responsibility for childcare as well as some housework, and receive a small monetary allowance for personal use. Au pair schemes are subject to government restrictions which specify an age range usually from late teens to mid to late twenties. In Europe, where the concept originated, au pairs are only supposed to work part-time, and they often also study part-time, generally focusing on the language of the host country, but in the United States, they are permitted to provide full-time childcare.
Read more about Au Pair: History, Concept and Conditions, Typical Duties, Notable Au Pairs
Famous quotes containing the word pair:
“The works of women are symbolical.
We sew, sew, prick our fingers, dull our sight,
Producing what? A pair of slippers, sir,
To put on when you’re weary or a stool
To stumble over and vex you ... “curse that stool!”
Or else at best, a cushion, where you lean
And sleep, and dream of something we are not,
But would be for your sake. Alas, alas!
This hurts most, this ... that, after all, we are paid
The worth of our work, perhaps.”
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806–1861)