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A better way to run the au pair year.

Heim gives host families and au pairs the structure, tools and shared context to set the year up well, manage the everyday, and handle changes together.

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Built by host families who have been there.

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A unique problem to solve

A year is a long time to improvise.

We built Heim to tackle the most frustrating parts of the au pair experience for families.

You do not know what you do not know.

There is a steep learning curve: what to discuss, what to write down, how to onboard well, and how to handle the small moments that shape the relationship.

Everyone builds their own system.

Schedules live in calendars and spreadsheets. Expectations live in documents or memory. Changes happen over text. Child information gets explained repeatedly.

Doing it well takes too much work.

Even when families know what they should do, turning good intentions into a repeatable process takes time they rarely have.

The solution

One system. Two layers.

Heim takes the guesswork out of the au pair year by combining a clear journey with practical tools for the work inside it.

Layer 01

The stages

Know what matters, when.

Clear stages that define what matters at each point in the year, from matching to goodbyes.

Layer 02

The tools

Make the most of each stage.

Practical tools for the work inside each stage, without spreadsheets, scattered docs or random texts.

The stages tell you what matters.

The tools help you do it.

Click a stage to expand

Layer 01 · The stages

Know what matters, when.

The au pair year arrives as one long stretch with no markers in it. We have broken it into five stages, so help can be specific to where you actually are.

Matching

Next

Tools for this stage

Layer 02 · The tools

Make the most of each stage.

The problem

Rules get explained once, in passing, and then re-explained all year.

Our solution

A guided interview that turns how your household already runs into a written guide, one topic at a time. Not a blank template: it asks the questions, and records the reason behind each rule, not just the rule.

01 / Onboarding
In build

Family Guidelines Wizard

Turn household knowledge into a clear shared guide, without starting from a blank page.

Family Guidelines · Bedtime
Guided question

How does bedtime usually go?

Bath around 7, teeth, one book each, lights out by 7:45. Lena wants the hallway light left on.
↓
Shared guideline
Weeknight bedtime

Bath at 7, teeth, one book, lights out 7:45. Hallway light on for Lena.

The problem

Split shifts, school calendars and holiday changes outgrow a shared spreadsheet fast.

Our solution

A weekly schedule built for split shifts, with planned against actual hours and alerts before the weekly cap. Standard federal J-1 guidance does not address state employment law, so this is built so a family is not left to work that out alone.

02 / Year Management
In build

Schedule, Hours & Calendar

A weekly view built for how au pair schedules actually work.

Schedule · Week of Mar 3

This week

Mar 3 – 9
2 hours remaining before Fri.
Mon3
Tue4
Wed5
Thu6
Fri7
Sat8
7a
7-9
7-9
7-9
7-9
7-9
Au pair off
12p
9-12
3p
12-3
4p
4-7
4-6
3-5
4-7
4-6
Planned
28.0 h
Actual
26.0 h
Left
2.0 h

The problem

The details that matter most on a given day live in one parent's head.

Our solution

One structured profile per child, covering routines, allergies and comfort strategies, referenced everywhere else in the app. Not a medical record: the handful of things whoever is on shift actually needs today.

03 / Onboarding
In build

Child Profiles

Practical caregiving context, one profile per child, referenced everywhere else.

Child profile · Lena

Lena

6 · 1st grade, Maple Elementary
Food & allergies
Peanut allergy · EpiPen front hall No red meat Loves berries
Weekday rhythm
Wakes 6:45. Bus 8:05. School out 3:15. Aftercare Tue/Thu.
When she is upset
Quiet first. Then water and a walk to the yard. Fast talk escalates.
Comfort & sleep
Bunny at bed Hall light on

The problem

Mid-year changes get agreed verbally and remembered differently.

Our solution

Dated changes and household decisions in one place, with a simple acknowledgement from both sides. Not a paper trail for disputes: a reference point, so nobody has to rely on memory.

04 / Year Management
In build

Shared Agreements

Meaningful schedule changes and household decisions kept in one shared place.

Shared Agreements
12Mar
Friday hours moved earlier for spring

7–9am and 3–6pm through April, so Ana can leave for language class.

Acknowledged
04Mar
Weekend guest sitter for family trip

Mar 22–24 grandparents with the kids. Ana off Fri eve through Sun.

Acknowledged
28Feb
Rainy day screen time

Extra 30 min if the earlier plan does not work.

Waiting on Ana

The problem

The first week sets the tone for the year, and it is the week everyone is most improvising.

Our solution

A shared plan for the first seven days: what to walk through, what to hand over, what to leave until week two. It paces the handover, so an arriving au pair is not given the whole household on the first morning.

