
Childcare
Being there for your child day to day and supporting you with their care.
Germany's first au pair agency dedicated to families of children with disabilities and additional needs.
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Book a consultation call (opens in a new tab)How placement works

Au pair tasks

Being there for your child day to day and supporting you with their care.

Taking your child to Kita (day nursery), school or therapy and picking them up again.

Playing, crafts, reading aloud, going to the playground or simply spending time together.

Preparing breakfast, lunchboxes or simple, child-friendly meals for your child.

Helping with tidying up and keeping the children's room in order.

Washing, folding and putting away the children's laundry.

Taking on light household tasks directly related to the children.
Preparation
A day together

Getting dressed, making breakfast, packing school bags — your au pair helps wherever an extra hand is needed in the morning.

While the children are at Kita or school, your au pair attends their Sprachkurs (German language course). Online or in person — together you find the option that fits your routine.

After Kita or school, your au pair can prepare a simple, child-friendly meal and have lunch with your child.

Time for your child: playing, crafts, letting off steam, going to the playground or the pool. Your au pair is there for siblings too — an extra helping hand in everyday family life.

Dinner, babysitting or putting the children to bed — your au pair can help in the evening too. Time as a couple, a trip to the cinema, or simply a calmer evening.

About Melanie Matl
More about usI am myself the mother
of a child with a
disability.Au pair agency Besondere Sterne — a specialised au pair agency offering families professional placement and reliable support.
Preparation

Compulsory work placement with children with disabilities
Experience with children with disabilities before the au pair year begins. To the Au Pair Academy
Timeline · Getting-to-know phase
We get to know your family.
Beforehand, you fill in our family questionnaire with all the key information about your family and your child. In the personal consultation call, we talk about your everyday life, your wishes, and which au pair might suit you.
approx. 20 minutes
Placement & support
We take care of the paperwork.
We prepare all the contract documents required for the upcoming Botschaftstermin (embassy appointment) and provide them to you digitally. You sign them and simply add the documents needed, such as passport copies and proof of insurance.
All documents on their way.
Once the documents are complete, we check them and forward them to your au pair or our partner agency in the home country. There, the au pair's personal documents for the embassy appointment are added.
Now the visa is applied for.
At the Botschaftstermin, your au pair applies for their au pair visa and submits the prepared documents. Processing usually takes several weeks, depending on the country.
Green light for the journey.
Congratulations — your au pair has been granted the visa. Now you can plan the journey together and book the flight.
Welcome to Germany.
Your au pair arrives at your home and your au pair year together begins. From us you receive a checklist covering the first important steps and visits to the authorities after arrival.
A good start to everyday life.
We get in touch and support the start with a weekly and daily plan, so tasks, working hours and shared routines are set out clearly from the beginning.
Time for first feedback.
A workbook guides the first feedback conversation between you and your au pair and helps you reflect on your first week together.
Agreeing family rules together.
With our coaching workbook you discuss family rules, routines and expectations — so small misunderstandings never become big ones.
Realigning expectations.
Another workbook helps you and your au pair talk openly about expectations, notice changes and keep developing your shared everyday life.
The foundation is in place.
Time to look back together on the first three months: arrival, settling in and getting to know each other. The foundation for the rest of the au pair year has been laid.
Looking ahead.
The end of the au pair year is slowly approaching. Together, the focus turns to how things can continue for your au pair and your family afterwards.
Voices
“I never imagined how much easier a day becomes when someone is there who knows our everyday life.” (Translated)

“I am only getting round to writing now. Hnin has settled in wonderfully and she really is so lovely. We — the children most of all — already love her very much. Thank you again for handling everything, and for this wonderful person.” (Translated)

“Warm greetings from us. Our Blessy has arrived safely and everyone welcomed her very warmly. In the photos you can see our two au pairs with Ben and Elia on our first lovely outing. It is so good to see how kindly Sunny and Blessy are with the children, and how well Blessy is already finding her place in our family. This transition is something special for us: while we will soon have to say goodbye to Sunny, which is hard, we are also very much looking forward to our time with Blessy. A heartfelt thank you to the agency Besondere Sterne for placing such a wonderful au pair with us again.” (Translated)

“With great gratitude to Melanie and her team. Abitta has been with us since 4 May and we share so many lovely moments every day. Today she tied the sari for me and got to slip into our Bavarian tradition. Her mother joined by video and helped Abitta with the tying. Welcome these wonderful souls with open arms, listen to them and include them in your families. It is a lot of work, but it is so worth it. Moments that stay.” (Translated)

