Having an Aupair from a child's perspective

How did you like having an aupair? I asked this question of my daughter that is now twelve and for the first ten years of her life we had aupairs.

" Having an aupair has been great, I do not really remember the first ones we had since I was only a baby but we have many pictures of them and we have seen them again which helps me remember them. To me it was like having big sisters. People that would play with me and help me when my parents were at work. I loved that I could be home during the day when I was little. The Aupair and I did many fun things together. Playing at the park, going to playgroups, spending hours at the library it was like own personal grown up. I also love getting phone calls from around the world on my birthday. Maybe one day I will be an aupair for one of my aupairs."

Did you know.....???

Did you know that au pairs who wants to tour the White House
will need to obtain permission from their embassy?
Recently, a host family was planning to visit the White House during an upcoming
trip to Washington D.C. When scheduling their tour, they were informed that their
au pair could not go with them unless she got permission. The host family contacted
AuPairCare’s San Francisco office, thinking that it was AuPairCare’s permission
that was required. With a little research, Client Services Coordinator Scott Robinson
discovered that in order for foreign nationals to tour the White House, they
need to schedule it through their home country’s embassy in Washington D.C.
Once permission has been obtained,
the au pair will need to
present his or her passport in order
to be admitted to the White
House for a tour. No other form of
identification will be accepted

Infant Specialized Au Pair Program

The first year of a child's life is a critical time for growth and the building block for future stages of development. AuPairCare's unique Infant Specialized Program provides families with infants with a trained au pair who specializes in infant caregiving and development. Infant Specialized au pairs have considerable interest and experience caring for infants and have at least 200 documented hours of childcare experience with infants and children under two.

AuPairCare's proprietary Infant Specialized Training utilizes a hands-on approach to train au pairs in infant safety, care giving, infant stimulation and development. Infant Specialized Au Pairs are specifically trained in the "American Way" of infant care giving in this focused, hands-on environment and are given tools to ensure clear communication with parents about baby care through the use of the AuPairCare Daily Diary.

Benefits of an Infant Specialized Au Pair:

• Your au pair will have experience and training in infant-specific child development and will be trained in the “American Way” of infant caregiving
• Your au pair will attend an intensive American Heart Association CPR and first aid certification training course
• Your au pair will learn unique skills such as infant sign language and baby massage, designed to promote physical and mental stimulation of your infant

Training highlights include:

• Certification in infant CPR and first aid by the American Heart Association
• Hands on instruction in infant massage benefits and practice through nationally certified and skilled trainers.
• Training and practice in infant sign language using the Baby Fingers™ method, a leading infant sign language learning organization

 

Program Details:

• Similar to our popular year long program, Infant Specialized au pairs provide up to 45 hours of infant care per week, not to exceed 10 hours per day
• AuPairCare's Infant Specialized au pairs have at least 200 documented hours of care experience with infants and children under the age of two
• Infant Specialized au pairs attend a separate Infant Specialized Au Pair Training program, devoted to baby care and infant development

 

Infant Specialized Au Pair Duties:

• Providing daily care including feeding, bathing, changing and other baby care basics
• Keeping baby safe and comfortable
• Engaging baby in learning activities
• Teaching baby sign language
• Helping develop a routine for baby
• Tidying baby's room and doing baby's laundry
• Communicating with parents about baby’s care and development

 

Happiness

Did you know....?

Did you know that when an au pair loses her/his
passport with the J-1 visa in it, he or she will need
to return to home in order to get a new visa?
In December 2013, an au pair lost her passport. To replace the
passport, she went to her country’s embassy here in the U.S. She
then tried to get a number of U.S. agencies to help her replace her
J-1 visa while here in the U.S. When she finally called AuPairCare’s office we informed
her that she would need to make an appointment and appear in person at
the U.S. Embassy in her home country where the original visa was issued. Applying
for a new visa cannot be done while here in the U.S.
If an au pair doesn’t plan to leave the U.S. and return during the program year or
extension year, s/he does not need to go home and replace the visa. The DS2019
issued by AuPairCare is sufficient to verify that the au pair is here in the U.S. legally.
However, an au pair who leaves the country will not be allowed to re-enter
- even from Canada, Mexico, or U.S. adjacent islands – without a J1 visa. Therefore,
an au pair who is planning to travel abroad during the program will need to
return home to replace the J1 visa if it is lost or stolen.

Great Valentine offer for Childcare

 Apply for $14 and enjoy $350 off Program Fees when you apply by February 21st and match with an overseas au pair by April 17, 2014!

Promo Code: LOVEAPC

How did being an Au pair shape your life?

