A little something about Norway

Norway
Capital: Oslo
Population: 5 million
From late May - July, north of
the Arctic Circle, the sun
never completely sets, earning
Norway the title, “Land
of the Midnight Sun”.
4th highest per capita income
in the world.
There are more Norwegian
descendants living in the
United States than there are
Norwegians in Norway.
The main foreign language
taught in Norwegian elementary
school is English. The
majority of the population is
fluent in English.
Women in Norway have the
right to 44 weeks of fully paid
maternity leave and men 6
weeks of fully paid paternity
leave

The benefits of dual language for your child and how an Aupair can help you

 
Au pairs are a great way to expose your children to new languages and cultures.  Many host families want their children to be bi-lingual in another language and constant exposure and reinforcement  is the best way to really immerse your children in a new language.  Many experts believe that introducing children to a second language as early as possible fosters healthy brain development, encourages positive social skills, and lays a solid foundation for effective communication skills that will last a lifetime.  Au pairs are great language tutors since they are with your children on a daily basis and can reinforce learnings and help your children speak a new language.

Why Learn Languages at a Young Age?

Au Pair Care parents realize that teaching a second language to their kids helps enhance their cognitive development, resulting in better grades and higher test scores later in life.  Children who have studied foreign languages tend to score higher on standardized tests, including both verbal and math portions of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).   Au pairs love to watch their host children grow and develop and they enjoy sharing their language and culture with others.  Many au pairs utilize books, songs and games in helping to tutor their host children in learning a new language.

Learning a Language is a Lifelong Endeavor

Children who are exposed to second languages at an early age are most likely to gain benefits ranging from cross-functional cognitive development to accent-free pronunciation. And learners who start early and then stick with language acquisition throughout their lives through classes, interaction with native speakers at home and travel to other countries are sure to achieve fluency and to reap its many rewards.  Parents are interested in having thier children learn a new language and increase their children's cultural awareness to help them succeed in our multi-cultural society.

Read articles about the benefits of learning languages at a young age:

• Unraveling How Children Become Bilingual So Easily
• First Words, Second Languages
• New Thoughts on Language Acquisition: Toddlers as Data Miners

What is an Aupair?

An au pair is a young adult from another country who lives with your family and provides in-home childcare services. Au pairs work up to 45 hours per week, in exchange for the opportunity to live with an American family. Because au pairs provide live-in childcare, they offer more flexibility and can care for your child at times that accommodate your family's schedule.

All Au Pair Care au pairs:

• Have extensive childcare experience
• Speak conversational English
• Have completed a secondary education
• Are between 18 to 26 years old

Families can select au pairs based on nationality, language, age, driving skills, gender and special abilities such as swimming, cooking, sports and music. Au Pair Care is committed to finding the right au pair match for your family.

An au pair is much more than a babysitter. Here are some things that differentiate Au Pair Care au pairs from other childcare options:

• Au Pair Responsibilities - In addition to childcare services, an au pair provides busy parents with a much needed, extra set of hands. An au pair's duties include childcare and light housekeeping related to childcare.
   
• Nannies vs. Au Pairs - An au pair is much more than a nanny. An au pair lives in your home and becomes a part of your extended family while acting as a loving caregiver for younger children and a big sister to older children.  You can also learn about the value and benefits of an au pair vs. other childcare services.
   
• Au Pair Care offers several great au pair program options, including the popular year-long au pair program and the Infant Specialized au pair program, for families with infants (0-12 months) or are expecting. Select the childcare option that best fits your needs!
   
• Many Au Pair Choices - Read Au Pair Profiles of actual Au Pair Care au pairs. We recruit high-quality au pairs from more than 40 countries, offering a wide array of candidates to choose from.

Be a part of the family

Important information for new arrival aupairs and refresher info for existing aupairs.

