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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The whining of all the mothers here….think you can get a do it all AP for the few little coins y’all paid, you’re dreaming. [/quote]

Having an au pair costs roughly 45,000 if you are doing it correctly. We have always and still pay 250/week, have a dedicated car for which we cover all gas, pay for an unlimited data phone plan, a gym membership and all food. We take our AP to dinner and on vacations with a private room. We give a $1000 bonus  after the completion of one year. For one child in ES, this is fair. Are there wealthier families out there paying more? Sure. We tell potential au pairs to pick rich families if that’s what they are looking for. Has never been an issue for us. We have great au pairs and poor au pairs. The program is what it is. If it weren’t for the language immersion we wouldn’t participate. [/quote]

Au Pair costs are not relevant to the AP.  What if she doesn't want a gym membership, for example.  I would assume you have that membership for you and just add her and it's not an additional cost so that's not exactly a perk.  Vacations if she is working are not a vacation for her, but also work.  $250 a week is not much money.  That's $50 a day at best for 5 days/9 hours of work.  Not even minimum wage.[/quote]

Room and board are absolutely relevant to AP. Have never had an AP not want a gym membership- of their choice - they always choose the ones their friends go to. It’s an extra 1200 for their insurance. We took our AP to Europe, etc. She certainly did work, but had her weekends off to travel. We could have not taken her - but it’s supposed to be a cultural exchange. I understand you have structural criticisms of the au pair program. But you are not properly accounting for room and board calculations, as well as other incentives. 45k is a lot for MC families. If your saying only UMC families are allowed to participate in cultural exchange programs - that’s pretty nuts. [/quote]

Again, this is her employment.  You are paying for car insurance and a car because you need her to drive your kids.  If she's traveling with you and working M-F, that in no way is a vacation for her as she should have weekends or two days off.  It's just a location change for her employment.  Middle-class families aren't having AP's and cannot afford $45K, an extra car, and that kind of travel.  Let's be real.  MC families are living pay check to paycheck and at best make under $100K.  You are wealthy pretending you are not.  [/quote]

Again, the au pair is a cultural exchange, not employment. Kid's school is in walking distance, so we could just have her walk or take uber or only let her use the car when she is working. Middle Class in DC is $74,000-220,000 per U.S. Census Bureau 2021 data. There are, indeed, many families with au pairs with household incomes between 150,000-220,000. Our au pairs always have weekends off - when we travel for work or on vacation. Europe was a work trip, so au pair worked during the day and had her evenings and weekends off. We treat her as we would treat a niece who was living with us for the year - and I have even added our former au pair as the adoptive parent in our will - that's how seriously we take adding an au pair to our family - it is a relationship that we invest in. For you to insinuate that all families are abusing the program and/or not stretching themselves to give the au pair a positive exchange year - is pretty offensive. There are families that abuse the system just as there are APs who abuse the system. Reform the program. [/quote]

It's to a true cultural exchange.  Be real.  And, these trips are your vacations.  It's a normal work week for her.  Middle class aren't taking trips to Europe and having au pairs.  She isn't a niece.  She is the caretaker of your children.  [/quote]

??? It’s a cultural exchange program. I attended a work conference in Europe. It was not a vacation for me, actually. MC families do travel and have au pairs. In our cluster there is a cop and a nurse with an AP, a military family, a single mother who is a school principal. All MC. My au pairs parents call DD their granddaughter and we zoom with them ever week. Human relationships might not be important to - money seems to be your compass, and that’s fine. But everyone isn’t like you.[/quote]

No, middle class families, real middle class couldn't afford it.  An officer military family with a working spouse is not generally MC.  Nor is school principal.  You aren't getting middle class.  Middle class is to retail clerks, etc.

Stop pretending your work trip where your AP is working is a vacation or a perk.  You are doing it for your needs, not theirs.[/quote]

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