Are you planning to move abroad with your children and are you concerned that they’ll struggle with the language? Why not rely on a local babysitter! Daniel Lawson tells us about Babysits.

“I’m going to drop everything and move abroad“: easy to say, but complex to put into practice, especially for a parent who has small children.

Moving to a new country with the whole family is both an act of courage and a window of opportunity. However, to seize the opportunity, it is necessary to overcome some barriers.

A significant obstacle that children (and families) face when moving abroad is that of language. Compared to adults, children are more predisposed to become bilingual, yet, even so, it requires a lot of time and effort for kids to learn a new language.

One helpful strategy that can be adopted to help children overcome the language barrier is to rely on a local babysitter. In addition to caring for the children, they can also be an excellent educational resource for them.

Babysitter abroad: what are the advantages?

• Children learn the language at home: This helps them to learn the vocabulary and idioms of everyday life in a comfortable and safe environment, their own home.
• The babysitter does not speak the language of the child: unless you choose an English-speaking babysitter abroad, the babysitter may not (fluently) speak the same language as the child. This immersion in the language will help the child learn and make it easier for them to gradually accustom to the new language.
• Children learn the language while having fun: the playful approach is ideal in this context. The babysitter can do creative activities with them, such as doing DIYs and preparing tasty recipes.

If you think this sounds like a good idea, then all you have to do is get started looking for a babysitter abroad. But, where should you start?

Luckily the internet has shortened the distances. Thanks to an online platform like Babysits, you can search for a babysitter in 38 countries around the world. So, before leaving for the big adventure of moving abroad, you can find a babysitter simply using a phone/computer and an Internet connection. Moreover, you can create the account on the English site that will allow you to search for babysitters in any country you are interested in.

Babysitter abroad: how much does it cost?

Here you can see an overview that shows the average hourly rate for babysitting in the countries where Babysits is present.

In Europe, Estonian and Portuguese babysitters are the ones who ask the least, while Swiss babysitters are the most expensive.

The global differences depend on two main factors:

• The cost of living in the country
• Minimum wage for domestic workers such as babysitters

Consequently, it is normal to expect a high price in places such as Switzerland or Scandinavia.

The price also varies according to other factors, first of all experience: the more experience they have, the higher the price. Then there are other factors that affect the price, such as the time of day or number of hours, the number of children to take care of, the age of the children, extra tasks (cooking, cleaning, etc.) and many others.

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Expatriation can be a wonderful experience but it requires great organization. You won’t be able to prepare everything perfectly before leaving, but there are resources that can be very useful in the planning phase. Babysits is one of them!

And, what do you think about using a foreign babysitter to help children learn the language? 

Daniel Lawson
Babysits
November 2020
Main pic @Expatclic
Infographic @Babysits

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