Emergency Preparedness: What Every Au Pair Needs to Know

Maria had been with the Andersen family for three weeks. She knew the children's bedtime routines by heart, had mastered the school pickup logistics, and could even make four-year-old Oskar eat broccoli — a feat his own parents hadn't managed. She was doing brilliantly.

Then, on a Tuesday afternoon at the playground, six-year-old Lena fell from the climbing frame and landed on her arm. She was screaming. The arm looked wrong. Maria's mind went blank. What was the emergency number in Germany? Was it 911 like back home in Colombia? Where was the nearest hospital? Did Lena have health insurance — and where was the card? Should she call the parents first, or the ambulance?

She stood there, phone in hand, cycling through WhatsApp messages trying to find the address the family had texted her weeks ago. Precious minutes passed. Lena kept screaming.

Maria wasn't unprepared because she was careless. She was unprepared because nobody had sat down with her and built an emergency plan — the kind of document you hope you'll never need but can't afford to create in the moment you do.

Why Emergency Preparedness Matters More for Au Pairs

Most parents operate on autopilot during emergencies. Years of experience, local knowledge, and muscle memory kick in. You know the paediatrician's number without looking it up. You know that the A&E entrance is around the back of the hospital, not the front. You know that your daughter's insurance card is in the third drawer of the hallway cabinet.

Your au pair knows none of this. They're often in a foreign country, navigating a different healthcare system, possibly in a language they're still learning. The information gap between "capable childcare provider" and "person who can handle a medical emergency" is filled by exactly one thing: preparation.

Key takeaway: Emergency preparedness isn't about expecting the worst — it's about making sure your au pair can act decisively during the 5–10 minutes before you're reachable. Those minutes matter most.

The Real Risk Isn't a Major Disaster

When families hear "emergency preparedness," they think earthquakes and house fires. But the emergencies au pairs actually face are far more mundane — and far more likely:

• A child has an allergic reaction at a birthday party
• Someone falls and may have broken a bone
• A child develops a sudden high fever while the parents are at work
• A toddler swallows something they shouldn't have
• The power goes out and the child is scared and the au pair can't reach the parents

These situations don't require heroism. They require information — the right phone number, the right address, the right action sequence — available immediately, without searching.

Building Your Emergency Information Sheet

The foundation of au pair emergency preparedness is a single, comprehensive document your au pair can access in under 10 seconds. Not a text message from three weeks ago. Not a verbal briefing they half-remember. A document.

What to Include

Emergency numbers by priority:

1. Emergency services — the local equivalent of 911 (see country table below)
2. Poison control — a separate number in most countries
3. Parent 1 mobile — the first person to call after stabilising the situation
4. Parent 2 mobile — if Parent 1 doesn't answer within 30 seconds
5. Backup adult — a neighbour, grandparent, or family friend who lives nearby and can come quickly
6. Paediatrician — name, address, phone, and opening hours
7. Nearest hospital A&E — name, full address, and how to get there (car and public transport)
8. Family dentist — dental emergencies are more common than you'd think
9. Au pair agency emergency line — if your agency provides one

Home address in full — your au pair needs to be able to give the exact address to a dispatcher, including floor, door code, and any access instructions. Write it out as they'd say it on the phone: "Hauptstraße 42, third floor left, door code 4719, 80331 München."

Insurance information:

• Each child's health insurance — provider name, policy number, card location
• Au pair's own health insurance — provider, policy number, what's covered
• Where physical cards are kept — exact drawer, wallet, or folder

🌍 Country-specific section. Emergency numbers and systems vary by country. The table below covers the most common au pair destinations.

Where to Keep It

The emergency sheet is useless if it's pinned to the fridge and your au pair is at the park. Make it available in multiple places:

• Printed on the fridge — the classic, visible to everyone in the house
• In the au pair's phone — a saved note, PDF, or stored in AuPairSync's document storage where it's accessible offline
• In each child's school bag — a laminated card with emergency contacts and medical information
• In the car — if your au pair drives, keep a copy in the glove compartment

If you're already using a family coordination app, this is the kind of information that belongs in a shared, always-accessible digital space — not buried in a chat thread. AuPairSync's child profiles let you store medical details, emergency contacts, and insurance information in one place your au pair can pull up on their phone in seconds.

First Aid Basics Your Au Pair Should Know

You're not training a paramedic. But your au pair should be comfortable handling the five most common childhood emergencies before a professional arrives.

