This is a strong statement. In much of the US, an au pair can cost less than full-time professional daycare. Similarly, many US households have access to a car

This is a strong statement. In much of the US, an au pair can cost less than full-time professional daycare. Similarly, many US households have access to a car. Most American vacations are road trips. Getting a 3 bedroom vacation rental instead of a 2 bedroom and driving the au pair up in the back seat is not solely the province of the super-rich. [For the record: I do not have an au pair, nor have I taken a babysitter on a trip.]