Au Pair Saves Babies' Life

It's always heart warming to hear of heroic acts, especially when it's a child that was protected from danger by someone who demonstrates that they truly love that child.  And when it's your childcare provider, you know you have a a gem when they put your children's best interest before their own.

A Colombian au pair in Philadelphia recently saved the life of one of the 8 month old twins she was caring for when she put herself in the way of a distracted driver in a moving van to protect the child from the impact.  This story illustrates the true purpose of the Au Pair program, which is to create strong relationships between families in the U.S. and Au Pairs from abroad.

Read more about this at  http://www.goaupair.com/Host-Families/Blog/News/Go-Au-Pair-Au-Pair-Saves-Baby-s-Life.aspx and also at http://goaupairphiladelphia.wordpress.com/2012/05/19/au-pairs-from-go-au-pair/.

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope you are all enjoying your Memorial Day!  Au Pairs--if you are still looking for something to do today, simply do a search in your city for Memorial Day Activities, you'll find a lot of ideas of things to do.

Here's an example of just one thing I found when I did a search on "Memorial Day Activities in Chicago".

It's a great opportunity to see your city, meet new people and experience a little bit of the American culture.

Have fun, and be safe!

Go Au Pair Holiday Hours

In observance of Memorial Day, Go Au Pair will be closed Monday, May 28th.  They will re-open on Tuesday, May 29th.  As always, Host Families and Au Pairs can still contact their Local Area Representative over the holdiay weekend.

Healthy Summer Snacks for Kids

Au pairs--school is almost out, which means that the children will be home from school and you will be responsible for feeding them a lot more while in your care.  It is important that you work closely with your host family to ensure that you are feeding the children a healthy, balanced diet.  Too much sugar, or empty calorie snacks are unhealthy and can cause children to feel moody, a lack of energy, or have a stomach ache.

Here's an article I found that can give you some ideas of healthy snacks to feed the children.

Some of the snacks I like to give my children are fruits (such as watermelon, pineapple, grapes, strawberries, and blueberries), vegetables (carrots, celery, broccoli, and tomatoes), raisins, string cheese, yogurt (my children really like Gogurt, try freezing them, it's like having a creamy popcicle), whole grain cereal (my son loves multi-grain Cheerios), or a banana shake (just blend milk and a ripe banana in the blender).

The Upcoming Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day was originally a day when people remembered those men who died in our nation's service.  Eventually it became a day where any loved ones are remembered. Many people take the day to visit the grave sites of their loved ones who have passed away.

Memorial Day has a also become known to many people as the first "official" weekend of summer.  It's when many swimming pools open, people go on their first summer camp-out, and the grill is fired up.  For many au pairs, this is their first time celebrating Memorial Day.  If they have been in the US for a while, they may have already made plans with friends they have made here.  But if they are new in the US, they may not have any plans and may be a little confused as to what they should do on their day off.

Host families--here's your chance to share your culture with your au pair!  Invite her to join you in your festivities or celebrations, or give her ideas as to what she can do to enjoy the weekend along with the rest of the country.

Water Safety

Here in Arizona we are always hearing about the importance of water safety.  This is due to the number of private swimming pools around.  Even the weather man finishes each forecast with "...and please watch your children around water."  Because this is something always on my mind with my children, I thought I'd post some water safety tips for both parents and au pairs to keep in mind.  I selected these few tips from the Kids Health website (they use all water scenarios including beaches, pools, water parks, etc.)--visit this link to see all of their tips.

1.  Always have an adult watching the children when they are in or near the pool, beach, lake, etc.
2.  Always obey pool/beach, etc rules
3.  Make sure swimming devices are Coast Guard approved
4.  Make sure you and the kids drink plenty of water so you don't get dehydrated
5.  Use sunscreen
6.  Don't swim in the dark
7.  Learn to swim...(my own note:  It's always a good idea for children to have had swim lessons.  Weather they are great swimmers or not, it is important that if they fall in, they be able to back to the edge.  Also, be aware of each child's swimming abilities--it's important to know what kind of assistance or care they need while in the water).

Also, there is a website you should check out that has some interactive videos, coloring pages, etc on water safety.  Making the children aware of the importance of water safety helps prevent accidents.

A Summer of Swimming

With summer just around the corner, many of us are gearing up for the next three months of non-stop pool and beach time.  If you have an au pair, it's most likely going to be one of her major responsibilities--watch and care for the kids around water.  So, you most likely chose an au pair who is a swimmer.

91% of Go Au Pair's au pair applicants know how to swim.  Which brings great peace of minds to the host parents who want their children to enjoy themselves, but want to be sure they are being cared for by someone who can swim with them and help them when needed.
 
If you are still searching for an au pair, and she is going to be arriving during the summer months, be sure to check her application to see if she is a swimmer.  It's a great topic of conversation when you interview her as well, to see how comfortable she is around water.