Contributing Writers
We invite professionals from the au pair industry, journalists, psychologists, counselors and social workers to submit articles that are of interest to parents who choose au pairs as their childcare option. Please contact us at info@aupairclearinghouse.com to submit a proposal for an article. We will post your article with your professional bio and if appropriate, add a link to your blog or website. Thank you in advance for your contributions. Edina Stone, Founder and CEO
Why Can't an Au Pair be More Like an Adult?
by Dr. Lawrence Siman
Want a challenge? Try being a host parent and selecting an au pair from another country without ever meeting her! A correct decision, or "match" invariably results in a successful host family experience in the year that follows. A poor "match" can result in conflict and discord in your home. If problems remain unresolved, a poor "match" may lay the foundation of a potential safety risk for your children. Want another challenge? Host an au pair in your home for 12 months and deal effectively with displays of your au pair's defiance or poor judgment or risky behavior. These occurrences typically trouble or anger host parents. You don’t understand why your au pair is purposely defying you or acting inappropriately. What you may not have considered is the fact that, if your au pair is between the ages of 18 - 24, she is still considered an adolescent!
Read more...
Children with ADHD
by Dr. Lawrence Siman
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Deficit Disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common mental disorders that develop in children.
The classic signs are a child who seems to be driven by an endless source of energy accompanied by impaired functioning at school, home and with his peers. ADHD affects three times more boys than girls. If ADHD is left untreated, it can often have negative, long-term effects into the child's teens and adulthood.
An American Au Pair In Germany
by Talya Shoup
I absolutely loved my time as an au pair and would not trade that experience for anything. Although it was not necessarily the easiest “job” I have ever had, most of the time it was not all that difficult. I greatly enjoyed the chance to live life in a foreign country. I was placed in a small town not far from Stuttgart, Germany, working for a couple who were parents to one little girl (by the time I left, they had had a second child). I went there with the goal of learning to speak German fluently and was able to attain a good working knowledge of the language during my year and a half as an au pair. I learned German by speaking only German with my host parents, but I spoke English with the children.
German Guilt and the German Au Pair
by Edina Stone
When we worked to match Jewish families with an au pair, most of them were quite clear about one thing - "No German au pairs." They didn’t care if they drove well or had good English. Some young Jewish parents admitted they were "okay" with hosting a German au pair, but their parents and grandparents would "never forgive them." So, we usually matched Jewish families with au pairs from any other country, except Germany. And, we didn't talk about it.
We all know someone Jewish who refuses to buy anything "German" from Mercedes Benz cars to Braun coffee-machines. Not buying German goods was just one way that Jews in America dealt with their anguish and anger over the Holocaust.
How do Germany au pairs deal with this when they come to America? Do they wonder why Jewish families do not match with them?
Parenting Tips for Tough Financial Times
by Karen Sell
Parenting is tough in the best of times but today the signs of economic crisis are everywhere. A crashing stock market, failing companies, huge layoffs and lost homes. How can families cope? Survive?
Dr. Kelley Brigman, author of Marriage: A Simple Guide to Success (www.MarriageAGuide.com), says we can learn important lessons from families that beat the odds during the Great Depression of the 1930s. He makes the following recommendations:
* Remember you and your spouse are on the same team.
Many depression-era families were torn apart by the financial stresses. But some remained strong even when the going got tough. When husbands and wives work together, even hardships can strengthen their relationship. Spend some time together every day. Be patient and support one another.
Nanny Cams - Right or Wrong?
by Edina Stone
Do you have the right to install a nanny cam and record her during the day? What are your rights, as parents? What privacy rights does your au pair have not to be recorded without her knowledge and approval?
Do you have the right to install a nanny cam and record her during the day? What are your rights, as parents? What privacy rights does your au pair have not to be recorded without her knowledge and approval?
