The Buzz, Cultural Care Au Pair Blog

Cultural Care office staff aiming to "Reach the Beach" for Kids First this weekend

Fri, 18 May 2012 10:19:39 -0400

Can you tell? Cultural Care staff members in Cambridge, MA are super excited to participate in the Massachusetts Reach the Beach relay.

The staff in Cultural Care Au Pair’s Cambridge office have been brainstorming a lot this year to come up with fundraising ideas for Kids First, our non-profit organization whose mission is to better the lives of children in need. Lately we’ve felt outdone by hugely successful bake sales in our overseas offices (we are talking HUNDREDS of dollars raised from the sale of homemade goodies!) and the Au Pair Training School in NY whose staff announced at the beginning of this year that they had raised over $10,000 for the kids.

Because there’s been a bit a fitness kick going on around here, we were able to round up a 12-member team that is at this very moment participating in the “Reach the Beach” relay race. The race began this morning at 9am and continues until tomorrow morning, beginning at the Mount Wachusett Ski Area and finishing at Horseneck Beach State Reservation in Westport, MA. In total, our group of runners will cover 200 miles, and it usually takes about 30-35 hours in total. Our runners have been going out together for training runs over the past few weeks and felt ready to tackle this huge challenge when they left last night.

The runners have encouraged others to consider making a donation in the following amounts to Kids First:

$200.00 in recognition for the 200 miles they will run in two days
$178.00 for our team’s bib number, Cultural Care is Team 178
$126.00 for the number of times they have been asked if they are crazy for doing this
$77.00 for the number of times they will tell each other along the route that we are crazy for doing this
$36.00 in recognition of the 36 legs of the race
$30.00 in acknowledgment of the 30 hours they will be running
$26.00 for the number of muscles in each of their legs that will be like jelly (Yes, there are 13 muscles in each leg – 4 anteriorly, 2 laterally and 7 posteriorly. There, you learned something today.)
$12.00 in honor of the 12 runners on our team
$6.00 for the 6 extra-strength Aleve they will take per day
$5.00 for the number of coffees their drivers will each need to drink to stay awake
$4.00 in honor of their four drivers: Ashley, Jen, Meg and Natalie
$3.71 for a gallon of gas along the route
$2.00 in recognition of the two vans that will carry our team from the mountains to the beach
$.99 for an iTunes song to motivate the runners

There’s still time to make a donation in recognition of our runners. Otherwise, please wish them all a safe and successful race!

Culture Corner: Au pairs talk politics with American locals

Wed, 16 May 2012 09:36:28 -0400

Angela Fleet, a local childcare coordinator for Cultural Care Au Pair in the Seattle area, decided to host her most recent au pair meeting in Green Lake Park. The park, which is one of the cities most beloved green spaces, includes a path around its lake—the perfect place for au pairs to convene and catch up with their peers and with Angela.

Says Angela, “It’s an active and lively place and filled with characters, including Leonardo.” Leonardo happens to be a staple at Green Lake, as he offers walking Spanish lessons to the locals. “I thought the girls would like to meet our famous Greenlake Walking Spanish Teacher, so we said hello and struck up a conversation. He loves meeting ladies! In fact, one time I stopped to get his card (because I really want to learn Spanish) and he had lipstick on his cheek!

Leonardo very much enjoyed the conversation with Angela’s group of au pairs, and in particular his chat about Hugo Chávez with au pair Yveth from Venezuela. Angela reveals, “From this interaction with Leonardo I learned that Yveth said she would probably extend one year if Chavez is reelected, but if not she would go home!”

It must be a thrill for au pairs to hear people speaking in their native language during their time in the U.S. Au pairs: have you engaged in conversations like this while out and about in your community? Do you often hear your native tongue spoken in the U.S.? The encounter of Leonardo and Cultural Care au pairs in Seattle is a great example of how our program breaks down cultural barriers!

Top 5 tips for handling your au pair’s curfew

Tue, 15 May 2012 11:14:00 -0400

Lots of host parents wonder about setting a curfew for their au pair since it’s their first time thinking about a curfew since they had one themselves. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Bring up the topic during the interview process. Ask the candidate if she has a curfew and what time she needs to be home and how she feels about having one in theU.S.

2. Explain to your au pair why a curfew exists – it is important for her to be well rested and prepared for her child care responsibilities.

3. When determining a curfew, keep in mind her age. If she is on the younger side, an earlier curfew might make sense. If she is older, she might need a little more freedom.