“The boys are so happy. It fits so well, it is as if he had always been here.” (Translated)

“Good morning from day two. Jailes has arrived safely, into what is currently Siberian cold. The children took to her at once — quite astonishing — with no shyness and full of joy, and she and we had a wonderful first day together. Samuel was in Jailes's arms, Emilia snuggled up to her in the evening after they had played hide and seek and chase around the house for ages. If this beginning stands for the next twelve months, there is more than a little magic in it. What a lovely young woman.” (Translated)

“Fathia came with us to South Tyrol. It was her holiday and she had no duties, but she likes us so much that she was always there. She has changed so much: she works out with me, learned to ride a bike with me and now cycles the eight kilometres to the station on her own. I spoke to her father on the phone and praised her. He was so proud. I very much hope she completes the year — afterwards I will help her into a nursing apprenticeship. And I can already say a few words of Yoruba.” (Translated)

“Waiting for the school bus. Everyday life has arrived, but with a great deal of warmth. There is so much for our au pair to discover and learn, and settling in is going well. The most important thing for us is that she has a heart for our child and his needs. And he really likes her a lot.” (Translated)

“A beautiful holiday is coming to an end, and sadly so is our au pair year. We are glad for Sanny that she is starting her training, but we will miss her at the same time. And we are also looking forward to our new au pair, once again through the agency Besondere Sterne.” (Translated)

“Thank you so much for the wonderful au pairs. As you can see, we still have a lovely relationship with all our former au pairs today. This afternoon we spent time together, laughed and shared good memories. As host parents it matters to us that our au pairs feel part of the family — and that connection often lasts well beyond the au pair year.” (Translated)

“Hello Frau Matl. After not even a week together we are setting off on the next adventure: a holiday on the North Sea. We are looking forward to time out together with Abel. Hannes is happy to have Abel at his side at last. Pillow fights, cosy breaks together on the sofa, playing games — and now a holiday as well. Warm greetings from the car.” (Translated)

“We had a very special Sunday today, wearing traditional dress. Akza brought some with her and today wore a Dirndl of mine. It was fun and I wanted to let you share in it — please feel free to pass any of it on. We had a good first week without any real pressure, simply getting to know each other.” (Translated)

“Hello Frau Matl, we just wanted to say briefly that the first day with our au pair Saniya was absolutely wonderful. We are very happy and grateful — thank you for your caring guidance and support.” (Translated)

“Thank you so very much for placing such a wonderful au pair with us — loving, understanding, patient and with so much heart. Our Aashika has long been more than an au pair to us; she is part of our family. That makes us all the happier that she is not leaving us entirely, but doing a voluntary social year close by. It fills us with joy to keep her in our lives. A huge thank you to you and your agency. Warm greetings, the Walz family.” (Translated)

“In January I was newly a single parent, overwhelmed and without any real prospect. At the end of February I chose our au pair, and in mid-April she arrived: Angelina. And she really is like an angel for us. For Simon she is the most loving playmate; for me she is the greatest support, so that I can also spend time with one child on their own. I have become a completely different person, and can be far more loving and calm with my children — the feedback from friends is so good. And the best of it: with Angelina's support we were able to try a new method with Simon that helps him enormously, and thanks to her I finally had the courage to start training as a neuroscanbalance coach myself. This picture was taken during my training — Angelina is out with the children and my father, and I can study in peace.” (Translated)
Which questions should you ask? What should you look out for? Our checklist helps you go into that first conversation well prepared.
Reading
Questions
The au pair agency Besondere Sterne is a placement agency for au pairs in families of children with disabilities or additional needs.
Our aim is to give families extra support in everyday life while offering young people a cultural exchange in Germany.
One thing is important to understand: we are a placement agency — not a training institution and not a medical service provider.
That means:
The agency does not select the au pair on the family’s behalf.
Besondere Sterne runs a compulsory preparation programme for all au pairs. It includes:
An au pair is not a trained professional but a young person taking part in a cultural exchange programme.
An au pair supports the family in everyday life, helps with childcare and helps in the household.
An au pair does not replace a medical professional, a nurse or a therapist. As a rule, an au pair must not carry out medical or nursing tasks.
The choice is always made by the host family itself.
Host families can meet several au pairs, hold several getting-to-know calls, ask questions and take enough time for their decision.
The final decision for an au pair always rests with the host family.
Despite thorough preparation, the personal dynamic between family, child and au pair can only be judged in day-to-day life together.
A placement agency cannot take responsibility for individual personalities, personal dynamics or everyday situations.
Let’s talk