Tag Archives: au pairs

Handling Expenses

Host parents often ask for suggestions on how best to handle common expenses that occur as au pairs are caring for the children.

Miscellaneous Expenses

There are different ways to handle the little day to day expenses that 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 these types of expenses. Others give their au pair a prepaid debit card for this purpose. Below are some suggestions for avoiding problems with expenses.

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, cluster meetings and when 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.

Photo: Andrea Travillian

30 Hours of Service Update – Sending Smiles

Back in May, we announced that our cluster would be celebrating Au Pair in America’s 30th anniversary year with 30 Hours of Service in 2016. We are counting the time preparing for and carrying out the volunteer projects.

We have done these project so far:
April 10 – Making Sandwiches for the Homeless (5 hours of service)
July 31 – J-Day Shoe Donation (3 hours)
August 9 – Storm Drain Project (6 hours)
September – Preparing for International Festival (4 hours)

And at our November 27 cluster meeting – Making cards for Sending Smiles (2 hours)

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Still to come:
December – Holiday Global Awareness presentation for Cub Scouts, buying and wrapping gifts for needy kids, making scarves and volunteering at a school Santa shop.

Celebrating APIA’s 30th Anniversary with Service

Au Pair in America launched the first U.S. au pair program in 1986. We are celebrating our 30th anniversary this year. Lisa and I discussed ways to celebrate this momentous occasion and came up with a plan for our cluster to carry out 30 Hours of Service in 2016.

Au pairs always enjoy opportunities to take part in service projects. We normally do one or two projects each year as a cluster. This year we are stepping up our game. We are looking for ways to volunteer in a variety of different types of charities (benefitting the homeless, children, animals, the environment, etc.) We will post updates as our projects continue. So, check back to see what we can do when we work together.

We have done one project so far:

April 10 – Making Sandwiches for the Homeless (5 hours of service)

 

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How are we counting the 30 hours?

We are counting the time our group works on the project together (making sandwiches 1 1/2 hours), time preparing for event and purchasing supplies (2 hours) and time delivering them to DC Central Kitchen (1 1/2 hours.)

 

 

Car Seat Safety is a Shared Responsibility

In MD, DC & VA the laws state that children under age 8 must be secured in a car seat or booster seat that is appropriate for their age, weight and height. Children over age 8 must be properly secured in a vehicle seat belt. (That is more lax than best practice recommendations which suggest children ride in a booster seat until they fit safely into a vehicle seat belt and their feet touch the vehicle floor. This will vary by child and vehicle more than age.)

Car seats and booster seats save lives, there is no doubt about it. But, just having the car seat in the car is not enough.  Car seats and booster seats can only save lives if they are properly installed and used.

Host Parents

  • It is your responsibility to show the au pair how to properly use your car seats and/or booster seats.
  • If you expect her to change seats to different vehicles, show her how to install them properly.
  • If you do not want her to remove and re-install car seats, make that expectation clear.
  • Even if the au pair has a separate car that she is the only one driving the kids in, please check the installation of the seats periodically.

Au Pairs

  • You are responsible for making sure that you understand how to buckle the children safely in their seats and be sure that they are safely buckled in every time you take them in the car with you.
  • The car should not move unless everyone is buckled.
  • Make it a habit to check the seats each time you put the children in to see that the seat is secure and not too loose.
  • If the seat is not working properly or you cannot figure out how to get it tight, ask your host parents as soon as possible.
  • If your host parents have asked you not to remove the car seat(s), please follow that rule.
  • If you need to remove the seat for some reason, ask them for help putting the seat back in.

If you need help installing car seats, find a car seat inspection station near you: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/cps/cpsfitting/index.cfm