1. Allergic Reactions

If your child has known allergies, this isn't optional — it's the single most important thing to cover. Your au pair must know:

• What triggers the allergy — specific foods, insect stings, medications
• What a reaction looks like — hives, swelling, breathing difficulty, vomiting
• Where the antihistamines are — exact location, correct dosage
• Where the EpiPen is — if prescribed, and how to use it (practise with a trainer pen)
• When to call emergency services — any breathing difficulty, throat swelling, or loss of consciousness = call immediately, then administer EpiPen

For a detailed guide on documenting allergies and medications for each child, see our child profiles guide.

Key takeaway: Walk through the allergic reaction action sequence with your au pair physically — not just verbally. Open the drawer, pick up the EpiPen trainer, practise the motion. Muscle memory works better than written instructions during panic.

2. Falls and Potential Fractures

Children fall. It's what they do. Your au pair needs to know the difference between "walk it off" and "go to hospital":

• Signs of a fracture: visible deformity, inability to move the limb, severe swelling, pain that doesn't subside after 15 minutes
• What to do: keep the child still, don't try to straighten the limb, apply a cold pack wrapped in cloth, call the parents, go to A&E if the child can't use the limb
• Head injuries: any loss of consciousness, vomiting after a head bump, confusion, or unequal pupils = call emergency services immediately. Don't wait.

3. Fevers and Illness

• Where the thermometer is and how to use it
• At what temperature to give medication — and which medication (paracetamol or ibuprofen, correct dosage for each child's weight)
• When to call the parents — typically above 38.5°C / 101.3°F
• When to call a doctor — fever above 39.5°C / 103.1°F, fever lasting more than 24 hours, fever combined with a rash, or if the child seems unusually lethargic
• When to call emergency services — febrile seizure, difficulty breathing, unresponsiveness

4. Choking

This is worth a five-minute physical demonstration:

• For children over 1 year: encourage coughing first. If they can't cough, speak, or breathe — five back blows between the shoulder blades, then five abdominal thrusts (Heimlich manoeuvre). Alternate until the object comes out or help arrives.
• For infants under 1 year: five back blows with the baby face-down on your forearm, then five chest thrusts. Never use abdominal thrusts on an infant.
• When to call emergency services: if the object doesn't come out after two cycles, or if the child loses consciousness.

5. Burns and Scalds

• Immediately cool the burn under lukewarm running water for 10–20 minutes. Not ice, not butter, not toothpaste.
• Remove clothing around the burn (unless stuck to the skin)
• Cover loosely with cling film or a clean, non-fluffy cloth
• Call emergency services if the burn is larger than the child's palm, on the face/hands/feet/joints, or if blisters form immediately

Key takeaway: For each of these scenarios, your au pair should know three things: (1) what to do first, (2) where the supplies are, and (3) at what point to escalate. Write them down.

Fire Safety and Evacuation

This takes 15 minutes to set up and could save lives.

Walk Through the Exit Plan

Give your au pair a physical tour of the escape routes:

• Primary exit — front door, including where keys are kept
• Secondary exit — back door, balcony, or window (if applicable)
• Meeting point — where everyone gathers outside (e.g., the letterbox, the neighbour's front gate)
• Where fire extinguishers are — and how to use them (a quick demonstration takes 30 seconds)
• Smoke alarm locations — and what to do if one goes off while cooking vs. during a real emergency

The Three Rules

Teach your au pair three simple rules for a fire:

1. Get the children out first — don't try to save belongings or fight the fire
2. Stay low — smoke rises, breathable air is near the floor
3. Don't go back in — once everyone is out, stay out and call the fire service

Practical Details

• Where are the house keys at night? Your au pair needs to be able to unlock the front door in the dark, under stress
• Can the children open their bedroom windows? If not, your au pair needs to know which ones open and how
• Is there a fire escape ladder? Show where it's stored and how to deploy it

Power Outages, Lockouts, and Other Non-Medical Emergencies

Not every emergency involves an ambulance. These smaller crises are far more likely — and just as stressful for someone in a foreign country.

Power Outage

• Where is the fuse box? Walk your au pair to it and show them how to reset a tripped breaker
• Where are the torches/flashlights? Keep at least one in an obvious, consistent location
• What about the alarm system? Does it have a battery backup? Will it beep?

