When you’re away, you still have to pay: Stipends when your Au Pair isn’t working

Hey All!

With spring break and summer coming, I have received some questions from my host families, regarding if they're away, do they still have to pay the au pair?


Yes, you need to pay your Au Pair for the two weeks you are away, even if she is not technically providing childcare.

The way it works is that you have (already) contracted with her for 50 weeks of childcare and two weeks of paid vacation time…. It isn’t her choice not to work, so she should not bear the brunt of being without a stipend/pocket money during these two weeks.

This may seem a little unfair to you — why should you pay if you don’t get childcare? Well, it’s just like if you schedule a massage but can’t make it– you still have to pay, because you have reserved her time and she can’t ‘sell it’ to someone else. She’s counting on that pocket money.

You might want to encourage your Au Pair to travel during this time, since she does indeed have free time. You could encourage her to stay in your house but explore your area and find new things to do (maybe even new ideas for kid activities). She should take all the day trips she imagines. She could sleep in, give herself a 10-day workout/vacation at the local Y, or watch the entire Seinfeld oeuvre on dvds she checks out from the library. Or, she could watch Minority Report over and over like my husband does when he’s home alone for a weekend.

Alternatively (or maybe combined with this) your au pair might do some of those kid-related things you rarely have time for. Maybe she could reorganize your child’s drawers and wash all the stuffed animals. Take the car to the carwash and get all the Cheerios vacuumed out. Upgrade the stuff in the diaper bag. Try learning to cook three new things — who knows?

She might also keep an eye on your house, plants and pets for you.

Keep in mind, too, that you are also responsible for her ‘room & board’ during this time. That means– you need to leave groceries & grocery money for her. It doesn’t have to be a large sum, but you need to make sure she can continue to eat what you all normally eat, not dine out every day at Ronny Mac’s or indulge herself with Frappucinos for breakfast. Again, it’s not her fault that you won’t be there– she still needs to eat.

Reframe this to be an act of caring, understanding, and a ‘you’re welcome’ for your Au Pair.

It’s your choice not to use her services these two weeks, and it’s the rule that you must pay her stipend and make sure she has food to eat and a warm house to sleep in. While you can’t take extra credit for being generous by following the rules (when that’s expected), you can step up as a good person and good host parent not only by letting it cease to bother you, but also for helping your au pair (and you) use this as an opportunity to relax, rejuvenate, and re-embrace the adventure.


Hope that was helpful,
Julia Stone

Social Activities plan!

Hi There!!
Hope everybody is excited for the Spring!

Well, I Just would like to share the activities planned for the year, so my Au Pair can right it down and make plans to attend!
We already had two this year and we gonna keep having more as our group is growing!

1. January- New Year Party at LAR home (january 1st)
2. February- Las Vegas for Lorruama and Kristina's birthday (Feb 12th)
3. April- Beach day in Huntington Beach (April 9th)
4. Pool bbq at LAR home (June 4th)
5. Starbucks catching up (August 6th)
6.Halloween (Oct 29th)
7. Thanksgiving celebration

For more information about Go Au Pair go to www.goaupair.com

Vegas

Hi There!

We celebrated Lorruama's and Kristina's birthdays in Las Vegas few weeks ago!

Me and another host mom, took the Au Pair from my cluster to Hard Rock Hotel and a clubbing celebration! We had a blast!

As a LAR, I promote meetings with my au pairs every other month (sometimes more than once a month)!

If you wanna know more about Go Au Pair go to: www.goaupair.com

Happy New Year

Happy New Year!!!

Again, my Au Pairs were invited to celebrate the new year with at my house!

We had a blast!!

We wish everybody a wonderful 2011!!



Kristina, Lorruama, Me, Nikki and Xanda (who is on Gina's Cluster)

Christmas

Merry Xmas everybody!!!!

Holydays away from home can be really hard. A lot of Au Pairs get homesick during this season. That's why is important to talk with our Host Families about it, keep they aware for possible homesick.

This year, I was happy to have one of my Au Pair and her sister at my house fot Christmas. All of my girls are always invited!

Here's a pic!

Host Mom Bday

Will.I.Am, Me, Carol and Lorruama (Au Pair from Brazil)

Hi there!

I haven't been posting lately, so busy working on my Master's!
Last week we celebrated Carol's, one of my Host Mom's birthday. We went to Drais and met Will.I.Am from Black Eyed Peas, some of other Au Pairs came too.

It was a great opportunity to hang out with the Host family and au pairs and Au Pairs, making a nice meeting!

Au Pair responsabilities

Responsibilities beyond childcare…

Hi there,
Many people ask me about what;s the Au Pair's responsabilities around the house, so here it is:

While the primary responsibility of Au Pairs is to care for your children, Au Pairs can also help with “light household chores”. Beyond an expectation for a program that is focused on childcare, it is also a U.S. Department of State regulation that host families abide by when joining the program. Let’s define what “light household chores” are and what tasks au pairs can or can’t do.

An Au Pair can:


■Pack up the children’s school bags in the morning
■Empty the dishwasher
■Help to take the trash out
■Prepare meals (breakfast, lunch (boxes), snacks and help with dinners if they are still on duty)
■Pick up and sweep main family area after meals or play
■Pick up toys, organize the children’s belongings and keeping main areas clean
■Wash/ dry/ put away the children’s laundry
■Drive the children to different activites, to/ from school
■Help with anything related to the children during their assigned working hours


An Au Pair can not:

■Clean the whole house
■Scrub the toilets/ clean all the bathrooms
■Provide house maintenance or make repairs
■Wash the parent’s laundry or clean/ pick up their room
■Be the chef and be responsible for all meals, and not beyond their working hours
■Be the maid… they main focus is childcare
■Work beyond the 45 hours per week/ 10 hours per day, which include both childcare and chores

However, as a part of the family, Au Pairs are expected to also help according to the common sense of a good “roommate”. So for example, if they are off duty but eat dinner with your family, they will help you and the kids getting the table ready and putting the dishes away.
Additionally, they are also responsible for cleaning their own room (and bathroom if they have their own), washing their own linens, clothes, shopping for their own toiletries, etc.