TikTok content creators Constance Kelly Coopstadt and Jody Williams work as au pairs in the US and they use the platform to share their experiences as international nannies.
This is Jody Williams’s (@jodywilliams007) third year as au pair. Williams is from the southern suburbs and describes his work as being an “international nanny”.
The 25-year-old takes care of three teenagers aged 15, 16 and 17. Williams said he often gets asked why his host family would need an au pair.
“My host dad works in another state and only comes home once a month on weekends. My host mom needed assistance,” he said.
Williams became an au pair because the work gave him an opportunity to explore a different country.
“I was privileged to experience New York in 2018 and that just created a hunger for me to want to explore.”
Work as an au pair appealed to Williams as he had been “involved in childcare work in the church and the community.”
On his account, he shares a variety of content ranging from au pair experiences to fashion and life as an expat. He has gained 100 000 followers with his content getting 1.8 million likes.
Constance Kelly Coopstadt (@constancekellycoopstadt) is also from the southern suburbs and has worked as an au pair for the past two years.
The 23-year-old said “I wanted to challenge myself and just always felt there was more for me to do.”
She takes care of two boys aged nine and five. Coopstadt said she was grateful for the relationship she’s built with her host family.
“This is a job. In the corporate world, you don’t build relationships with the people you work for, but because you’re living in the house with them – building relationships makes the job so much easier.”
On her account, she hops on to trends and speaks about her work in ways that her South African followers relate to. She has gained 32 000 followers with her content gaining more than 680 000 likes on the app.
An average day in Williams life starts at 6 am. She prepares breakfast for the boys and does tasks throughout the day up until supper at 6pm.
“In my free time, I mainly go to the gym, read and do coursework for my business fashion and social media course.”
Coopstadt gets the children ready for school and drops them at school at 9am. While they’re at school she prepares their extracurricular activities. Her days usually wrap up after supper, once the boys have been put to bed.
“I am doing a course in childhood psychology and love to go to the gym when they’re at school because fitness is important to me.”
Williams advised people they should be mindful that living with a family which isn’t your own could be “weird”.
“You have to acclimatise to their culture, traditions and way of living. It’s so easy to feel so excluded because of the big cultural differences,” he said.
Coopstadt added: “There’s a lot of cultural adaptation you have to experience. Do it for the right reason and come here with the mindset of serving others.”
Both au pairs want their TikTok accounts to help inspire other people.
“As an influencer, you should bring about positive change, (encourage people) to do things and be more. I want my platform to be that. I want people to come to my account and get inspiration,” Williams said.
Coopstadt added: “I want this to be a platform with a purpose. I want my platform to help me help others and do community outreach back in Cape Town. Hopefully, I can collaborate with other creators to get this done.”