     

• Spend as much time as you can with your host family, especially in the beginning of your year.  It is very important for each of you to get to know one another.
• Have dinner with your family when you can; help family setup and help clean up the dishes and kitchen after eating.
• Participate in social events with your family because you are part of this family, not just because you’re working. Join in, talk, and help out! Attend family events (holidays, birthdays, and special celebrations) with your host family.
• Show family and children that you care about them. Asking "What can I do to help?"
• Having good hygiene is important: keep yourself clean, shower daily, wear deodorant daily.  Don’t flush anything down the toilet besides used toilet paper. Other items such as tampons, napkins, and baby wipes go in the trash can.
• Set a good example for the children: make your bed daily, clean your room weekly, keep your clothes picked up.
• Keep the bathroom you use clean. Clean this bathroom twice weekly.
• Share your culture: talk about your country, teach the kids some of your language, songs, and games, and prepare some food from your country.
• Keep your car clean and neat. Respect your curfew and mileage limits. Don’t bring the car home without gas. Don’t allow anyone to smoke or drink in your car.
• When you go out for dinner with your host parents and you are not working, you should still help. You can help the kids when their food comes, help entertain the kids while they are waiting, and take a turn taking them to the bathroom. You are not a guest, you are a part of the family. And be sure and say thanks for the special meal!

 

 

Gratitude

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns problems into gifts, failures into successes, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events.... Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow."

                                                                              - Melody Beattie

Rambelings of a mother - This is Life

Last Friday we had the most beautiful weather, sunny and 80! After a long winter, a day like that is a welcome change. As soon as kids were home from school they were outside playing, using the hose, hula hooping, jumping around like bunnies. I was sitting on our front porch on the steps watching life unfold. All the neighbors were out, cleaning their yards and cars, chatting with each other, welcoming this beautiful weather. My husband was out chatting with some neighbors we had not seen all winter since everyone is cooped up in their houses during the Winter months. And I realized this is Life, this mundane moment is what Life is about. Yes the milestones and adventures are great but these peaceful moments are what life is about, the foundation of it all. Perfect harmony. Stop and enjoy it sometimes. Our lives are so fast paced and we are always thinking about tomorrow we forget to live in today.  Just some thoughts on a grey and dreary Monday morning.

The meaning of Bunnies and Eggs......Easter

Next to Christmas and Birthdays, Easter is a day of the year that most children look forward to. With bunnies, egg hunts, and baskets full of treats, what is not to love?

Similar to the idea of Santa Claus, Easter bunnies are believed by little ones to come with gifts the evening before the actual day of Easter. However, unlike Christmas, where it falls on the 25th of December every year, Easter day involves a bit more thinking.

To calculate the yearly Easter Sunday, you find out when the next full moon after March 21 or Vernal equinox is. The Sunday after that full moon is Easter day.

The symbolism

But you may get the question where does the Easter Bunny come from?

Easter is a Christian celebration of the day Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Hence, the idea of “new life,” “new beginnings”, “rebirth”, and so forth. However, the Christians weren’t the first to accept the idea of the Easter bunny. The Germans wrote about the symbolism of the Easter bunny in the 1500s, where they referenced the Anglo Saxons worship of the goddess, Eastre. The goddess, Eastre is known for the renewal of life at springtime and the symbol of the Rabbit, and its eggs for fertility as the Chickens and Rabbits are known to be some of the most fertile animals in the world.

In the 1700s German settlers introduced the idea of making children believe that if they were good, they would be visited by the Easter bunny, who would reward them with colored eggs. The children would prepare for this event by building nests and even making them uniquely decorated so as to please the Easter bunny. As time past, the nests became more beautiful until it eventually turned into nice baskets to place the nicely colored eggs in.

Today, eggs are made with pure chocolate, fun- filled with cream, painted, colored, made of plastic, and every possible fun way an egg can be made.

If the beauty of the egg doesn’t distract your little one’s curious mind, you can breathe a sigh of relief that you now know how the Easter bunny relates to spring, Christianity, and the tradition. It is up to you to make the story as understandable and possibly as fun as you can make it.

On that note we had some fun with our friends and their kids last year. We did the usual Easter egg hunt in the back yard and then we did the Piñata we do every year. But instead of filling the Piñata with goodies we filled it with Brussel Sprouts! Imagine the kids “delight” when all the Sprouts came tumbling out

Have a wonderful Easter!

More Tax Information!

Tax Time! Step by Step Instructions

2012 GENERAL TAX INFORMATION FOR AU PAIRS

Au Pair Care realizes that the issue of taxes can be confusing for au pairs. For general tax
questions, we suggest you review the information below. However, Au Pair Care or any agency is not
responsible for the interpretation of the information within this document, or any changes to IRS
rules or forms that may occur. Neither Au Pair Care, nor its Area Directors, can
provide any official tax advice. We recommend that you contact a tax professional if you have
any questions regarding these matters.

Will I owe taxes on my weekly stipends?

Because the IRS* (Internal Revenue Service) considers an au pair to be an ‘employee of the host
family’, the weekly au pair stipend is considered to be taxable as earned wages**.

