Category Archives: Au Pair Tips

Making Safe Decisions

It’s always important to make safe decisions, even as an adult.

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Alcohol

It is illegal to drink alcohol in the United States if you are under 21

Using a fake ID is illegal.  You can be arrested for using a fake ID.

Drinking and driving is extremely dangerous. It puts lives at risk.  You should NEVER drink and drive.

Be a good friend and don’t let your friends drink and drive.  Take turns being the designated driver to keep you and your friends safe.

Do not risk ending your participation on the program by drinking underage, it is not worth it!

 Drugs

APIA is a drug free program, use of drugs is not allowed.

Even though Marijuana use is legal with restrictions in some states, it is still not allowed on our program.

Au pairs caught smoking marijuana or in possession of marijuana are not allowed to remain on the program.

Driving

Make sure you have a clear understanding of the car use rules and where you are allowed to take the car.

Be careful at night, park in well-lit safe places, avoid empty looking parking lots and indoor garages.

Do not use your phone or any electronic devices while driving, and never text and drive.

Let your host family and I know immediately if you get into an accident so we can help you.

We advise all au pairs to get an American driver’s license, it is the most commonly used form of ID in the USA. Here in the Virginia Beach area, there are police officers who do not recognize an International Driver’s license (even though it is legal to drive with one, and they should recognize them). If you are pulled over and the officer doesn’t recognize the license, for whatever reason, you will be detained until the situation is sorted out – even though it is legal to drive with an international license! Make things easy for yourself and get a Virginia license.

House Rules

Sometimes you may be home alone. Talk about the house rules with your host parents.

Talk about having friends over and find out what is allowed. Talk about overnight guests and male guests.

If you are over 21, talk to your host family about their house rules regarding alcohol use.  Do not offer alcohol or buy alcohol for anyone who is under 21.

Social Media

Be sensible and safe about pictures you share on phones and on social media, nothing is private!

Do not share any personal information such as your address or phone number on social media.

Never give your social security number over the phone, in a text or on social media.

Be very cautious about texts/messages/pictures you send on a phone ~ you never know who might see them.

Always ask your host family for permission before posting pictures of the children on any social media site.

Be smart, be safe, and have a great year!

Au Pair Webinars for February 2016

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Are you interested in joining an au pair webinar this month? All au pairs with Au Pair in America are able to register for any or all of these webinars, free of charge! (Please note, these webinars are not for au pairs with other agencies or for host families)

Tuesday, Feb. 2 9:30 P.M. EDT  100 Activities You Can do with School Age Children
Tuesday, Feb. 9 9:30 P.M. EDT   Homesickness and Culture Shock: Making it Through
Monday, Feb. 15 9:30 P.M. EDT  Managing Play with More Than One Child
Thursday, Feb. 18 9:30 P.M. EDT  American Kids at Play: Why It Is Important and What You Can Do
Tuesday, Feb. 23 9:30 P.M. EDT  Travel Tips for Au Pairs
Monday, Feb. 29 9:30 P.M. EDT Visitors from Home? Making it Work for You, Your Host Family and Your Guests

What to Do After an Accident

cygnus921 (Flickr)

cygnus921 (Flickr)

Having a car accident is a very upsetting, stressful situation. Being prepared and knowing what to do can make things a little bit easier. Make sure you know which host parent to call in case of an accident.

Make sure you have all the necessary documents in your car glove box. Read this post on What to Keep in the Car Glove Box for a detailed list.

If you have an accident: (from Edmunds.com)

  1. Keep Safety First. Drivers involved in minor accidents with no serious injuries should move cars to the side of the road and out of the way of oncoming traffic. Leaving cars parked in the middle of the road or busy intersection can result in additional accidents and injuries. If a car cannot be moved, drivers and passengers should remain in the cars with seatbelts fastened for everyone’s safety until help arrives. Make sure to turn on hazard lights and set out cones, flares or warning triangles if possible.
  2. Exchange Information. After the accident, exchange the following information: name, address, phone number, insurance company, policy number, driver license number and license plate number for the driver and the owner of each vehicle. If the driver’s name is different from the name of the insured, establish what the relationship is and take down the name and address for each individual. Also make a written description of each car, including year, make, model and color — and the exact location of the collision and how it happened. Finally, be polite but don’t tell the other drivers or the police that the accident was your fault, even if you think it was.
  3. Photograph and Document the Accident. Use your camera to document the damage to all the vehicles. Keep in mind that you want your photos to show the overall context of the accident so that you can make your case to a claims adjuster. If there were witnesses, try to get their contact information; they may be able to help you if the other drivers dispute your version of what happened.

