Living au Pair: Catia Padreddii's interview

Are you looking for "au pair"? I interviewd Catia Padreddii a month ago, in Italian. After she found the logo for her agency, Living au Pair, I publish her English interview.

• What is Living Au Pair?

Let me introduce myself: my name is Catia Padreddii. This is what Living Au Pair is about. Living Au Pair is an italian agency which arranges and manages au pair programmes for male/female candidates and hosting families. The au pair stay have the aimof knowledgeof a cultureother than their own, and learning aforeign language. During the stay the candidates live with a family which provides them lodge and boarding, and in exchange for a little “pocket money” remuneration, they take care of little children and do the housework. “Au Pair” means that the relationship between the hosting family and the au pair is one between equals, and the au pair must be considered part of the family, something like an older brother or sister for the children they look after.

• What exactly is?

The agency arranges the au pair stay in all details: it recruits hosting families and au pair candidates, gets them in touch, drafts up the contract, guarantees reciprocal rights and duties, makes readily available all needed documentation and materials for departure and provides assistance during the entire stay.

• Why did you choose to launch an au pair agency?

Because an au pair stay is more than a mere contract which provides rights and imposes duties to the subjects involved; it’s all of this and much more: it’s a unique and magical life’s experience, an opportunity of personal growth. Because I sincerely and firmly believe in the idea of dialogue between different cultures; because it’s a unique, one-off chance to learn a foreign language;because the au pair hosted by the family is an added value in the education of children, contributing with his or her personal background; because I love travelling… but who doesn’t? This is Living Au Pair: my determination, my ideal, my project, my vision!

• How did you come up with the idea?

It happened when my daughter was born.

When it came the time to choose for her between a kindergarten and a baby-sitter, I remembered of the wonderful experience I had as an au pair when I was younger… and my doubts vanished! I wanted exactly the same for my daughter! I gave hospitality then to a sixty years old German lady and even now, during summer, an au pair is hosted in our house. This was the reason that convinced me to start an entirely new job! Before I worked exclusively as a  human resources manager, so I thought I could make use of my proficiency as a personnel recruiter to find the right au pair for the right family!