From the moment a baby is born, parents are faced with a multitude of decisions. Should you breastfeed? Vaccinate? Co-sleep? And what about childcare? Securing childcare can feel like a true leap of faith, especially when the provider options from nannies to au pairs seem endless and the entire industry is unregulated. In fact, anyone can call themselves a nanny.

But deciding between a nanny and an au pair is just the beginning. As the CEOs of a household, parents preparing to hire a childcare provider need to be aware of the importance of job descriptions, reference checks and any potential fees they might incur.

To au pair, or not to au pair

Au pair is not just a fancy French word for nanny. While a nanny is employed by a family specifically to take care of the children and is either “live-in,” boarding at a family’s home, or “live-out,” returning to her own home at night, an au pair is a foreign student who lives with a family for one year to learn English in exchange for childcare and housework. Nannies can be of all ages and the most sought after may tout their years of childcare experience, but au pairs tend to be more green. They are typically between 18 and 24 years old and in fact may not have a lick of childcare experience. A nanny can charge more and commands a per hour or weekly salary, while an au pair is compensated with housing, meals and generally a small stipend from the host family.

Due to their lack of experience, au pairs are typically better off assisting stay-at-home moms, though some families prefer using au pairs because they want to expose their children to different languages and don’t mind saying goodbye after one year. Another important difference? Au pairs are legally only able to work 45 hours a week, 10 hours per day, which means no overnight childcare. Nannies4Hire provides a thorough comparison of nannies and au pairs.

Are you really looking for a housekeeper?

Are you looking for a part-time or full-time nanny? Will she “live-in” or “live-out”? Will you require 24-hour care or will you outline working hours? Put together a list of responsibilities and a detailed job description in writing. But be realistic. Are you asking your nanny to also do light housework, cooking and errands for the family? If you have a child that needs a lot of attention, like a curious toddler, you likely won’t want your nanny cleaning the bathroom instead of watching your little one.