Au Pair Chatter

These tips are not intended to scare you, but to make you aware of some simple things you can do to prevent being the victim of a crime.

• Pay attention to what is going on around you and be aware of people near you.
• Don’t hitchhike (means getting a ride with strangers.)
• Be very careful using outside ATMs at night or in unfamiliar surroundings.
• When walking, face the oncoming traffic. It will be harder for someone to pull you into a car and abduct you. You can also see cars coming in your lane.
• Tell someone where you’ll be and what time you’re supposed to return, or if you will be with someone you don’t know well.
• Don’t overload yourself with packages. If you must have your hands full, visualize how you would respond if approached, how you would get your hands free, etc.
• Don’t wear music headphones while walking or jogging.
• Don’t read while walking or standing on the street.
• If you wear a purse with a shoulder strap, be prepared to let it go if snatched. Otherwise you may be hurt if the mugger knocks you down and drags you while fleeing with your purse.

Miscellaneous Expenses

At a recent new host family orientation, we discussed different ways to handle the little expenses that may come up.  Things like when an au pair takes the kids out for ice cream or picks up a gallon of milk.  Some families keep a cookie jar fund, a little cash that they set aside weekly or monthly for this kind of expenses.  Here are some suggestions for avoiding problems with that.

Host Families

• It’s important to be clear about how long this money should last and what types of expenses are approved.
• Let the au pair know whether or not you expect receipts.

Au Pairs

• Only spend the money on approved expenses.
• If it is something you are not sure about, ask first.
• Put your receipts in the cookie jar in place of the money to avoid any confusion.

Gas and Fare Cards

Host families are responsible for the au pair’s transportation costs:

• to and from classes and cluster meetings
• driving the kids

It is a good idea to figure out how much gas an au pair will use for these trips and either put gas in the car or give a gas allowance.   If your au pair is riding to classes or cluster meetings with another au pair, you should offer to share the cost of gas.

Au pairs are responsible for their own transportation at all other times.  You should replace the amount of gas used for personal use.

As counselors, we come across certain mistakes that people make time and time again.  So, we are going to blog on some of those mistakes and simple solutions to save you the possible headaches and keep your au pair experience positive.

Look for those under the Host Families and Au Pairs tabs.