Lockout

• Where is the spare key? With a neighbour, in a key safe, under a (not obvious) rock?
• Locksmith number — have one saved. Being locked out with children is not the time to start Googling

Severe Weather

• What's normal here? An au pair from Southeast Asia may not know how to handle a snowstorm. An au pair from Scandinavia may not know what to do during a heatwave
• Where to shelter during thunderstorms, and which rooms to avoid (conservatories, rooms with large windows)

The Emergency Drill: Making It Stick

Reading a document isn't the same as knowing what to do. Within the first week — ideally during the onboarding process — walk through the most critical scenarios physically.

A 30-Minute Emergency Walkthrough

This doesn't need to be dramatic. It's a calm, practical tour:

1. Walk to the medicine cabinet — show where everything is, read the labels together
2. Practise with the EpiPen trainer — if applicable
3. Walk the fire escape route — with the children, so everyone knows it
4. Show the fuse box — and how to reset a breaker
5. Drive or walk to the nearest hospital — so your au pair knows the route before they need it under stress
6. Test the emergency sheet — ask your au pair to find a specific number. Time it. If it takes more than 10 seconds, the system needs improving

Review Every Three Months

Emergency information changes. Doctors move practices. You get a new phone number. The backup neighbour goes on holiday. Set a quarterly reminder to review the emergency sheet together — it takes five minutes and keeps everything current.

For families who like structured check-ins, this pairs naturally with a weekly meeting routine where you can briefly confirm that emergency information is still accurate.

When Your Au Pair IS the Emergency

Your au pair is also a person who can get sick or injured. Discuss:

• What insurance covers them — and what it doesn't (dental? mental health? pre-existing conditions?)
• Where their insurance card is — and whether they need to carry it
• What to do if they're too ill to work — who to call, what's expected, and that it's genuinely okay to be sick
• Nearest doctor who speaks their language — this can make an enormous difference for someone navigating a health scare in a foreign country
• Mental health support — some au pairs struggle silently with homesickness, isolation, or anxiety. Know the resources available, and make sure your au pair knows it's okay to ask for help

Key takeaway: Include your au pair's own emergency information in the family emergency plan. They're part of the household — their safety matters just as much.

The Emergency Preparedness Checklist

Use this as a starting point to build your family's emergency plan:

Documents and information:

• Emergency contact sheet — created, printed, and digitally stored
• Home address — written out as you'd say it to a dispatcher
• Insurance cards — located, photocopied, and stored digitally
• Medical information — allergies, medications, conditions for each child documented
• Hospital and doctor details — names, addresses, phone numbers, opening hours

First aid and safety:

• First aid kit — stocked and location shown to au pair
• EpiPen/medication — location shown, usage demonstrated
• Fire extinguisher — location shown, usage demonstrated
• Escape routes — walked through with au pair and children
• Meeting point — agreed and communicated

Communication:

• Emergency numbers — saved in au pair's phone
• Backup adult — identified and introduced to au pair
• Your au pair's own emergency contact — documented (family member in home country)
• Check-in protocol — what to do if parents are unreachable for more than 30 minutes during an emergency

Training:

• First aid walkthrough — completed within the first week
• Fire drill — completed within the first two weeks
• Quarterly review — scheduled

If you've covered your house rules and your schedule, the emergency plan is the third pillar of a solid onboarding. Together, these three documents give your au pair the confidence to handle almost anything that comes up during the day.

The Document You Hope You'll Never Need

Here's the uncomfortable truth: most families never create an emergency plan because they assume they'll always be reachable. And most of the time, they are. But mobile phones die. Meetings run late. Underground trains have no signal. There will be a moment — maybe just once in the entire au pair year — when your au pair faces a situation they weren't expecting, and you're not on the other end of the phone.

That moment is not when you want them searching through old WhatsApp messages for the paediatrician's number.

Maria and the Andersen family eventually got Lena to the hospital — the arm was fractured but healed cleanly. That evening, they sat down together and built the emergency sheet that should have existed from day one. It took 20 minutes. Maria said it was the most useful 20 minutes of her entire au pair year.

Don't wait for the playground fall. Build the plan this weekend. It's 20 minutes of work that buys a year of peace of mind.

Getting ready for your au pair's arrival? Download AuPairSync to store emergency contacts, medical information, and important documents where your au pair can find them in seconds.