{"id":10832,"date":"2025-04-28T00:32:00","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T00:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/?p=10832"},"modified":"2025-04-30T20:55:31","modified_gmt":"2025-04-30T20:55:31","slug":"host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Hosting an au pair has immense childcare benefits like a flexible schedule, live-in support, and personalized care for your children. But have you thought about the unique perks that extend beyond childcare when you host an au pair? The introduction of a new and different culture into your home is an investment in your child\u2019s (and entire family\u2019s) education, not to mention the long-term impacts on your children\u2019s perspective of the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Language Development and Bilingual Exposure<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Children develop their native language as early as infancy. There are critical periods for language acquisition<\/a> in the early years and hosting an au pair who speaks a language other than English can be a perfect opportunity to help your child learn and develop a native fluency in a second language. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association<\/a>, being multilingual has advantages, including understanding math concepts, coming up with solutions to problems, understanding others\u2019 perspectives, shifting and focusing attention to important details, and adding value to a modern\u2014and diverse\u2014workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Developing Cultural Intelligence from an Early Age<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What could make a child more understanding and accepting of different cultures than being cared for by someone from a different background? Au Pair USA<\/a> sponsors au pairs from over 25 countries who speak a variety of native languages in addition to conversational English. Your children will be exposed not only to an accent and perhaps some uniquely translated word choices, but also different customs and traditions. According to Lynn Ang, a professor at UCL Institute of Education, through these experiences, children develop more empathy, sensitivity, and appreciation for cultural differences<\/a>. Being surrounded in your own home environment with cultural differences allows for growth to occur in a space that other children may not have had the opportunity to experience before. 
<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Au
Au pairs can introduce new recipes and traditions, especially during the holidays.
<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Culinary Adventures and Food Flexibility<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps you\u2019re raising a picky eater. What a better way to introduce a variety of new and different food choices than through your au pair? Au pairs can be responsible for preparing and cooking meals<\/a> for the children and many will be excited to demonstrate their kitchen skills to bring a taste of their home country to your home\u2019s dinner table. Your child may be exposed to dishes, spices, and ways of preparing foods they\u2019re not familiar with. And even if they decide they don\u2019t like something, the exposure in itself is a learning experience. For example, did you know in Brazil, it is customary to eat avocados in a sweet form vs. a savory one? Maybe your kiddo will enjoy avocados as a dessert rather than an appetizer? 
<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Age-Specific Benefits of Cultural Exchange<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s not only the littles who benefit from cultural exchange. All ages<\/a> are positively impacted by the cultural exchange experience of hosting an au pair. While infants and toddlers may be benefitting from attachment and sensory diversity, and preschoolers are soaking up second languages like sponges, school-age children and even teenagers benefit from cultural exchange as well. School-age kiddos are learning about the world through hands-on living experiences with their au pair, hearing stories and experiencing holiday traditions brought into the home from this global individual. Teens are seeing the world from a global perspective with a young adult who recently experienced middle and high school in a different place. They\u2019re seeing how pop culture, fashion, and music differs in other parts of the world, yet there are also many similarities amongst human beings in general. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating Lasting Global Connections<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Despite the au pair program being a maximum of two years, many host families and au pairs maintain relationships after program completion. With the simplicity of tech tools like email, video chat, and texting, it\u2019s easier than ever to connect digitally across borders. It\u2019s also not uncommon for au pairs and host families to reunite in person years after programs end. 