Hints for Success – Homesickness / Culture Shock

 

Photo by: Shimelle Laine (Flickr)

Photo by: Shimelle Laine (Flickr)

Almost everyone experiences culture shock when they come to a completely new environment. Everything is different: the language, the food, and the people.

Here are my Top 5 Tips for
Dealing with Homesickness

1. Make Friends – Don’t wait for other au pairs to reach out to you, reach out to them. There are other lots of new au pairs who are feeling the same way you are right now. Set a goal to reach out to a few of them each day. Some will respond and some will not. Don’t let that discourage you. No one will ever be mad at you for sending them a message to say hello or ask if they want to do something together. Make friends from various countries and you will also get a chance to practice your English skills together.

2. Stay in touch with your home country, but not too much. Skyping or talking on the phone every day with your family and/or friends back home normally makes homesickness worse. Try emailing instead and reduce the Skype and phone calls to once a week, until you feel stronger. It’s much harder seeing the faces and hearing the voices of those you miss.

3. Get out of the house (or your room specifically) – Go to cluster meetings, have coffee or movies with other au pairs, join a gym, go to the library, go for a walk, visit the mall, get a manicure, visit a museum. If someone invites you out, say “yes.” Also, don’t be afraid to do the inviting. If your host family invites you to do things with them, say “yes.” This will help you get to know each other and contribute to your overall happiness.

4. Realize that it definitely gets better – All au pairs experience homesickness and nearly all of them stay and have a successful year (some stay for two years.) So, it must get better, right? Once you get past the initial homesickness, most au pairs report how quickly the year goes by.

5. Make Plans – Create your own Au Pair Bucket List (places you want to go, new foods to try, new things to experience during your year in the U.S.) and start doing them now. Post on our cluster Facebook group to find others who may want to join you on your adventures.

Going Unplugged During Work Hours

Au Pairs – Imagine for a moment that you went to the hospital and you were in the care of doctors and nurses.  How would you feel if those doctors and nurses who were there to care for you were more interested in texting or using their personal computer than caring for you?  How would that make you feel, about yourself and about them?  Would you think that you were getting the treatment you deserved?  Would you feel like paying the bill after your stay?

Life as an au pair, it is a fine balance between employee and family member. You live with your host family and participate with them as a member of the family, but you also have clear responsibilities as a childcare provider. Being a childcare provider is truly one of the most important jobs I can think of, because you are helping to shape our next generation.  What message are you sending them when you would rather interact with a computer than with them? How will they feel about themselves and about you? Children feel as though everything is about them. They will see this as a rejection of them and they will be more likely to act out.

It also poses a safety concern when you are not paying enough attention to the children in your care.  Accidents happen, but when an adult care giver is close by and appropriately supervising the chances of a major injury dramatically reduce.

During work hours, the following would not be considered acceptable:
-Texting
-Talking to friends on the phone
-Chatting with friends online
-Using Skype or FaceTime
-IMing
-Emailing
-Updating your status on Facebook
-Using Snapchat, WhatsApp or any other app or social media site
-Watching videos on YouTube
-Tweeting on Twitter
-Uploading photos on Instagram
-Anything else on the computer unless it is going to Nickjr.com together with your host children

Think about this — even if you work 45 hours a week, that leaves you 123 hours per week for all of that other stuff, or about 70 hours (if you are getting the recommended 7-8 hours of sleep per night.)

Host Parents – You need to be clear about what you consider acceptable during work hours to avoid misunderstandings.  Also, please understand that you are dealing with a new generation of people who are very accustomed to being plugged in at all times.  Their intention is not to be rude, they don’t necessarily realize how their actions will be perceived.  Please use this information as an opportunity to begin a dialogue on the issue.

Summer Reading in Hampton Roads

Hey au pairs!

I think most host parents will agree that they want their kids to keep reading over the summer. It’s a good way to keep their minds active and engaged, as well as keeping them out of trouble for a little while. If you want to know what summer reading programs are available to “your” kids this summer, click here for information about summer reading programs all over Hampton Roads.

Summer Programs At First Landing State Park

There are lots of activities happening at First Landing State Park (near Oceanfront in Virginia Beach) from Memorial Day through Labor Day. This is definitely something to check out! Thanks to www.myactivechild.com for posting this! Click here to get more information about the individual programs.

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Au Pair Webinars

Are you interested in learning more about a particular topic of interest to au pairs? Take a look at the list of webinars that Au Pair in America offers to its au pairs. They’re free!

www.aupairinamerica.com%2Fapwebinars&h=hAQGurp80