1. Be prepared. Before you put the kids in the car, make sure you have items that they may need easily on hand or within reach. For babies, plan for snacks before you depart as eating in the car may not be the best practice due to your limited ability to react to choking or spills. For older kids, put snacks and drinks so that they are accessible and toys within easy reach. In all cases, make sure that any heavier items such as video games or larger books have a place to be stored such as in the seatback pockets so that they won’t become potential projectiles in the event of a crash.

2. Make them wait. As unpleasant as it can be, tell the kids that you cannot help because you are driving and that they will need to wait until you can pull over or until you get to your destination. You may have to listen to a tantrum, but at least the child is restrained in a seat and cannot hurt anyone.

3. Keep your eyes forward. Resist the urge to reach back or take your eyes off the road even when you’re stopped. It only takes a second for an accident to occur.

4. Pull over. If you cannot deal with screaming and need to tend to your child immediately, pull over to a safe spot. It’s safer to get off the highway and go into a gas station, than move to the side of the road where you could face other hazards such as the possibility of getting struck by another vehicle.

5. Use your mirrors. If your children are in rear-facing car seats, attach a mirror to the head restraint to be able to monitor them. For me, I felt comfortable knowing I could still monitor the kids if there was something wrong without turning around.

6. Set the ground rules. Educate children on car safety. Tell them that parents need to pay attention to the road, so that everyone is safe. If they know you can’t and won’t react then they won’t expect it.

7. Distract the children. When I have whining little ones in the car, I try to distract by engaging them in a song or game outside of the car. Children’s music in the CD player or on satellite radio is a nice addition. Pointing out school buses, fire trucks, and traffic lights always seems to work for us and soon they forget what was bothering them in the first place.

8. Stay off the phone. For the safety of yourself and your host children (and others on the road), do not use the cell phone to talk or text. You’re carrying precious cargo and your job is to transport them safely. IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO USE THE CELL PHONE WHILE YOU ARE DRIVING! If you need to make a call, pull over to a safe place.

Distracted Driving – Driving with Kids in the Car

Driving with kids in the car can be particularly distracting especially if there is crying, whining, or some other issue that warrants attention. Usually it’s either a dropped toy, needing a tissue, drink, or snack, that distracts us.

It is hard to ignore children who want attention, but when you are driving you need to remain focused on DRIVING!

Wow!  Can you believe it?  Most of the school kids around the country are heading back to school over the next couple of weeks!  At this time of year the schedule changes for many host families and au pairs.  It would be a good idea to send a note to your host families reminding them to sit down and talk through any changes to the au pair’s schedule and duties.

• Many au pairs have never experienced a school busing system; make sure they understand how it works and what to do
• Make sure au pairs know the car line rules
• If driving the children, new au pairs should know how much time it takes to get to the school and the directions
• Pack a healthy lunch, ask your host families to review what that is… an au pair once packed a can of tuna
• School children come home with lots of notes and letters, designate a place in the house for this important information so no-one misses it
• Au pairs and host families should discuss what is expected of the au pair regarding homework.

Travel- Scheduling

If your au pair travels with your family as part of her child care responsibilities; it is strongly recommended that a schedule be discussed in advance. Think about how you will divide child care responsibilities between you and the au pair. Remember that the au pair may need orienting to a new setting and that you are responsible for her lodging and meals while she is traveling with you.