<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Six
The Guttell family<\/a> welcomed five of their previous au pairs back to celebrate the bar mitzvah of their son.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n
\n
\"Au
Host Mom Makenna Larson asked her former au pair, Lisa, to be part of her bridal party<\/a> and attend her wedding the year after her program ended.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n
\n\n\n\n

Cultural exchange is a lifelong gift, and the au pair program can definitely give that to your family! When you host an au pair, not only will you receive the peace of mind that comes with flexible, in-home childcare, but you\u2019ll also be educating and building a foundation in global citizenship for your children. Hosting an au pair is an investment in your children\u2019s future success, helping them develop language, communication, and emotional intelligence skills through cultural exchange and caregiving right under your roof!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re ready to get started in your au pair hosting journey, apply today<\/a>! Au Pair USA<\/a> has been successfully screening and matching au pairs with American host families for over 35 years. We can\u2019t wait to support you and your family on this cultural exchange experience of a lifetime!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hosting an au pair has immense childcare benefits like a flexible schedule, live-in support, and personalized care for your children. But have you thought…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":10809,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-advice"],"yoast_head":"\nThe Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Au Pair Life Host Family Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-04-28T00:32:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-04-30T20:55:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Laura-w.-extended-family.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1230\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"923\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marisa Lonic\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marisa Lonic\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Marisa Lonic\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#\/schema\/person\/6ff4cca459c85bdfc85ce5465e484241\"},\"headline\":\"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-28T00:32:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-30T20:55:31+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/\"},\"wordCount\":855,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Laura-w.-extended-family.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Advice for Families\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/\",\"name\":\"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Laura-w.-extended-family.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-04-28T00:32:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-04-30T20:55:31+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#\/schema\/person\/6ff4cca459c85bdfc85ce5465e484241\"},\"description\":\"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Laura-w.-extended-family.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Laura-w.-extended-family.jpg\",\"width\":1230,\"height\":923},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/\",\"name\":\"Au Pair Life Host Family Blog\",\"description\":\"Our au pair host family blog provides various beneficial topics about hosting an au pair. Visit Au Pair USA's au pair blog here!\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#\/schema\/person\/6ff4cca459c85bdfc85ce5465e484241\",\"name\":\"Marisa Lonic\",\"description\":\"Marisa is a lover of all things cultural exchange. She and her family have hosted au pairs from Brazil, Germany, Colombia, Spain, and Ecuador. As a mom of four and the founder of Mama Work It, she helps working moms juggle mom life, work life, spouse life, fill in the blank life through her books, courses and coaching programs.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/author\/mlonic\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange","description":"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange","og_description":"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange","og_url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/","og_site_name":"Au Pair Life Host Family Blog","article_published_time":"2025-04-28T00:32:00+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-04-30T20:55:31+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1230,"height":923,"url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Laura-w.-extended-family.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Marisa Lonic","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marisa Lonic","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/"},"author":{"name":"Marisa Lonic","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#\/schema\/person\/6ff4cca459c85bdfc85ce5465e484241"},"headline":"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange","datePublished":"2025-04-28T00:32:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-30T20:55:31+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/"},"wordCount":855,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Laura-w.-extended-family.jpg","articleSection":["Advice for Families"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/","url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/","name":"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Laura-w.-extended-family.jpg","datePublished":"2025-04-28T00:32:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-04-30T20:55:31+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#\/schema\/person\/6ff4cca459c85bdfc85ce5465e484241"},"description":"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Laura-w.-extended-family.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Laura-w.-extended-family.jpg","width":1230,"height":923},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/advice\/host-children-grow-through-cultural-exchange\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Ripple Effect: How Host Children Grow Through Cultural Exchange"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#website","url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/","name":"Au Pair Life Host Family Blog","description":"Our au pair host family blog provides various beneficial topics about hosting an au pair. Visit Au Pair USA's au pair blog here!","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/#\/schema\/person\/6ff4cca459c85bdfc85ce5465e484241","name":"Marisa Lonic","description":"Marisa is a lover of all things cultural exchange. She and her family have hosted au pairs from Brazil, Germany, Colombia, Spain, and Ecuador. As a mom of four and the founder of Mama Work It, she helps working moms juggle mom life, work life, spouse life, fill in the blank life through her books, courses and coaching programs.","url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/author\/mlonic\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/02\/Laura-w.-extended-family.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10832"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10835,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10832\/revisions\/10835"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.aupairusa.org\/host-families\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}