4. Consider a reverse curfew – setting a curfew a certain number of hours before she starts the next day.

5. Think about where you live – if there are lots of activities in your area that don’t start until late, you might need to set a later curfew.

For more advice on setting a curfew for your au pair, watch my Au Pair Answer Mom video on the topic.

Au pair flash mob gains momentum with 4,028 Facebook fans!

Wed, 09 May 2012 16:12:10 -0400

Annika Jung, a Cultural Care au pair from Germany wanted her au pair year in the U.S. to be special. And one of the special adventures she sought out upon her arrival was participating in a flash mob. I interviewed Annika to find out how the au pair flash mob—scheduled to take place on June 16, 2012—was created and how the flash mob will play out across the country on that special day!

How did you get the idea to start the flash mob?
As I searched for special adventures in the USA, I also searched for flash mobs in my area, but couldn’t find something I could be part of. Until I had the idea [to create my own], in January this year, because of the immense number of au pairs in the USA. I used Facebook as a platform to contact some au pairs and try to figure out how much interest there would be. I opened a group and invited my au pair friends. Overnight, this group went up to 1,000 members. I never expected that so many au pairs would be interested. And now, after almost 5 months, the group raised to almost 4,000 members. An unbelievable number of au pairs.

How many people total will be involved?
Right now we know that 600 au pairs will participate in the flash mob and everyday it´s growing. We have 12 states in which it will definitely be happening and some more potential states.

How did you organize such a large group? How can others get involved?
The Organization Team worked hard and got the permission for a song and made up a choreography for the flash mob. And we created a matching t-shirt, everyone could wear at the dance (but not mandatory). There is still time to:

Become a fan on Facebook and learn more

Order a t-shirt

Visit the official flash mob

Learn the dance on YouTube

Have you ever been in a flash mob before?
I had once been a part of a small flash mob in a television show in Germany. The audience did this dance for the end of the show. I always wanted to be part of a flash mob, because it´s amazing what kind of impression, the same dance done by a group of people, can have. And how people come together, and have fun, no matter which grade of dancing potential you got, you can be part of it. A flash mob for me catches some magic moments for those ones who participate and those ones who watch it.

What is the purpose of this event?
This event is first of all, from au pairs for au pairs. It should be an incredible memory of their year as an au pair. The Organization Team also decided that we want to help Kids First to raise awareness and maybe some donations to help kids all over the world. We, au pairs are working for kids and try to help to make every child happier.

Anything else you want to add?
We need every single au pair to be part of it—no matter where you are or which agency, we need you. If this is going to be great, we will definitely organize a second one.

Good luck to Annika and the rest of the au pairs across the country who will be a part of this amazing event!

Top 10 ways an au pair can help a military family

Tue, 08 May 2012 11:00:29 -0400

In honor of Military Appreciation Month, our military host families and the au pairs who provide childcare to families in the military, here are not 5 but 10 ways an au pair can help a military family.

Quality childcare

All au pairs are carefully screened and trained and families receive attentive year-round support from local childcare coordinators. Cultural Care Au Pair goes above and beyond the strict guidelines that regulate the au pair program set by the U.S. Department of State.

Extra pair of hands

An au pair can provide extra help in the home in addition to childcare. Assistance with light household duties, homework help, and driving to children’s activities is particularly helpful following a spouse’s deployment.

Flexible scheduling

The flexibility of the au pair program allows families with unpredictable work schedules and non-traditional hours to set a schedule that works for them.

Assistance with moving

Having an extra set of hands gives parents additional time, energy and freedom for packing, organizing and all the logistics involved in getting ready for a move.

Help settling in

When everything else is changing – home, school, friends, job – having consistent childcare can make the transition to a new place smoother for everyone.

Staying connected

An au pair can help children stay connected with deployed parents through daily activities such as letter or email writing, craft projects, and video conferencing.

Peace of mind

Knowing that their children are being cared for at home by a trained, experienced au pair allows military personnel to concentrate at work and focus on the job at hand.

No waiting list

Like many day care centers, military Child Development Centers (CDCs) often have long waiting lists. Families can apply for an au pair and welcome a child care provider into their home in eight weeks and sometimes even sooner.

Network with other military families

Cultural Care Au Pair is proud to serve more military families than any other au pair program. Interested parents can be connected with other military families who have welcomed an au pair into their home.

Military discount
Cultural Care Au Pair is proud to support our military and honor their commitment by offering military families military discount which includes a $75 application fee waiver and a $500 program fee discount.

