Ultimate Au Pair Nominee
Au Pair: Annett Metzenthin
Germany
Host Family: The Hartigans
Location: New Jersey
I wanted to take this opportunity to first say "Thank You" to AuPairCare for their many years of assisting our family with child care services, and also to highlight our current experience with Annett. Annett is our seventh au pair through AuPairCare and I must admit she has quickly become one of my favorites. All of our au pairs have been extremely helpful to our family as we have special circumstances with a mentally and physically handicapped child. Bryce is currently 11 years old, non-verbal, and functions approximately at the level of a 3 year old. Every year we are faced with the task of finding an au pair who is willing to take on the challenge of working with our handicapped son; this becomes more and more difficult as he gets older. With each passing year there are new issues and trials to endure. Fortunately thus far every year we have been blessed with finding truly wonderful and caring au pairs, thanks to AuPairCare and our Area Director Sybilla Frank's assistance.
Annett came to us in August and very quickly made a true impression on our family with her kind demeanor and very outgoing nature. She has taken initiative to go above and beyond in working with our son Bryce, and is truly interested and responsive to his needs. She pushes him to learn and become more independent with nurturing and positive interaction and reinforcement. She has been extremely influential in helping our son become more autonomous in daily activities such as self-feeding, communication skills, and even toilet training. She pushes Bryce to try new activities and likes to take him outside to exercise and explore the environment. She has befriended another au pair who works with an autistic child and she will set up play-dates for Bryce to increase his interaction and socialization with other children outside of his school. Now that the weather has become cold she has taken the initiative to research activities through the local YM/YWCA; she enrolled herself and Bryce in a yoga class for handicapped children/young adults. Annett attends and assists Bryce in this class and is truly having fun with him! Annett also interacts very well with our two older boys (both teenagers). They are of course very independent, but do often benefit from Annett's role with our family. It is clearly evident that Annett takes great pride in doing a good job as well as developing a strong family bond with us. We are very fortunate to have her with our family.
I would have to place Annett at the top of the list of our au pairs. Even though our past au pairs were all extremely influential and helpful, it is evident that Annett has risen to the occasion of Bryce's increased needs and responsibilities.
Becoming an au pair takes a special kind of individual; leaving home, going to a distant country, and working with another family takes courage, perseverance and self-initiative. Annett has definitely adjusted very quickly and very efficiently to her role as an au pair and greets Bryce and our family every day with a very positive, cheery, and upbeat attitude. When I see Bryce wrap his arms around Annett's neck, kiss her cheek, and smile, I know that he appreciates her as well!
