15 au pair interview questions

Experience and childcare

• 1. Tell me about your experience caring for children: which ages, for how long, and what exactly did you do?
• 2. How would you handle a toddler who refuses to go to sleep or will not eat?
• 3. What would you do if two children argued and one hit the other?
• 4. What was your most difficult childcare moment, and how did you deal with it?

Safety and emergencies

• 5. What would you do if a child had a fever or a fall while we were out?
• 6. Are you trained in first aid, and are you comfortable calling emergency services?
• 7. How do you supervise children near water, roads or a hot stove?

Daily life and boundaries

• 8. What does a normal evening and weekend look like for you?
• 9. How do you feel about sharing meals and family routines with us?
• 10. How would you handle a disagreement with us about house rules or free time?
• 11. Are you comfortable with our rules on guests, curfew and phone use during working hours?

Languages, driving and expectations

• 12. What is your real level of our language, and how will you keep improving it?
• 13. Do you drive, and would you be willing to drive the children locally?
• 14. What are your expectations on pocket money, free time and language courses?
• 15. Why our family in particular, and what do you hope to take away from this year?

How to score the answers

Score each candidate 1–5 on experience, safety judgement, flexibility, language and motivation. Compare candidates question by question, not overall: a strong score in one theme can hide a gap in another.

• Consistency: did the answers match the references you will call?
• Concrete examples over general statements.
• Red flags: evasive answers on safety, unrealistic expectations, pressure to skip steps.
• Always ask for and actually call 2 references before deciding.