05 / Onboarding
In build

Week 1 Plan

A day-by-day landing plan for the first week, so nobody is improvising on day one.

Week 1 Plan
First week
Day 1 · Sunday
House tour, keys, wifi, neighbourhood walk
Dinner together, no childcare
Day 2 · Monday
Shadow the school run, no solo pickup yet
Read the guidelines together, ask anything
Day 5 · Thursday
First solo afternoon
Hours ramp from 3h on day 2 to full schedule in week 2.

The problem

The smallest questions are the hardest to ask, and rarely worth interrupting a parent at work for.

Our solution

A short, searchable list of household answers that grows as real questions come up. Every question asked gets added, so the second au pair starts where the first one finished.

06 / Onboarding
In build

Household FAQ

A living answer sheet for the small questions that never get asked out loud.

Household FAQ
Recently added
Can the kids have friends over after school?
Yes, if we know by the morning. Two friends max on school nights.
What do I do if the bus is late?
Wait ten minutes, then text Claire. School calls if it is more than twenty.
Am I expected at family dinners?
Welcome, never expected. Sundays we would love you there.
Added by Ana · answered by Claire · 2 days ago
1 of 6

Who this is for

Real families. Real days.

Parents, kids, and an au pair who has flown halfway across the world to live with them for a year. Heim is built for the small moments in between.

One shared system

Same year. The view each side needs.

The family and au pair work from the same schedule, child information and agreed changes. Heim brings the most relevant part forward for each person.

  • ✓
    Today at a glance. What is happening today, what is coming next, what has changed.
  • ✓
    The kids, in one tap. Every child profile with the details that actually matter today.
  • ✓
    A place to write things down. Small changes and check-ins land somewhere both sides look.
Tell us what is missing →
9:41 ● ● ●
Claire
Host parent
Ana today

7h · Split shift

7:00 – 9:00
Morning routine

Breakfast, dress, bus at 8:05.

4:00 – 7:00
Aftercare pickup + dinner

Pickup 3:30 (early release). Swim 4:30.

School closes early tomorrow. Add extra 2h to plan?
Your Thursday

7h · Split shift

7:00 – 9:00
You are on now

Bus at 8:05. Backpack packed last night.

4:00 – 7:00
Aftercare pickup + dinner

Sam or Claire home 6:30. Dinner already prepped.

This week 38.0 h of 45
In your care

2 children

L
Lena · 6

1st grade · Maple

Peanut Swim Wed
J
Jonah · 4

Pre-K · Sunrise

Nap 1pm Milk only
Today with you

Lena & Jonah

L
Lena · 6

Bus 8:05 · Aftercare 3:30

Peanut · EpiPen front hall
J
Jonah · 4

Nap right after lunch

Milk only Bunny at bed
Ask Claire · Snack for the park?
Recent

Agreed changes

12 Mar Acked
Friday hours to 7–9 & 3–6

Through April. Language class Sat.

04 Mar Acked
Family trip Mar 22–24

Grandparents watching. Ana off.

28 Feb Waiting on Ana
Rainy day screen time

Extra 30 min if needed.

Waiting on you

1 to ack

28 Feb Ack?
Rainy day screen time

Extra 30 min if the earlier plan does not work.

12 Mar Acked
Friday hours to 7–9 & 3–6

Through April. You are free Sat.

Same day, different lens
Family sees the day as a plan they own. Au pair sees "you are on now." Same underlying record.
Live hours
Planned and actual sit on the same weekly cap. Both sides see the same number.

For agencies & counselors

A better shared foundation when counselors need to step in.

Heim is not a replacement for the counselor relationship. It gives families and au pairs one place to keep expectations, schedules, changes and check-ins, so that when you are called in, nobody is reconstructing the year from memory.

Where it helps you

Before you are called

Families turn broad placement guidance into concrete household practice in the first weeks.

When you are called

Hours, agreements and changes are already written down and acknowledged by both sides.

After the placement

What this year worked out carries into the next au pair, instead of starting over.

Help families find Heim

Getting Heim to the families who need it most.

Agencies are uniquely positioned to introduce Heim to newly matched families when they’re most focused on setting themselves up for success.

We’d love to explore ways to partner with agencies to make Heim available to more families. We’re still shaping what the right partnership model could look like and would value your early input. Please share any thoughts in the form below — we’d love to shape the model with agencies rather than prescribe it upfront.

Give us your input →

Your input

What are we getting right, and missing?

You see these placements up close. We would value the parts that resonate, the parts that do not, and the problems we may be underestimating.

Your input goes directly to the Heim team.

Thank you. Your notes are with us. If you left an email, we may follow up with a short question or two.

ourheim.com · Built by host families who have been there.

The au pair year, done well.

Preview v51 · 21 Aug 2026