Tag Archives: water and summer childcare
Water & Summer Safety Cluster Meeting
On Sunday, July 14th Long Island Au Pairs gathered at Community Counselor, Cindy Garruba’s beach house for the annual Water & Summer Safety Meeting. Safe tips on watching children and themselves at pools and the beach was discussed. Also covered was preventing sunburn by using sunscreen, avoiding high sun times of day and proper clothing. They au pairs learned how to recognize poison ivy, preventing exposure, what to do if exposed and the care for the rash. Cindy explained Lyme disease, the difference between a deer and dog tick, the bull’s eye rash, care and treatment.
The au pairs enjoyed time on the beach, each other’s company and even had a yoga class.
We said good byes to au pairs who are heading home soon, and welcomed new au pairs!
Everyone enjoyed an all American dessert in celebration of Flag Day, June 14th! Strawberries and blueberries fresh from the farm stand, whipped cream and pastry shells! Yummy!
Backyard Camp Au Pair in America Animal Safari
Au Pair in America’s at home summer camp for kids and au pairs ANIMAL SAFARI!
Take a look at the great ideas for fun this week:
http://pinterest.com/aupairinamerica/camp-au-pair-animal-safari/
Summer Safety Tips!
Dehydration: The little ones, especially, forget to drink or to tell you that they need to drink. If you find the children not looking well and/or getting cranky toward the afternoon, it might be because they’re tired, or it might be because they’re dehydrated. Remember: By the time a person feels thirsty, he’s already partly dehydrated, so drink to prevent thirst, not to quench it. Common symptoms of dehydration are crankiness, headaches, aches in the joints and weariness. And don’t allow your child to fill up on juice or soft drinks; these are dehydrators. Water or child-appropriate hydrating drinks are best.
However, if you or your child has severe dehydration (dry mouth, sunken eyes, reluctant to drink, unable to pee or cry, high fever, lethargy), call for emergency help and have your child sip an electrolyte-replacement fluid (such as Pedialyte).
Hot Cars: Don’t EVER leave children alone in the car — not even for a moment. Besides the danger of abduction, the temperature in a car can skyrocket in minutes. And, if you see an unattended young child in a vehicle, please call 911, the police or other emergency personnel. Your call could save the child’s life.
Drowning: Always actively supervise children in and around water. Infants and children can drown in bathtubs, swimming pools, ponds or almost any other water. Toddlers aren’t strong enough to lift themselves back out of a toilet, bucket, container or wading pool.
Sun Protection: Children’s skin and eyes are more sensitive to ultraviolet rays. Babies should be protected from direct sun entirely. Toddlers, preschoolers and older children should be covered well in sunscreen (SPF 30 or higher) at least one half hour before going out in the sun. Sunscreen should be reapplied every hour or so, and it should be reapplied after the child has been in water. Don’t forget ears, hands, feet, lips and under the eyes. Also, make sure your child wears a hat and sunglasses when out in the sun for any length of time.
Summer Fun with Kids
What to do when your host kid says, “I’m bored” this summer!
Sometimes, especially with younger children, cries of boredom are really calls for companionship and attention—their friends may be away on vacation and without the structure of school they may find it difficult to keep occupied during long summer days. Prolonged intervals where the kids have nothing to do can be stressful . When bored, children often become whiny, cranky and demanding.
Here are a few easy tips to help au pairs and host parents combat summer boredom and help kids develop the internal resources that are important for developing creative, resource and time management skills:
- Put a weekly calendar together so as not to overwhelm yourself with planning entertainment for an entire summer, just take it one week at a time—day trips, arts and craft activities, play-dates, reading time, nature hikes, picnics, bike rides, a trip to the movie theater etc. This way kids will have something to look forward to during down time. A calendar also helps with getting kids prepared for what comes next.
- Ask: “If you could do anything, what would you like to do?” Try and encourage your children to generate their own ideas for activities—they are more apt to have fun when they thought it up on their own! Reinforcing that children use their imaginations will also help them develop a sense of resourcefulness and get them in the habit of making their own choices about how they will spend their time.
- Keep an “art box” handy full of supplies: scissors, fabric, felt, glue, paints and brushes, stickers, paper, markers, canvass, needle and thread, beads, yarn, picture magazines etc. Rummaging through a box of art supplies can ignite the imagination and occupy children for long periods of time. They could even begin an entrepreneurial enterprise and sell their wares at the end of the summer.
- Inspire them to play with water. Water is very calming and soothing for children and they can while away many hours playing and keeping cool. Get them to wash the car, hose off the deck, or run through a sprinkler. Spend time together at the beach or pool.
4th of July Fun!
Long Island’s 2013 4th of July Guide: Fireworks, Festivities, Food & More!
Long Islanders gather together for some of the largest celebrations in the country. With fast-approaching festivities and fireworks, don’t miss out on the fun – …
June Tips for Host Families and Au Pairs
June is such a busy month for host families and au pairs here in Suffolk County, Long Island. School is still in session, but the kids are busy with lots of fun school activities like field day, school concerts and presentations. Sports are in full swing; lacrosse, Little League, swim team, tennis, horse back riding and so much more keep au pairs and host parents driving kids around and cheering from the sidelines!
Vacation is coming up, school is out on June 22nd! Schedules are changing for au pairs and their host children. Day and sleep away camps for the kids are being planned. Au pairs and host families are planning summer vacations together and separate. New au pairs are arriving every week, and former au pairs are heading home. There are welcome and good bye parties, family BBQs and lots of special days to enjoy!
But with all the excitement comes some stress and a need for au pairs and host families to sit down together, discuss the schedule changes, where and how to fit in vacations and how to manage all the activities for the children. It is very important to continue to have a weekly meeting! Please take time to discuss all the changes so we can all make sure summer here in Suffolk County, Long Island is the best it can be!
It is Strawberry Festival Weekend! June 13 -16!
Au Pairs at Festival
The 59th annual Mattituck Lions Club Strawberry Festival is coming!
Thursday June 13th – |
Friday June 14th |
Summer & Water Safety for Au Pairs
On Sunday, June 2nd Au Pairs from 2 Au Pair in America clusters gathered to learn about water and summer safety to enhance their childcare skills for Suffolk County, Long Island host families! They met at Cindy Garruba’s beach house on the Long Island Sound, enjoyed the beach and some mingling before learning important safety tips!
Reminders about using sunscreen always, identifying poison ivy, tick avoidance and treatment needs, and going to a CPR class. APIA offers scholarships for their Au Pairs who attend Red Cross classes! Former life guard and water safety instructor, Senior Community Counselor, Cindy Garruba led the group on basic water safety tips. Most au pairs will spend some time this summer at their host families’ pools or on one of Long Island’s beautiful beaches. Sometimes with the host children and sometimes just with friends. Water safety is essential for everyone!
The au pairs also worked on a Flag Day Contest being sponsored by Au Pair in America’s Global Awareness Program. They created a poster representing Suffolk County and the countries represented by the Au Pairs here in this area!