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The term “au pair” is French for “on equal terms with”, and working as an au pair will usually be an enriching experience since your relationship with your host family will be based on mutual respect and love of children and family life. Au pairs are generally females between 18 and 30, but there is nothing to prevent young men from being au pairs and in fact this is becoming more and more common. As an au pair you do not require any special qualifications (as a nanny would) or any special psychological training. An au pair's duties normally include taking care of the children, perhaps a pet, doing light housework such as vacuuming and dusting, as well as helping with preparation of meals. You will usually have to pay for travel costs to get to your host family and any necessary language classes yourself.

If you’re from a Nordic country you don’t need a work permit to work in Sweden. If you’re from one of the EU member states or from one of the countries in the European Economic Area you won’t need a work permit but if you plan to stay longer than three months you’ll need to apply for a residence permit. Sweden permits au pairs from Australia and New Zealand to work in Sweden for up to a year on a working holiday visa. If you’re not from any of the countries mentioned you should contact the Swedish consulate in your home country in order to apply for a work permit before you leave for Sweden.

In exchange for your time your host family should:

• Provide you wih meals
• Give you pocket money of between 200 and 280 euros per month
• Allow you some days off (this should be agreed upon prior to taking up the position)
• Insure your belongings under the host family’s household insurance
• Cover your health insurance costs for the duration of your stay (negotiable)
• Not expect you to work more that 25 hours per week (the legal maximum in Sweden)
• Treat you pretty much like a member of the family, like a big brother or sister to the children (after all you’re not an employee in the strict sense of the word)

There are several very comprehensive websites that can help you if you're interested in doing au pair work in Stockholm:

• http://www.greataupair.com/aupair-nanny-jobs/
• http://www.newaupair.com
• http://www.thelocal.se/noticeboard/
• http://www.aupaircenter.com/