Louise Woodward Innocent?
by Edina Stone
Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS) is a medical theory that explains a form of child abuse when an infant is shaken violently by their caretaker, creating a whip-lash motion that results in severe brain injury, lifelong disability or death. The concept of SBS was described in the early 1970's by a neurosurgeon, Dr. Guthkelch. His medical theory has sent dozens of women to jail and was used in the trial of the now infamous au pair, Louise Woodward. She was prosecuted and found guilty of manslaughter for shaking an infant in her care while she was an au pair for Cultural Care. Breaking scientific research published in the Paediatric Development Pathology Journal (United Kingdom, 2009) sheds new light on SBS. Recent scientific findings may lend evidence to exonerate jailed "abusers" (who continue to protest their innocence) and could have a dramatic effect on future SBS and child abuse trials.
Are We Raising Entitled Children?
by Elena Neitlich
The conversation around child rearing has turned to overindulgence, self-absorption, and entitlement. Is the generation just now hitting adulthood, overly entitled? Do young people feel that they can lay claim to whatever they fancy? Are parents raising children who feel that they need not earn what they want; be it good grades, possessions, skills or jobs? Do children respect authority?
Jeffrey Zaslow wrote an interesting article in the Wall Street Journal titled, “The Entitlement Epidemic: Who’s Really to Blame,” in which he discusses this topic and cites some speculative reasons why children feel so entitled. He notes three possible causes for the twenty-something generation’s overly inflated sense of self: indulgent parenting, consumer culture and the self-esteem movement.
Advice to Parents - Swine Flu and Children's Fears
by Dr. Lawrence Siman
The current threat posed by flu strain H1N1 (swine flu), is unquestionably a terrible situation for families—not only for the obvious physical danger—but, in the case of children, the fears they can develop.
So what can parents do about these two major challenges--one physical and the other psychological?
Boosting Your Baby's Brain Power!
by Susan Heim
Your baby's brain is phenomenal! With more than 100 billion neurons, they would stretch for 62,000 miles if laid end-to-end. But most of the connections between these neurons must be established within the first eight months of life so that the foundations for lifelong learning are set in place. Parents are vital players in this complicated process by providing early, positive and rich experiences during baby's first year. Following are 5 things you can do to help boost your baby's brain power! Read the entire article
Au Pair Industry Changes You Need to Know About
by Edina Stone, April 2010
The au pair industry is making changes in the way they market their businesses and how they allow consumers to access information online. Au pair agencies are being forced to share more information with their customers as the competition grows more fierce and the recession deepens. For example, we are seeing au pair agencies, like goAUPAIR, roll out innovative features, like their new Au Pair Review, that allows the consumer to view their au pair data base. Parents can view hundreds of available au pairs, waiting to match, without paying an application fee, signing a contract or completing a long, ardous host family application.
For the first time, au pair agencies are allowing unregistered parents access to information that was previously considered "confidential" and only privy to paying customers (host parents who applied and were accepted into their program).
goAUPAIR is not the only agency offering increased access to their au pairs data base - Au Pair in America and USA Au Pair both have user friendly and easy accessible pages of au pairs to view!
My American Life As A German Au Pair
by Anna Sophie Steffen, 2010
I am from Germany and was an au pair in Northern Virginia in 2001-2002. I would like to tell you about my experiences as an au pair in the US to give prospective host families an inside view from an au pair’s perspective. I want to say that I had a great year with a great family, so I cannot report on a rematch or other major problems that other au pairs may experience. Of course, I had some adjustment issues in the beginning, but my family was very understanding and....
Selecting a Nanny, Au Pair or Babysitter - What Are We Missing?
Written by Yossi Pinkas, May 2010
Nanny personality assessments can help parents learn more and choose better
Selecting a caregiver for our children is a difficult task and the risks in making a wrong choice are frightening. Most articles on this topic advise parents to interview the nannies, check their references and perform a background check. While each of those screening tools is important, they all have their limitations and do not necessarily provide sufficient information to make the best possible choice.
The purpose of an interview is to obtain enough knowledge about the candidate to determine whether he or she is suitable for the job. Yet, interviews often fail to reveal important facts or problematic personality traits, and their predictive value is limited, even when conducted by several properly trained interviewers.