Why do I need to file my taxes?

It is the law here in the United States to file a tax return and report earnings made during
a calendar year. If an au pair chooses not to file taxes it could prevent her from obtaining
a visa in the future. If an au pair is planning to apply for a visa in the future or a change in
status, she may be required to pay any unpaid taxes plus a penalty.

When do I need to do to file a tax return?

A federal U.S. tax return for income earned in 2012 should be filed with the IRS no later than
April 15, 2013 . This should be submitted to the IRS along with payment for any taxes owed. (For
example: on April 15th, 2013, tax returns are due for stipends (wages) earned between January 1,
and December 31, 2012). If you do not file by the deadline of April 15, 2013 you may be subject
to a penalty.

How will I know how much money I made in a calendar year?

You should keep a record of the payments you received from your host family (ies) during the
year. We have prepared a “stipend payment form’ which you can use, or you can create your
own form for keeping track of the money you earn.

How much will I owe on my taxes?

The amount of income tax you may owe depends on when you arrived in the U.S.
Most au pairs who have been in the US for at least 18 weeks in a calendar year will meet
the minimum requirement to pay taxes.  The Exemption Deduction is $3800 for 2012 (per the 2012 IRS 1040NR-EZ instruction book,
page 8). An au pair is not required to file a U.S. federal individual income tax return if
her U.S. source income is in an amount less than the personal exemption amount
($3800 for 2012) (Refer to Publication 501).






How do I file taxes? –Step by Step Guide. This guide is intended to give
general instructions, and should not substitute for the advice or instructions given by the IRS or a
certified accountant.
Step 1 – Get a Social Security number or Tax ID number. If you do not already have one,
please consult the below material
Social Security Number:

http://www.aupairinamerica.com/resources/life_in_the_us/procedure_4.asp
http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0„id=96420,00.html

Step 2-Calculate how much you have earned during the previous calendar year.
Please calculate using the number of weeks you worked as an au pair in the United States the previous calendar year. Remember that you begin receiving your stipend one week after
your arrival in the U.S.

An example – see sample form.
You were here for 30 weeks in 2012 and earned stipend for those 30 weeks
You earned $195.75* per week
Your total earnings would be
30 X 195.75 = $5872.50 = $5873 (always round up to the nearest dollar amount)
(this rate will vary based upon when you arrived in 2012 and what program you were
participating in when you earned the stipend.

Step 3: Au Pairs should fill out and file a 1040NR-EZ
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040nre.pdf

This is a link to instruction booklet http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040nre.pdf
Below are some helpful tips for filling out the 2012 tax form.
1. Enter the total amount you earned in 2012 on line 3, line 7, line 10 and line 12.
This would be your weekly stipend multiplied by the number of weeks you were
in the US in 2012.
2. Au pairs should not have any itemized deductions, so the amount entered on line
11 would be ‘0’.
3. Enter the 2012 exemption amount of $3,800 on line 13.
4. Subtract the exemption amount ($3,800) from your income reported on line 12
and put on line 14. This is your taxable income.








5. Look up your taxable income amount in the tax tables which are included in the
instructions (starting on page 21) to see the amount you will owe in taxes. Put
this amount on line 17 and on line 25 of form 1040NR-EZ.
6. Don’t forget to sign your form at the bottom.
7. You must fill out the other side of the form (page 2)
8. Put your home country on line A
9. Lines C,D, and F should all say ‘no’
10. For section E, you should put ‘J-1’
11. In section G, you should start with your arrival date in the U.S. and list any dates
that you left the country for any trips (either your own vacation or your host
family’s vacation)/ Then add up all the days that you were in the U.S. during 2011
and enter this number in section H.
(See sample 1040NR-EZ form)
Step 8: Filing your return and payments: Whether you are filing your taxes from the
US or back in your home country, all tax returns should be mailed to:

Internal Revenue Service
P.O. Box 1303
Charlotte, NC 28201 – 1303
U.S.A.


DO NOT FORGET TO SIGN YOUR INCOME TAX RETURN

Taxes can be paid by personal check (please ensure your bank account is open if you
have returned home) or via money order in US dollars. Make your check or money order
payable to “United States Treasury”. Write 2012 Form 1040NR-EZ and your name and
address and social security number on your check or money order
If you return to your home country before tax filing is due, you may either submit your
taxes before you leave the US or you can contact certain US embassies overseas (see
below) for help in filing taxes once you return home.
The IRS has permanent staff in 4 US embassies and consulates overseas. These offices
can help with accounting questions/problems and would also know how au pairs can
submit payment and where to submit payment.


