As you and your family prepare to beat the heat with a day at the pool this summer, don’t forget to stay safe! Learn all about staying safe at the pool or lake at Water Safety Day, happening Friday, May 31, from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. The free swimming event will take place at the Gaithersburg Water Park, 512 S. Frederick Ave., Gaithersburg. Presentations will be available every 30 minutes on such topics as drowning prevention, proper use of life jackets, water rescue skills, skin cancer prevention and even swim lesson evaluations. Food will be available for purchase. The event is co-sponsored by the City of Rockville, the City of Gaithersburg and Montgomery County
Victoria will be there from 330-4pm
In any case, if your Au Pair will be caring for children at your home pool or at a public pool, PLEASE print out this form and go over it with your Au Pair: http://www.redcross.org/prepare/disaster/water-safety
Also, here is a great video to watch with your Au Pair and family.
Too often, firefighters hear people say, “I just looked away for a few seconds.” Unfortunately, just a few seconds is all it takes for a child to drown.
Most of these children drown in their own backyard swimming pool, but others drown in buckets, bathtubs, toilets, dog water bowls, canals and ponds. Small children are top-heavy, and they don’t have the upper body strength to lift themselves out of one of these dangerous situations. Even if the child survives the incident, they are often left with permanent brain damage.
Drowning and near drowning can be prevented, and you can help! Anyone involved with the supervision of children needs to be aware of the dangers associated with any body of water. Below are some useful tips to prevent these needless tragedies.
- Know where your children are at all times
- Use an approved barrier to separate the pool from the house
- Never allow children to be alone near a pool or any water source ladders away from pool fences
- Post the 9-1-1 number on the phone
- Do not allow children to play around the pool and store all toys outside the pool area
- If you leave the pool area, take the children with you
- Always have a “designated child watcher”
- Learn to swim
- Never swim alone, or while under the influence of alcohol or medications
- Never swim when thunder or lightning is present
- Never dive into unfamiliar or shallow bodies of water
Certainly my absolute favorite over apple pie!
p music. A DVD of the “yearbook” was in a goody bag at each place setting. The highlight of the evening was the Award Ceremony in which Victoria presented each Au Pair with a certificate congratulating her for an exceptional skill indicated by her Host Parents. This was a surprise to all the Au Pairs who were touched and amused by the nominations: Most Conscientious Au Pair, Best Crepe Maker, The Best Teacher, The Best Lego Builder, The Best Mind Reader of Her Host Mom’s Needs, The Most Responsible and Organized Au Pair etc. 
The final award was given to Jasmin from Austria who had earned the title of top three Au Pairs nationwide for 2013 by Au Pair in America Headquarters and went on to compete in the International Au Pair Association’s Au Pair of the Year competition. The nomination was unusual in that it was for both Jasmin and her sister Verena (who had been the Host Family’s Au Pair last year). The unusual combined nomination submission was about these two amazing young women who over 2+ years supported, loved and assisted the Host Family during the illness and subsequent passing of
their wonderful Host Dad.
any Au Pairs spoke to Silga afterward about finding local classes to continue in their practice both for relaxation and health.
Most Americans remember where they were the moment the planes hit the twin towers, the pentagon and went down in the field in Pennsylvania. I remember the au pairs who were in my cluster at that time – September 2001.