Category Archives: Safety and Childcare

Au Pair in America Partners with AAA

AAA

The most trusted choice for live-in childcare, Au Pair in America has partnered with AAA, the nation’s most trusted name in driver safety and instruction, to offer a custom course specifically designed for au pairs. This course differs from those offered in your community, in that AAA has taken the best of several of their courses, adapted them to be the most accessible to the au pair population, with special focus on driver and child passenger safety.  Key components of the course include:

  • Driver Safety
  • Child passenger safety (car seats, communication, expectations)
  • Communication and traffic devices
  • Vehicle Awareness (understanding what your vehicle is “telling you.”)
  • Reducing Risks while Driving (includes defensive driving techniques, phone/texting issues, and drinking and driving awareness)

kids-car-safety-toddler

This  AAA course designed exclusively for Au Pair In America.  Course includes a combination of lecture, group exercises, video/other media to ensure the maximum understanding to speakers of other languages or newly arrived to the US participants.

 

  young-woman-driving

 

All Host Families with au pairs arriving into the USA in 2011 will receive more information about this new course and how their au pair can be enrolled!

Winter Fun For Au Pairs and Host Children

winter is fun

ABC’s of Winter Fun

A is for Art – try drawing, painting or gluing
B is for Baking – bake a dessert together for dinner
C is for Clay – Use non-hardening clay or play dough to shape and mold
D is for Dance – put on a lively tape
E is for Exercise – be sure to get some everyday
F is for Friends – invite some over
G is for Greenhouse – find a local greenhouse to visit to enjoy the sights and smells
H is for House – make a playhouse from a large appliance box
I is for Ice skating – take the children to a local rink
J is for Jigsaw puzzle – be sure to pick one that isn’t too difficult
K is for Kitchen science – try a safe experiment

tea partyL is for Library – borrow some new books
M is for Movie – make one with a video camera, or watch one
N is for Necklace – make one out of cereal or macaroni
O is for Origami – learn to make simple paper creations
P is for Puppets – socks make easy and fun puppets – put on a show!
Q is for Quiet Time – everyone needs some of this
R is for Reading aloud – choose a good book and a comfortable place to sit
S is for Seeds and Suet – put out food for the birds and watch them eat
T is for Tent – make one from old blankets and chairs
U is for Unplugged – do a day with no TV
V is for Variety – try something new everyday
W is for Walk – take one in any weather (be sure to dress appropriately)
winter playingX is for Xylophone – make your own with glasses, water and a metal spoon
Y is for Year – make a calendar or scrapbook to remember the year
Z is for Zoo – play zoo, pretend to be animals in the zoo, what noises do they make?

indoor playtime

Back to School and Routine

APIA Suffolk Au Pairs meeting in September was standing room only!!  Cindy Garruba, Senior Community Counselor, led the au pairs discussion of getting the children they care for back into routine for the school year.  The discussion including communication between the school and home through the backpack.  The backpack is the way notices, homework, classwork, and anything the student needs goes to and from school.  Also discussed was minimizing morning madness on school days.  We also discussed the healthy way to sneeze and cough to avoid spreading germs, not in the hand, but in the sleeve!!

After the discussion, we discussed lots of upcoming fall activities including the Annual NYC Scavenger Hunt for NY APIA Au Pairs.  Dessert, conversation, and a chance to meet the newest au pairs were a highlight of this fun and informative meeting.

Au Pairs Summer and Water Safety Training

Each June Community Counselor Cindy Garruba teaches a cluster meeting to prepare her Au Pairs for the Long Island Summer Childcare.  All of the Suffolk County Au Pair in America Au Pairs will spend time at a beach or pool with their host children.  It is important that they learn water safety and prevention of drowning.  An experienced former Red Cross Lifeguard and Swim Instructor, Cindy stresses safety tips from her years of experience growing up along the Long Island Sound Shore. 

Cindy also does training on sunscreen and sunburn prevention, basic first aid for cuts and scrapes, poison ivy identification and treatments, identification of ticks, lyme disease symptons, rashes, prevention and treatment recommendations. 

This training is essential for a safe and fun summer in Suffolk County Long Island, NY.

Smmer Safety meeting at Cindy's Beach house

Smmer Safety meeting at Cindy's Beach house