Host mom redefines the time value of money

Wed, 02 May 2012 11:50:09 -0400

Christine Dunn, a Cultural Care Au Pair host mom, is founder and president of Savoir Media and works with companies and executives on developing strategic, integrated media and marketing programs. She also blogs for Boston.com, Boston’s primary online news resource, providing budgeting and investing advice. Last week, Christine wrote an interesting post entitled: The myth about “balance” – Redefining the time value of money. In it she shares how her au pair has helped her fulfill the first item on her “bucket list” which is “providing an international experience: Introducing, and exposing, my family to different cultures and people.” She also plans to take her family on a trip to the Philippines to experience her own heritage and regularly invites her two older children to join her on shopping excursions to H-Mart which specializes in Asian food products.

To learn about the other goals on her bucket list and how Christine tries to gain balance as a working parent of three read her blog post here.

Top 5 ways an au pair can expose your child to a second language

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

One of the great benefits of bringing an au pair into your home is exposing your family to another language. Since one of your au pair’s goals may be to improve her English while she’s here, it’s important to establish mutually agreeable guidelines so that both your au pair and your family are making the most of the cultural exchange experience.

1. Simply by hosting an au pair, your child will be exposed to words and phrases in other languages and gain an appreciation for other parts of the world.

2. Agree that your au pair will speak her native language during certain hours of the day and can practice her English with you when you’re home.

3. Arrange for her to give your children a language lesson at a certain time each week – maybe your au pair can create pictures or flashcards of words in her language.

4. Make books in other languages available to your au pair, which you can usually get through your local library, so reading time can be enriched with language.

5. Ask your au pair to sing songs in her native language with the children. Music is a great way to learn a language.

For more good advice about welcoming your au pair, watch my Au Pair Answer Mom video.

Top 5 ways to make your au pair feel welcome

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

Once your au pair arrives, it is important to make sure she feels welcome. Here are some tips to make her feel at home right away:

1. Send a card or care package to the Au Pair Training School in NY to show her that you’re excited she’s here.

2. Have your whole family greet her at the airport or bus stop with homemade signs and balloons.

3. Make sure her room is clean and inviting. Maybe leave a small gift — body wash and lotion, a pair of pajamas or a local treat.

4. Take photos from your au pair’s photo collage and put them into frames so she immediately feels at home and surrounded by loved ones.

5. Prepare a home-cooked dinner with your immediate family for your first evening together.

For more good advice about welcoming your au pair, watch my Au Pair Answer Mom video.

Au pairs learn Household Poisoning Prevention

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 16:27:45 -0400

Au pairs in Pennsylvania get a refresher lesson in Household Poisoning Prevention from staff at the Health Education Center at Lankenau Hospital.

Cultural Care’s Continuing Safety Education Program (CSEP) is designed to provide our au pairs with ongoing training in the area of child safety. During the first four months of the year, our local childcare coordinators (LCCs) focus on Household Poisoning Prevention. Some LCCs choose to teach the units on their own, like Zanny Perrino did with her group of 16 au pairs in northeastern MA. She says of the CSEP meeting, “I think some of us were surprised to learn how common accidental poisonings are in this country, especially with small children.”

Other LCCs, like Joanne Freed Belsky, choose to enlist the help of the experts to deliver this important safety information. Her group of 12 au pairs visited the Health Education Center at Lankenau Hospital to learn about household poisoning prevention from one of their staff members. By the end of the session, they had entered the number for the poison-control center into their cell phones and learned what to do in case of household poisoning.

Some tips to prevent household poisoning from Cultural Care’s curriculum are included here. So please take note and keep our children safe!

Ensure that all medications and household products are locked out of sight and out of reach of kids, even if they are labeled as child-resistant. Child-resistant does not mean child-proof. Items to watch for include cleaners, cosmetics and medicines.
Always read labels, follow directions and give medicines to kids based on their weights and ages. Only use the dispenser that comes packaged with medications.
Buy products in child-resistant packaging when available. Always store products in original packaging to avoid confusion.
Discard old medicine regularly by flushing it down the toilet.
Never create new cleaning solutions by mixing different products designed for other uses. New mixtures could be harmful to kids, and might not be stored in properly labeled or child-resistant containers.
Avoid taking medicine in front of kids, as they tend to mimic adult actions.
Never refer to medicine as candy.
For homes with a residential swimming pool, make sure pool supplies and chemicals are locked out of reach.
Make sure potentially poisonous plants are kept out of reach.

