Au pair -- indentured servitude or cultural exchange

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:#5 is hilarious.

Straightening kids' room OK, vacuuming not OK. The specialized "kids vacuuming employee" should take care of all kids room vacuuming, got it.

Helping kids keep their rooms picked up is childcare, cleaning said rooms is not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Jeff said to bring argument to Off Topic and so I am.

The only purpose of this program is cheap childcare for cheap Americans. I do not see how it could ever be a cultural exchange program when 45 hours a week is taking care of children.

No overtime is paid. Frequently, there are 4 children for the au pair to care for.

The program needs to be revamped as follows:

1. Can work no more than 40 hours a week.
2. Program conforms to US labor laws.
3. Maximum of two children to care for.
4. Paid prevailing minimum wage of jurisdiction in which the host family lives.
5. No housework or yardwork, other than cleaning her room. Straightening children's room but no vaccuming. No cooking, cleaning kitchen for entire family and NEVER laundry for parents.
6. Every hour on the clock, e.g., AP has to pick up child from school at 3:30, on clock for travel time to school.
7. Two full weekends, Friday, 6 pm to Monday, 6 am, free.
8. All Federal holidays off.
9. If AP is taken on holiday with family, no taking care of kids. If taking care if kids is expected, then she has a private room.
10. Holiday meals cooked by host family, no using AP as maid.

Flame away, I 'm asbestos!

I agree with op.

[Anonymous]

Why should an au pair get all federal holidays off? Most employees don't get that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why should an au pair get all federal holidays off? Most employees don't get that.

Why are you so nasty? Most people I know in the DC are actually off on Federal holidays. Except retail, I guess.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should an au pair get all federal holidays off? Most employees don't get that.

Why are you so nasty? Most people I know in the DC are actually off on Federal holidays. Except retail, I guess.

I get federal holidays off and have given all our nanny and AP off federal holidays, plus 3 weeks of their choosing paid (I employ both, nanny for our toddler, the AP handles our 2 school aged kids), but I will tell you that unskilled labor does not usually get federal holidays off. Child care providers, regardless of visa status, education status, nationality, citizenship (or not) are all unskilled labor workers. Period.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why should an au pair get all federal holidays off? Most employees don't get that.

Why are you so nasty? Most people I know in the DC are actually off on Federal holidays. Except retail, I guess.

I get federal holidays off and have given all our nanny and AP off federal holidays, plus 3 weeks of their choosing paid (I employ both, nanny for our toddler, the AP handles our 2 school aged kids), but I will tell you that unskilled labor does not usually get federal holidays off. Child care providers, regardless of visa status, education status, nationality, citizenship (or not) are all unskilled labor workers. Period.

Why do you hire unskilked workers to care for your children?

[Anonymous]

"Unskilled" means that the worker requires neither a college degree not specific vocational training to do the job. A nanny with a bachelors degree in education or nursing might bring more to the table with respect to providing a richer experience (in some cases) but someone without a college degree can be hired to do the exact same tasks competently. Childcare indeed is hard work, but nannying doesn't require a degree any more than parenting does (and the nanny (at least the ones on this thread) is placing more parameters on what they are willing and not willing to do in childcare related tasks, so not only is the labor unskilled, it is also less flexible. I completely agree that nannies do an important job that requires more respect than it gets, but so do lots of other people in the "unskilled" labor force. To call it unskilled labor is not to demean the profession, but to define it's minimal requirements.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:"Unskilled" means that the worker requires neither a college degree not specific vocational training to do the job. A nanny with a bachelors degree in education or nursing might bring more to the table with respect to providing a richer experience (in some cases) but someone without a college degree can be hired to do the exact same tasks competently. Childcare indeed is hard work, but nannying doesn't require a degree any more than parenting does (and the nanny (at least the ones on this thread) is placing more parameters on what they are willing and not willing to do in childcare related tasks, so not only is the labor unskilled, it is also less flexible. I completely agree that nannies do an important job that requires more respect than it gets, but so do lots of other people in the "unskilled" labor force. To call it unskilled labor is not to demean the profession, but to define it's minimal requirements.

+1

And BTW, I almost never see actual Au Pairs posting on these threads complaining about their lives. It's always nannies generalizing from one or two horrible examples. Au pairs are too busy being 22, traveling, and hanging out with friends in their free house and car to complain about how much they are being "exploited."

[Anonymous]

Why would au pairs come to a nanny's forum, 12:58?
They have their own social sites.

[Anonymous]

For the same reasons that nannies hang out on the au pair forums complaining on behalf of the au pairs. If they were collectively unhappy as a group, they would easily make use of the au pair discussion forum.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the same reasons that nannies hang out on the au pair forums complaining on behalf of the au pairs. If they were collectively unhappy as a group, they would easily make use of the au pair discussion forum.

Based on what evidence? None.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the same reasons that nannies hang out on the au pair forums complaining on behalf of the au pairs. If they were collectively unhappy as a group, they would easily make use of the au pair discussion forum.

Based on what evidence? None.

Evidence? What are you talking about?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For the same reasons that nannies hang out on the au pair forums complaining on behalf of the au pairs. If they were collectively unhappy as a group, they would easily make use of the au pair discussion forum.

Based on what evidence? None.

Evidence? What are you talking about?

Au pairs generally don't even know about DCUM. Why would they?

[Anonymous]

Au pairs in the DC metro area are very familiar with all of the local online forums, including this one.

[Anonymous]

Au pairs probably don't post here because they are afraid their HMs, who do hang out on DCUM, will identify them and make their lives absolute and pure Hell!