Frankfurt – Tel: 49 69 7535-3834, Hours M – F 8-4
London – Tel: 44 207-894-0476, Hours T-Thurs. 9-1 and 2-4
Paris – Tel – 33 01 4312-2555, Hours 9-noon
Beijing – Tel: 86 10-8531-3000, Hours – appointments only

DO YOU KNOW THE STATE DEPARTMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS?

State Department Rules and Regulations any Au-Pair and Host Family should know: 

  
    •    Au pairs may not provide more than 45 hours per week and no more than 10 hours per day of childcare under any circumstances including situations in which Au-Pairs are left home alone overnight with the children.
    •    The current weekly Au-Pair stipend is $195.75 per week. The calculation used to determine the Au-Pair stipend amount is a combination of the federal minimum wage as well as a room and board allowance.  The exact calculation used to determine the weekly stipend is as follows: Minimum wage amount x 45 hours – 40% (room and board allowance) = Au-Pair stipend amount.  On May 24th, 2007, Congress approved the first increase in the federal minimum wage in nearly a decade.  President Bush signed this bill on May 25th and this has a direct impact on the Au-Pair weekly stipend 60 calendar days post-presidential approval. As the changes to minimum wage impact the Au-Pair stipend incrementally, what follows is an overview of these changes and how they have already impacted and will impact the stipend over time:
    •    Tuesday, July 24th, 2007: Increase to $ 157.97 per week
    •    Thursday, July 24th, 2008: Increase to $176.85 per week
    •    Friday, July 24th, 2009: Increase to $195.75 per week
    •    “Does the family have to pay the Au-Pair the full weeks stipend if the Au-Pair only works a part of the week?”
The answer is “YES”.
Even if the Au-Pair works one day out of the full week, the family is obligated to pay the full weeks stipend. The Au-Pairs are obligated to work “up to” 45 hours per week.
    •    Au pair responsibilities must relate solely to the care of the children and may not include heavy household chores. Light housekeeping is acceptable: children’s laundry, children’s sheets, children’s bedrooms and bathroom as well as the Au-Pairs room and bathroom, tidying up play area and clean toys, some grocery shopping, emptying dishwasher, prepare and clean up after meals, etc.)
    •    Au pairs may not work outside their host family’s home under any circumstances including babysitting for neighbors.
    •    Au pairs may not provide additional childcare (in excess of the 45 hours per week) for additional compensation to their own host families.
    •    Au pairs may not be left alone with infants under 3 months of age under any circumstances. If an au pair is asked to care for an infant under 3 months, a parent or responsible adult must be present in the home at all times.
    •    Au Pairs get 2 weeks paid vacation (14 days Monday through Sunday – not 14 weekdays) and 1 1/2 consecutive days off per week. One full weekend off per month is also a requirement.
    •    Au-Pairs are required to attend monthly meetings and the family is responsible for the transportation to the meeting.
    •    Au-Pairs are required to take 6 credits during the year and the family is responsible for $500 towards those classes. The family is also responsible for the Au-Pairs transportation to and from school, weather it is the car or paying for public transportation.
    •    Au pairs must live with the host family during their time in the U.S. Some host families have separate guest housing on their property, and in most cases this is an appropriate solution, provided the au pair has full access to the host family’s main house at all times and is invited to join them in daily activities such as mealtimes. An au pair cannot live in a separate apartment or separate building which is not part of the host family’s property.
    •    Au-Pairs must have a private bedroom which the Local Coordinator will inspect prior to arrival. She can however share a bathroom with any member of the family.

ABC of Tax time

Tax Information for Au Pairs and Host Families

Tax Day is April 15th

We all know that the issue of taxes can be confusing regarding the au pair program, so here are some

general  guidelines regarding childcare tax issues. I hope this information will provide a resource for you to prepare for a conversation with your own tax advisor or the IRS. Please consult with your personal tax advisor or the IRS for definitive answers regarding your own situation.

For the Host Family:

Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit:

As long as a Host Family needed the au pair’s child care services in order to work or look for

employment, the stipends paid to au pairs, the costs of room and board, and the program fees paid to

your agency are all eligible under the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit.

Contact your employer for specific guidance on this issue.

