When the economy is struggling, parents of young children are one of the groups that suffer the most.  Not only are they forced to work to help pay the bills, they also have to juggle the busy demands of family and work life.

As a result, Kiwi families are looking for quality, cost-effective options for childcare which has lead to a rising trend in the employment of au pairs in New Zealand homes.

An au pair is typically a young person from abroad employed by a family to care for their children and help with light housework in return for a small monetary allowance, room, meals and an opportunity to further study the local language.

Renowned relationship expert Leanne French has worked with parents for over 20 years and thinks that au pairs are a fantastic childcare option. 

"If it takes a whole village to raise a child, and you are fortunate enough to choose who can live with your family, then you may as well take advantage of the fact that au pairs are interesting, culturally stimulating, generally very well educated and passionate about children," she says.

"Au pairs have self-confidence, a strong sense of adventure, enthusiasm and energy. They have the right attitude. They are caring and committed, independent, uncluttered and arrive here on the other side of the world with interesting skills and an open mind - ready to help, share, teach and learn."

Because an au pair becomes a stable part of your family for a set period of time, usually 12 months, host families often find that au pairs not only offer physical care but quality emotional care as well.

"Au pairs tend to be more dependable and are able to form strong, trustworthy relationships when their personalities are a good fit with your family," says French.  "In a sense they become another role model that inadvertently enriches your child's experiences."

French says that becoming an au pair host family is also a fantastic way to promote understanding of other cultures and customs.

"When children are exposed to different languages and cultural differences it invites a higher level of co-operation, which invites creativity into the process of thinking and relating," she says.  "They learn to share better. Children learn to trust their ability to make good decisions when faced with challenges.

"Being around an au pair tends to encourage a child's ability to begin new things and enables them to develop empathy and respect for others. Children learn positive ways to adjust their behaviours in order to be understood and to understand. These are all fabulous social adjustments to cultivate."

The president of the New Zealand Au Pair Association Cecilia Robinson, says that au pairs are becoming more popular as parents learn about the role and understand the position.

Her own agency, Au Pair Link, grew by 700 per cent this year which shows how the demand for au pairs has increased, she says.  "We've also assisted with over 250 au pair placements since we were established in 2006 and we aim to provide clients with personal service and ongoing support."

Each of the au pairs from the internationally recognised agency are competent in conversational English, trained in first aid and have at least 100-150 hours of documented childcare experience.  They have also been through a rigorous screening process - including police and medical record checks, references, a personal interview, English and personality tests.

"The trust of our clients is paramount," says Robinson.  "We work personally with each family to ensure the best possible fit from our large database of au pairs is made.

"I think the biggest impact on parents is that their level of stress is reduced. When you don't have to worry about coming home from work, going to the supermarket, putting your children's dinner on and doing the housework, life just becomes that little bit easier."

Au Pair Link has offices in Auckland, Hawkes Bay, Wellington, Christchurch and the Bay of Plenty.  For more information visit www.aupairlink.co.nz or call 0800 AU PAIR.