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Childcare International Style
Is Au Pair Care Right for Your Family?
By Tracy B. McGinnis
The U.S. Department of State regulations state that au pairs can provide childcare services for up to 12 months limited to 10 hours per day with a maximum of 45 hours per week. Regulations also state that au pairs cannot be placed with an infant younger than 3 months old unless there is a parent/adult home and if the child is younger than 2, the au pair must complete 200 hours of documented infant child care experience unless prior training has been documented and reviewed.
"Regulations require that the host family personally interview possible au pairs by phone and have at least two conversations prior to accepting an au pair match," says Dearing. These interviews provide host families opportunities to discuss the au pair's responsibilities, which may vary with each sponsor agency, including meal preparation, playing with or supervising children, laundry and driving responsibilities, among others.
Host families also must meet certain criteria. They must be U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents, be fluent in English and provide a private bedroom for the au pair, auto insurance and $500 toward educational expenses at a U.S. post secondary institution in addition to a weekly stipend, vacation time, program and application fees.
"The host family must also have the willingness to accept au pairs as members of their families and not domestic servants," says Dearing.
Aside from exposing your children to new cultures with au pairs, Kaplan and Dearing believe there are many advantages to having an au pair versus other types of childcare. "The best advantages of au pair care include one-on-one childcare, a flexible schedule, no daycare late fees and having your au pair become part of your extended family," says Kaplan.
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Is Au Pair Care Right for Your Family? by kj247 on 11/08/2009 04:02PM
I have been a host mom & Local Childcare Coordinator with Cultural Care Au Pair for 5 years and have hosted au pairs from around the world. We have tried daycare & au pairs and would say that the au pair program is the way to go! As full time working parents, not only is it affordable for us, we truly enjoy live-in childcare and the flexibility of the au pair hours, as we set our own hours which include weekend, nights and several date nights a month. Also the cultural experience that my children receive is wonderful%u2026..my children get a %u201Cnew big sister%u201D to play with and they get to learn a language! I don't believe having an au pair is the answer for every family as each family is unique in their needs and desires for childcare and they need to assess their situation. But for our family having an au pair has been the best & rewarding option.
Is Au Pair Care Right for Your Family? by tmaskew on 11/05/2009 01:08PM
We have been with Cultural Care Au Pair through 4 au pairs and absolutely love the program and the benefits that the cultural exchange brings to our kids and the whole family. We do not plan to go back to outside child care.
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Is Au Pair Care Right for Your Family? by Jenn on 11/09/2009 10:57AM
I love the au pair program. We have been with Cultural Care Au Pair for 4 years. They have always found the right match for our family! We have been so lucky to have had such great childcare. My kids love our au pairs.