Top 5 things to look for in an au pair application

Tue, 10 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0400

What are the things you should look for in an au pair candidate’s applicaiton to make sure it is the right fit for your family?

1. Childcare experience. This should match up with your own personal needs and family make up.

2. Driving experience. This, too, needs to match with your family requirements, depending on where you live and what type of driving your au pair will be doing.

3. Letter and photo collage. These will say a lot about her character and personality. Through her letter, you should be able to get a sense of her motivation for becoming and au pair and what is most important to her.

4. References. If you need someone who can take charge of a very hectic and busy household you should look for signs that an au pair is a leader and can made decisions easily. If you are looking for someone to nurture a newborn, perhaps an au pair with a softer, gentler profile is a better fit.

5. Something that makes the right candidate stand out. A special activity, sport, qualification, personality trait, or just how she answers a certain question. When you see it, you know it’s a good fit for your family.

Top 5 unexpected benefits of hosting an au pair

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 17:45:15 -0400

These are things that you might not realize you can also enjoy as a host family!

1. Affordable cost. The weekly cost of hosting an au pair is just $350. And that’s per family not per child. If your au pair works 45 hours per week, your hourly cost comes to just $7.80 an hour. Many babysitters charge at least twice that much!

2. Exposure to a different culture. Au pairs come from all over the world, and they bring their language and customs with them. Some au pairs help their host children to speak another language fluently; others simply share recipes, songs and holiday traditions with your entire family. It’s a great way to learn about the world.

3. Help with laundry, meals and room pick-up. Au pairs can help with household duties related to the children. It is so nice to come home and be able to PLAY with your kids instead of worrying about what they were going to eat or wear the next day.

4. Date night. Au pairs can work up to 45 hours per week. And the best part is that they work on schedule you decide. If you still have extra hours leftover before the weekend, use them on a Saturday night so you and your spouse can enjoy dinner and a movie. When was the last time you did something like that without worrying about the hassle of finding and paying for a babysitter?

5. Lifelong friendships. The relationship you build with your au pair often lasts long after your au pair returns home. Gaining an extended family that spans the globe is more rewarding than you can imagine!

For more information on unexpected benefits watch my Au Pair Answer Mom video.

Got or need au pair "stuff"? One au pair is trying to help!

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 16:39:47 -0400

Items on sale at aupairstuff.com include a snowboard, books, clothing and art supplies.

Au pair Maria Belen from Argentina has said goodbye to many of her au pair friends during the almost two years that she’s been in the U.S. She says, “Incidentally, I’ve gotten a lot of hand-me-downs from all of them, too. Clothes, bags, shoes, all kinds of things they didn’t need back home or just didn’t have room for in their suitcases.”

It didn’t take Maria long to realize that this was probably happening quite a bit to lots of other au pairs. And she also guessed that there were au pairs out there who needed this stuff. “I thought it would be nice to have a place to get rid of and re-sell these items while helping another au pair. I got my snow boots for free, but through Au Pair Stuff I could have gotten them at a friendly price, while helping the other au pair (maybe) cover an airline fee or vacation costs. That’s the whole concept behind my site.”

Because the items on aupairstuff.com are organized by state, au pairs are able to find things they need that are already local and the exchange can take place in a Starbucks or a park. “This takes all the shipping hassles out of the equation. Needless to say registering and using the site is free for everyone,” shares Maria. Maria hopes her site will continue to grow in popularity as she “wants it to really be of help as well as to provide resources to my fellow au pairs.” Not only does Maria help au pairs find supplies they need, she also advises them on other topics on her blog, including how to make the most of au pair vacations.

A graphic design student back home in Buenos Aires, Maria has been attending class at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) while in the U.S. In a couple of weeks she will finish the last class towards the completion of her Web Design certificate program. While I don’t know what her English was like before she arrived as an au pair, it’s clear from our correspondence that it’s nothing short of stellar. So it appears as if this extension au pair really did make the most of her time in Chicago.

Visit aupairstuff.com to learn what you can find to trade or buy in your community.

Top 5 tips for spending time with your au pair

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 10:45:22 -0400

1. There is no magic formula to determine how many hours you should be spending together each week.

2. Host families should invite their au pairs to participate in family events that take place on a regular basis — family meals, movie nights, and weekend activities.