I posted this question to some of my past aupairs. I was curious what they thought about the aupair program in retrospect. Bela was our aupair eight years ago. She is now an adult and she has accomplished great things. Following are her thoughts:

"If I had to pick one life changing experience, my year as an au pair would be it! When I decided to move to the US as an au pair for a year, I never thought that so many surprises, great moments and learning would be waiting for me. I had an amazing family who made me feel loved and who somehow made me believe more in myself. I also learned to appreciate small things that I would take for granted from my home country. I made friends for life and I finally got to understand myself better too. Being an Au pair opened the doors to a new world for me. I realized I was capable of so much and that my journey living in a different country was just starting! I have been living abroad for over 7 years now. I work for a global tech company, I have visited 27 countries, and I have friends spread all over the globe! All of this, thanks to my year as an au pair, the first step to discover a world of new possibilities!"

Please share your stories about how the aupair year has changed or not changed, your life.

Best way to beat homesickness

Experienced Host Parents know that when your au pair arrives, you get him or her in action right away.

Even though it’s tempting to let him/her sleep in, or to show her around your wonderful town, or to wait until his English is better before you start giving instructions on ‘how to do things’, your best strategy is always to get them working.

We don’t want to get them to work right away so that we can maximize the amount of work we ‘get’ out of an au pair.

We put au pairs to work right away because:

• People learn better when they are trying.
• People are less homesick when they are busy. People get more connected to kids when they interact. And,
• People feel happier when they have something meaningful to do.

The sooner you get your au pair doing things you need her to do, even as she’s still learning, the better off you will be.

Thoughts from an Aupair and how it has shaped her life

Following are the thoughts of one of our aupairs. She was our aupair three years ago. I wanted to know how the aupair program has shaped the future of past aupairs so I posed the question to my past aupairs. Here are the thoughts from Sabrina from Germany:

"When I think back to the time I`ve been an Aupair, a lot of precious memories come to my mind. I remember meeting and living with the greatest and kindest host family I could have ever wished for and being with the two cutest and funniest two girls who soon would become like little sisters to me.

Together we`ve been creative, silly, explored places, shared new experiences and discovered interesting cultural differences. We`ve been to playgrounds, made up games, did handicrafts together and set up playdates.
Although time is running and it`s been three years since I´ve completed the Aupair Program, my host family and I are still in touch. We share photos and news and even visit one another once in a while. That`s how I get the opportunity to watch my two girls growing bigger and bigger.

I`ve also made friends all over the world: France, Brasil, Australia, Great Britian, the Netherlands and many more. With some of them I´m still in touch.

My american host family and my friends made it possible to live the american lifestyle. That`s for instance how I`ve got the chance to find out Thanksgiving and Halloween are the most exciting holidays I`ve ever experienced.

I got to travel all around the United States to see the most impressing sceneries and cities.
Without noticing, my English improved to its best and I´ve even had the opportunity to sneak into college life on my own.

I`d do it all over again and still think about my host family almost every day."

Tips on driving on snowy and icy roads

 Driving safely on icy roads

1. Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
2. Brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.
3. Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.
4. Keep your lights and windshield clean.
5. Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
6. Don't use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.
7. Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
8. Don't pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you're likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
9. Don't assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.  
10.  
11.  If your rear wheels skid...
    
    1. Take your foot off the accelerator.
    2. Steer in the direction you want the front wheels to go. If your rear wheels are sliding left, steer left. If they're sliding right, steer right.
    3. If your rear wheels start sliding the other way as you recover, ease the steering wheel toward that side. You might have to steer left and right a few times to get your vehicle completely under control.
    4. If you have standard brakes, pump them gently.
    5. If you have anti-lock brakes (ABS), do not pump the brakes. Apply steady pressure to the brakes. You will feel the brakes pulse — this is normal.
       
    If your front wheels skid...
    
12. Take your foot off the gas and shift to neutral, but don't try to steer immediately.
13. As the wheels skid sideways, they will slow the vehicle and traction will return. As it does, steer in the direction you want to go. Then put the transmission in "drive" or release the clutch, and accelerate gently.
    

If you get stuck...

1. Do not spin your wheels. This will only dig you in deeper.
2. Turn your wheels from side to side a few times to push snow out of the way.
3. Use a light touch on the gas, to ease your car out.
4. Use a shovel to clear snow away from the wheels and the underside of the car.
5. Pour sand, kitty litter, gravel or salt in the path of the wheels, to help get traction.
   

Try rocking the vehicle. (Check your owner's manual first — it can damage the transmission on some vehicles.) Shift from forward to reverse, and back again. Each time you're in gear, give a light touch on the gas until the vehicle moves.