Reporting for My Au Pair’s Taxes Host families usually do not need to pay federal unemployment tax (FUTA) for their au pairs. Host families are not required to withhold taxes unless the au pair (employee) requests that taxes be withheld and the host family (employer) agrees to do so.

For the Aupair:

The au pair is responsible for declaring her/his own income, submitting a tax return and paying taxes.

The IRS does not hold the host family responsible for an au pair’s failure to file a return nor for any

unpaid tax bill that may result from a filing. However, your au pair will need some record of the

stipend payments received from you, so please be sure to use a form of receipt for your aupair to use. A form documenting when and how much he/she was paid.

Because the IRS considers an au pair to be an “employee” of the host family, au pairs are required to file U.S. individual income tax returns even though many au pairs will not owe taxes.

By April 15, the au pair should use Form 1040EZ or Form 1040NR to report his/her au pair wages for the previous calendar year. (e.g. on April 15 2012, tax returns are due for wages earned between January 1 and

December 31, 2011.) You will need some record of the stipend payments you received from your host

family, so create a receipt form to use. If an au pair receives more than $3,650 in weekly stipends during a calendar year (January 1 through December 31), s/he is required to pay income tax with the exception of Social Security and Medicare taxes. Depending on what time of the year the au pair arrives, it is possible that he or she will make below the minimum amount required for taxation in that year. Often, au pairs who are in the United States for less than 4 months in a calendar year do not owe taxes.

Au pairs should plan ahead to have funds available in April when they submit their tax returns. (Taxes

on income earned between January 1 through December 31 are always due on the following April 15.

Long lines at the post office on April 15 to mail tax returns are an American tradition!) Au pairs who

have already left the United States by April 15 may submit their tax return early before they go, or

they can submit it online using the third party services listed below.If an au pair wants the host family to withhold taxes from the weekly stipend, s/he must ask the host family to do so. Otherwise, the host family will not withhold taxes, and the au pair will need to have funds available for payment of taxes due, if any, at the end of the year. Au pairs are not eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit, the Hope Credit or the Lifetime Learning Credit. An au pair is not really a "student" in the United States, and therefore is not eligible to exclude his/ her au pair wages from gross income under the student article of any U.S. income tax treaty.

The information above applies to most au pairs, because most au pairs are considered “non-resident aliens.” However, if the au pair had previously been in the United States as a student, teacher, trainee, or researcher in F, J, M, or Q nonimmigrant status before becoming an au pair, then the au pair might be considered a “resident alien” during his/her current stay in the United States. In this case, the host family and au pair should consult a tax advisor, as the host family may need to withhold

Social Security and Medicare taxes and pay Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA).

Additional Resources:

IRS forms for au pair tax returns:

♦

Form 1040NR-EZ:

Nearly all au pairs can use this form to submit tax returns.

 http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f1040nre.pdf

·

Instructions:

http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/i1040nre.pdf

♦

Applying for a Social Security Number for J-1 Visa holders:

·

http://www.ssa.gov/pubs/10181.html

♦

Internal Revenue Service:

www.irs.ustreas.gov.org  1-800-829-1040 within the US or 267-941-1000 outside of the US

♦

IRS info about au pairs:

http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,id=96420,00.html

If you have any questions, please consult directly with the resources listed above so that  you can receive definitive answers regarding your specific situation. Agencies are not licensed to provide official tax advice, so we cannot provide host families or au pairs tax advice regarding program fee and wage inquiries. Tax laws vary from state to state, so we encourage host families and au pairs to consult with  a local professional tax advisor or directly with the Internal Revenue Service for any specific questions regarding taxation.

.

Traveling with your host family for Vacation

Spring break is around the corner for many of us and this is a time when aupairs often get to go on vacation with the host family. This can be a great experience to see new places and get to know your family better. Here are some suggestions and advice to make the adventure better.

*When you travel with your Host Family on "their" vacation, you need to remember that this is "their" vacation and not "your" vacation.  The Host Family will pay you your weekly stipend if you work 20 hours or 45 hours. Please keep in mind that you most likely will not work your full 45 hours but you need to make sure that you offer to the family to help out with anything. A good example is this: Your host family is taking a vacation and has asked you to come along because they need your help with the kids. If there is a younger child who takes a nap during the day but the older children do not nap, the family may ask you to be with the younger child in the house or in the hotel room for a few hours while they spend time with the older children. You should not be upset or get mad if a host family asks this of you. You should actually offer this to the family. If your host parents would like to enjoy a nice dinner together alone one night, you should offer to watch the kids for a few hours in the evening so they can have some time together. Remember you will be able to have your free time each day, just don’t make or show it as a high priority to your host family.