3. Families should also invite their au pairs to celebrate holidays with their family and extended family.

4. What you invite her to do beyond holidays and family events is up to you but it is always nice to include her as much as possible. This will vary by au pair and family depending on personality and interests.

5. Be sure to make time to sit down each week with your au pair to discuss how the previous week went, what’s on the agenda for the upcoming week and just to catch up.

For more good advice about spending time with your au pair, watch my Au Pair Answer Mom video.

Au pair Christian shares culture (and family Bratwurst recipe!) with his host family

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 09:03:00 -0400

German au pair Christian taking in a beautiful view of the Verrazano Bridge in NY with his host child.

Christian Kindermann, a Cultural Care Au Pair from Germany, arrived in the summer of 2011 and since his arrival, has made time to share his culture with his host mom and host child. This is what he had to say about the cultural exchange going on in his host family’s home:

My host family is very happy with me and if I could speak for them, I would say that it was the best decision to bring an au pair into the family. Now, I have been in the U.S. for 7 months. I’m living with a single mom and one child. I had the luck to meet them in my home city of Berlin, because they have been on vacation there. Therefore it was already possible to show them a piece of my culture and the historical background of Berlin.

In the time in which I now live with my host family, I’ve tried several things to introduce my culture. I cooked German meals, for example Bratwurst (special sausages) with potatoes and mixed vegetables, potatoes with cottage cheese, various salads and other delicious food. At Christmas I got a big package from my parents from Germany. They put a lot of traditional cakes, cookies, candies and decorations for Christmas in the package. I shared them with my host family, because I wanted to show them how we celebrate Christmas in Germany.

I enjoy spending time with my host child. We try as often as possible to do sports, because we both love sports. Soccer is the national sport in my country and therefore I am teaching him a few soccer tricks. Of course, we are playing other sports like basketball, baseball and football.

My kid is a smart boy and is also inquisitive, thus he often asks me if he could learn a few German words. I am teaching him a couple of words which he could use in his everyday life. Now he has already collected a lot of vocabulary, which he has been writing on small cards.

Music is closely connected to the culture of a country that’s why I also showed him some German songs from famous bands and translated the lyrics for him so that he understands what it is about.

The job as an au pair deals with the meeting of different cultures and this is one reason why many families decided to take au pairs. On the one hand, the host families provide the au pairs with a way to get to know their culture and on the other hand, parents and especially the children learn more about different cultures, customs, habits and languages from all over the world. Moreover, the children become cosmopolitan and expand their general knowledge.

Christian was also kind enough to share his recipe for Bratwurst…YUM!

German sausages with boiled potatoes and mixed vegetables:
1. Peel and halve 8 potatoes
2. Boil water in a big boiling pot with salt
3. Put potatoes in water and let them cook around 25 minutes on the medium high heat
4. Stab with a knife to check the potatoes to see if they are cone (when the potatoes slip off the knife blade they are good)
5. Put a large strainer in the sink and pour the water and potatoes into the strainer and cool everything down with cold water
6. Fry the bratwurst sausages in a pan with vegetable oil, around 5 minute per side - medium heat
7. Add the vegetables along with a little butter or margarine
8. Enjoy!

Thank you Christian for sharing your cultural experience with the Buzz readers. We hope all au pairs are able to enjoy teaching their host families things about their home country!

Overcoming Intimidation

Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:31:31 -0400

For many au pairs, feeling intimidated by their host parents can be a common hurdle that must be jumped. According to Webster’s dictionary, the literal definition of the word intimidation is : To make fearful as to coerce. The implication is that someone must do this to you. If that is the case, why do we feel intimidated? And why is it such a common experience?

The truth is, we choose to feel fearful. Feelings of fear may be attached to many factors, including living with a new family, navigating a new society, being away from home (for many) for the first time, and learning the everyday requirements of a new job, new car, new appliances, new rules and expectations, etc, etc, etc, WHEW! It is no wonder there is some fear on the part of the au pair. So how do we NOT fall into the trap of feeling intimidated?

In my humble opinion, this is a necessary process for most every au pair. The only way to get through it is to GO THROUGH IT! Normalizing this experience and giving yourself permission to not have to know all the answers definitely makes the process easier. Trust that as you feel more competent, you will feel less fearful and intimidated.

Ask questions and clarify directions. This will help you identify what is most important and let go of what is not. Commit to being an excellent communicator in spite of your intimidation level. This will help you understand the needs of the host family, get important feedback, and create a sense of confidence in the job you are doing. As time goes by you will inevitably feel less intimidated and more self assured.

