Karen S. Relstab

What do you do when you have children but your budget doesn’t quite stretch far enough for one of you to take time away from work to look after the children. Well one option could be to hire in an Au pair to look after your children while you go back to work and earn the money to keep you all afloat in the tough financial climate that we currently find ourselves in.

If you decide to hire in an Au pair then you could end up making significant savings over putting your children into day care nurseries. For a start the money that you pay to an Au pair would be significantly less than paying for day care, as the wages of the Au pair are part subsidised by the fact that they obtain free accommodation, this of course does come at a certain cost to you as your food bills and or water/electricity bills might increase, but that increase should still be significantly less than sending your child to day nursery.

Of course what you can expect in return for that hospitality is complete private care for your children. Obviously if you put your children in to a daycare then they will interact with other children, but by interacting with their own personal nanny they should still achieve all the beneficial social interactivity skills.

People who claim that they can’t afford to have a live in nanny or au pair usually haven’t taken the time to see the monthly cost implementation of having a live in nanny. The fact is it doesn’t matter whether you have to go back to work because you have to or because you want to, you would still be financially better off with an au pair than sending your child to a nursery.

Contact me if you would to learn how affordable hosting an au pair is.

Karen Relstab

Local Childcare Coordinator

Telephone 847-680-3794

email karen.relstab@lcc.culturalcare.om

 The Mundelein, Illinois Police Department (221 N. Lake St. Mundelein, Illinois) is hosting a free self-defense class for women 18 and older. 17 year olds can attend with parental permission. Class will be held Tuesdays 6 - 8 PM; February 23 to March 16. Space is limited. Students should wear lose workout clothes. To register call (847) 968-3770. For information call officers Schletz, Smith, or Whittaker at (847) 968-4600.

Even two bunkbeds can make a world of difference.

This is what Cultural Care Au Pair staff members and Local Childcare Coordinators (LCCs) learned when they visited the site of our Kids First partner in South Africa earlier this month. Kids First, Cultural Care’s own philanthropic program, raises funds for children in need worldwide, including many in a Cape Town community looked after by a woman named Mama Pumla.

Mama used $12,000 we sent last year to build a structure that would house the youngest children in her care, and our representatives visited in order to check on her progress. During the visit, we purchased even more supplies and gifts and met some incredibly special people. Whether you are already a Kids First supporter and want to know what kind of difference you’ve made or want to learn more about this program, watch our short movie.

Rikard from Sweden arrives on March 18, 2010

I am so happy to announce that we will have the 6th male au pair arrive to our group in March. This is such exciting news.

I am looking for a volunteer to be his au pair buddy.

LCC

Karen Relstab

Cultural Care Au Pair received almost 200 nominations for the “Au Pair of the Year” Award, three of which we sent to the International Au Pair Association for final consideration. (Each au pair agency is allowed to submit just three nominees.) Watch our movie to meet Cultural Care Au Pair’s three finalists, Ann-Kathrin, Patrizia and Sandra and to see photos and the names of ALL of our nominees. Thanks to all of our host families who submitted nominations, and congratulations to each and every Cultural Care au pair who was nominated. You are all winners in our book!

Here is the link to the video!!!

2010 Au Pair Of The Year Nominations

See informationation on Cultural Care Au Pairs 2008 and 2009 Au Pair Of The Year Winners.

http://www.culturalcare.com/aboutus/pressroom/au-pair-of-the-year-2008.aspx

Winners of the Fire Escape Plan Project

First Place Daniela Kuchel From Germany

Second Place Lais Gruman Castello From Brazil

Third Place Siw Marit Hiller From Germany

Please mark your calendars for Saturday February 13, 2010

Our meeting will be a CEP (Continuing Education Program) on Fire Safety and Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Prevention.

It will be held at the Libertyville North Fire Station 1551 N. Milwaukee Ave Libertyville, Illinois

Please arrive promptly at 1:30 pm.

The meeting will end at 4 PM.

Be sure to check for driving instructions prior to leaving your home. The fire station is on Milwaukee Ave across from Adler Park Pool.

There is a assignment that you need to complete prior to the meeting. You need to prepare a fire escape floor plan of your host family’s home. I recommend that you sit down with your host family and put the plan together. On this plan you need to identify potential escape routes in case of a fire. You will also need to note on the plan where fire extinguishers, smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors are location. In addition you should designate on the plan a place outside the house where all family members should meet in case of a fire.

The fire escape plans will be reviewed by the Libertyville Fire Department personnel who are giving the presentation. They will select the best au pair fire escape plan and that person will receive a $25 gift certificate.

Karen

At January’s LCC Monthly Meeting, au pairs in our group learned ways to prevent a household poisoning. Children, ages 2-6, are the most likely to have a poisoning accident and they are many things parents and caretakers can do to minimize this risk. Au Pairs took a “Look Alike Poison” quiz comparing medicines and candies that are similar in appearance to see if they can tell which is which. They also looked at liquids such as chemical cleaners, automotive products, medicines, food items, and drinks to see if they could determine what’s safe to drink. The au pairs certainly came away knowing how children can easily confuse everyday items found in the home for something that can harm them.

Dear Au Pair,

This Sunday January 31, 2010 there is a LCC Au Pair Meeting.

Here are the details

CEP (Continuing Education Program)

Household Poisoning Prevention and Safety

2 PM to 3 PM

Round Lake Beach Civic Center

2007 Civic Center Way

Round Lake Beach, Illinois

Just west of of Home Deport on Route 83 and right next to the Round Lake Metra Station on the Antioch-Chicago train line.

Karen