**Your host family is not expected to pay for all your food, snacks or beverages during the day. They should pay or have food available for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.  Example: If you are with your host family at a theme park like Disney World, your host family is not responsible for paying if you want ice cream, cotton candy, pretzels, pop, candy or souvenirs. If they are purchasing snacks for the kids, you need to make sure that you jump in and say that you will pay for your own so please remember to brings money for "your extras".

***It is also very important for you and your family to talk about what they expect of you during their vacation. Each family is going to have different expectations and different vacations. If you discuss them prior to traveling, you will know what to expect. Some families might not be able to tell you but just say they need you to be open to anything. Your host parents may want to play golf, tennis or go shopping without the kids so you will need to watch them even if it is a warm sunny day outside and all you want to do is lay in the sun.  Remember to NEVER take your eyes of the children when they are swimming in a pool or lake. That means, no talking to friends, boys, sleeping, using cell phones or running back in the house/hotel to get something.

Children do not know the difference between a vacation/weekday/weekend so please remember never to say to a child(or your host parents) during a vacation(or anytime!)

• “It is not my time to watch you”
• “It is Mommy/Daddy’s time to do that or help you”
• “It’s the weekend and I don’t watch you on the weekends”
• “I’m not working right now”
• “It is not my responsibility”

Teaching Kids to be a good Friend

Having good friends makes you happy and makes you feel good. Friendships are developed within families, in neighborhoods, in schools, on sports teams or the playground. Being a good friend is not a skill that kids just pick up, it is learned, taught and fostered. Developing friendships and keeping them takes a lot of work (both by parents and kids), but can be one of the most rewarding things to happen in a child’s life.

How can we teach kids about friendship?

Explain what good friends do and are

Good friends…

*     Remember important things  (birthdays, accomplishments, etc.)

·       Are reliable.

·       Do kind things for one another and use kind language.

·       Help out when a friend is sad or has a problem.

·       Like to spend time together.

·       Have fun with one another.

Lead by example

            *          When your friend calls pick up the phone don’t ignore it

            *          Don’t talk badly about your own friends behind their back

            *          Show your child how friendship works by helping your own friends, bringing them something when they are sick, pick them up if they are stranded, shoveling your elderly neighbors driveway, etc

            *          Talk about how your experiences with your friends when you were young, how you met, what you did, etc 

            * Spend time with friends and new people. You need to be around people to make friends, Sign up for a new art class, join a sports team, talk to the other kids and parents at the playground. Friends can be found in the least likely places. I found one of my best friends at my daughter’s ballet class. She was reading the New York Times while waiting for her child and I thought anyone that reads the NYT must be an interesting person, so we started a conversation and she is now one of dearest friends.

Great time to get an Aupair

How many days to create a new habit?

My topic for the blog post today came about because of a conversation I overheard while sitting at my local Starbucks on a snowy morning trying to find inspiration. Two guys at the table next to me were reading and discussing the Bible and one says to the other it takes at least 21 days to create and stick to a new habit.  That got me thinking about that statement in a bigger picture, how does it apply to my life and how I do things.

I find that if I stick to something consistently over time I will more likely do it and then feel guilty if I don't do it. Be it going to the gym, walking the dog at least an hour, eat my fruit and vegetables, calling my mother weekly, and the list goes on.

 I find this also applies to aupairs and host families. Adapting to a new culture and language takes time before it becomes habit. Aupairs, you should not give up the first week of not understanding your host mom's direction or the second week when your host dad tells you to do something and you have no idea what he is saying or the third week when all you can think about is your friends and family back home. The first weeks are important to the success of your year as an aupair. Immerse yourself in the American culture and your host family and before you know it, it will become habit.

The same goes for host families. Host families need to adjust to a new person in the home, don't give up on your aupair the first week when she/he is sad and homesick, or the second week when she/he did not clean up after the kids the way you like it done, or the third week when she/he took 20 extra minutes to get home from school because she got lost. Get to know your aupair, ask questions, show a genuine interest in her well being and before your know it having this new person in your home is habit and you would not know what to do without her/him.

21 days to create and stick to a new habit. Give it a try and see what happens. Changing our ways one day at a time to a happier, healthier life.