Lisa Bravo, MC, LPC, LISAC, NCC

Cultural Care Au Pair Program Counselor

Top 5 tips for interviewing an au pair

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 09:49:00 -0400

Here are some things to keep in mind when preparing to interview an au pair candidate:

1. Print out a list of questions you want to ask and topics you want to cover. Cultural Care will provide you with a list of sample interview questions. Be sure to ask all the questions you need to make an informed decision.

2. Remember to keep in mind time differences and find a time when you have a full 30 minutes of peace and quiet so you can focus on the conversation.

3. Speak slowly and articulate. Speaking and understanding English is more difficult over the phone than in person.

4. Ask the au pair candidate open-ended questions to be able to assess her English speaking-ability.

5. Schedule a follow-up interview. There are always other questions you think of once you get off the phone and a second interview allows you to get to know each other better.

For more good advice about interviewing an au pair candidate, watch my Au Pair Answer Mom video.

Cultural Care Au Pair cleans computers for Kids First!

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 17:08:28 -0400

Staff in Cultural Care Au Pair’s Bangalore office hard at work cleaning computers for donations.

What kind of fundraising event do you organize in an IT office? Something to do with computers, of course! Cultural Care Au Pair staff member Sanjay, who is coordinating our partnership with Jeevitha Anathashrama, wanted to hold a fundraising event for Kids First in the Bangalore office. He came up with the creative idea to clean everyone’s computers and ask for donations.

Sanjay and Cultural Care Kids First Foundation Director, Susan Robinson, gave a brief Kids First presentation to all the office staff in Bangalore to make everyone aware of the work we are doing to help children in need in India. Then, the whole Cultural Care Au Pair team got to work cleaning keyboards, screens and desktops and passing a donation box around the office. The result? Clean desks, lots of smiles and over 24,000 rupees, or $480!

Take Care With Texting

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 10:44:00 -0400

Technology has certainly changed the way we communicate as we’ve been introduced to things like instant messaging, Skype and texting. These represent really efficient tools to use to quickly send a message, but they certainly don’t replace the need for actual conversation. My rule of thumb is to use these quick tools when I can say something in one sentence or less and there’s no emotional “risk” contained in the message. If I believe it can be misinterpreted in any way, I make sure that I pick up the phone and speak to the person to convey what I need. Far too often we hear of unnecessary conflicts that arise because of a misunderstood text message where tone and intent are not effectively reflected. Be sure to take care with your texting and to stick with the oldest but most effective form of communication when it really matters…talking.

Top 5 ways to welcome your au pair

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 17:29:00 -0400

Many host parents, especially parents who are new to the program, wonder about the best way to welcome their au pair.

Send a package to your au pair at the training school which might include pictures drawn by the kids, a handwritten note from you, family photos, homemade treats, or a phone card.
For the greeting at the airport, encourage your kids to make handmade signs if they are old enough. Make sure to give her a big hug once you finally meet in person for the first time!
Make sure your au pair’s room is ready and welcoming. Small gestures will go a long way in making your au pair feel comfortable. Flowers, balloons, and brochures about local things in your community.
Give her a gift of a new pair of pajamas and some nice bath things.
Take some of the photos from your au pair’s application and put them in frames in her room. It such a nice feeling for her to walk into her new room and see pictures of their family and friends back home.

For more good advice about welcoming your au pair, watch my Au Pair Answer Mom video.

10 great ways to celebrate International Women's Day!

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 13:52:23 -0500

According to Wikipedia, the very first International Women’s Day was celebrated over 100 years ago, in 1909, and since then, the world has been celebrating the accomplishments and driving reform for women’s rights each year on March 8th.

In recognition of International Women’s Day, thousands of events are held throughout the world to inspire women and celebrate achievements. Here are ten ways you can celebrate International Women’s Day in your community:

Attend an event promoting women’s health, equality or safety
Make a donation to an organization that provides education for girls
Visit your local library and check out a book on women’s history
Register to vote
Go to see an exhibit or performance of a woman artist
Support a program that provides business training for women in developing nations
Ask a woman from another country about women’s challenges, prospects and achievements in her home nation
Mentor a young woman
Recognize women you know who are making a difference in the lives of their children, their peers, their students, or their community
Thank a woman who has had a positive influence in your life

What will you do to celebrate today? What women are most influential in your life? What woman can you impact as a positive role model? Let us know in the comments section!