The family
MotherName: Ellen Yang Marital status: Married
FatherName: James Kuo Marital status: Married
Child 1
First name: Amber Last name: Kuo Birth date: September 01, 2015 Gender: Female
Will the au pair be caring for this child? Yes
Does this child have special needs? No
Child 2
First name: Lucus Last name: Kuo Birth date: September 01, 2015 Gender: Male
Will the au pair be caring for this child? Yes
Does this child have special needs? No
Please tell us about your child's personality and interests. Also include any specific dietary, behavioral or other challenges your au pair might need to know about: younger one of the twins. likes to cuddle.
Additional information
Are you currently expecting or do you anticipate adding another child to your home this year (pregnancy or adoption)? No
Have you ever had live-in childcare before? No
Describe your family's interests. What activities are you involved in? We love hiking, going for walks with the dog and playing board game with friends.
Describe a typical weekday in your home (daily routine, schedule, chores, activities) We just had the newborns recently, so it is hard to describe a typical weekday. Right now, we are following baby schedule. Once the babies get older, we will have more structure schedule. Right now, both of us are taking family leave to bond with the kids. Once the au pair comes, the babies will be at least 3 months old.
Describe a typical weekend in your home. Hiking, walking, playing board games, going to movies or just relax at home.
Describe the frequency and duration of business travel. rarely any.
Describe the frequency and duration of evening activities that take you outside the home. Not much activities that take outside the home right now.
Describe the relationship you would like to develop with your au pair as host parents. We would like her to feel part of the family. She would be like an older sister or aunt that is helping us taking care of our children.
How would you like your au pair to integrate with your family outside of work hours? Consider which activities you would like to share versus times when you would provide your au pair with independent time. We would like the au pair to spend some family event with us, such as going to the park. At the same time, the au pair should have her own time as well. During the time that she is not working,she is welcome to join for family event but also allow to have her own social life.
What is your communication style as a family? How do you like to resolve challenges and miscommunication? We would like to have open communication. If the au pair has any question, we would like her to discuss openly instead of holding back.
Describe any limits you might have on your au pair inviting friends, visitors or overnight guests to your home. No guests should stay over night at our house. Any visitors will need permission before allow in the house.
Please outline any curfews or household rules you would like your au pair to follow. Au pair should not have over night guest. She is allow to use her free time doing any legal activity. There is no curfews on when she should be home as long as she show up during her work hour. In addition, we would like to know where she is going, whom she is going out with and when she will be home. This is just to make sure the safety of the au pair.
Household: The Kuo family
Household information
Are both parents U.S. citizens or legal permanent residents (green card holders)? Yes
Has any member of your family been convicted of a crime (excluding minor traffic violations)? No
Are the parents fluent in spoken English? Yes
Does any member of your family have an illness or condition which is contagious or communicable? No
Do you have any additional adults living in the home? No
Au pairs live with their host families who provide them with room and board plus a weekly stipend of $195.75 per week. Would you be able to provide the full weekly stipend and a private bedroom for an au pair? Yes
What is your religious denomination? None
Do you attend services regularly? Do not attend
Does your family follow a special diet? No
Do you have any pets? Yes, Dogs
Home and community: The Kuo family
Home
Describe your home: Free-standing house
Describe your home (size, number of rooms etc). 4 bedroom single family house.
Describe your au pair's private bedroom (size, furnishings, location in home). The room is close to bathroom and it's about 150 square fee. The room have a full size bed, closet, and side table. Will provide a desk if needed.
We describe our home as: Moderately neat
Community Our community is: Suburban
Describe your community and what it's like to live there: Friendly neighborhood. Close to downtown shopping area but also feel quiet at home. It is in between two Bart stations.
Nearest major city: San Francisco
Travel time to that city: 25 mins
Describe what public transportation is available. Bart
What form of transportation do you expect your au pair to use for au pair meetings, classes, etc. Bart if possible.
Describe/list the post-secondary educational opportunities (colleges, universities) in your community: community college within 15 mins.
Describe any local networks that your au pair might be able to utilize other than the au pair group (play groups, neighborhood resources, etc): local play groups, swim center and library.
Childcare responsibilities: The Kuo family
Childcare
Describe the household duties related to the children your au pair will perform and how often they need to be done. *Changing diapers, clothes, sheets (as needed for 3 months old babies) *Wash and fold baby clothes and sheets (about once a week) *Wash and put away bottles (as needed) *Bottle feed and burp the babies (as needed for 3 months old babies) *Restock baby supplies in the nursery room, such as diapers, wipes. (as needed for 3 months old babies) *Keep the nursery room clean ( once a week) *Empty the diaper trash can when needed.
Describe what role your au pair might play in your children's school schedule or educational development. Babies will be too young for school. The au pair will interact with babies when they are awake, such as singing or reading.
Describe the types of play or free-time activities you would like your au pair to engage in (or avoid) with your children. Talk, sing and read to the babies
Describe the relationship you'd like your children to have with your au pair. I would like the au pair to be someone the children will be able to trust and feel comfortable with.
How would you like your au pair to handle challenging behavior from the children? I would like the au pair to be calm and patient with the children.
schedule: The Kuo family
Monday 9.00 AM to 7.00 PM Changing diapers, bottle feed the babies, wash bottles. Interact with the babies when they are awake. Total: 10.0 hours
Tuesday 9.00 AM to 5.00 PM Changing diapers, bottle feed the babies, wash bottles. Interact with the babies when they are awake. Total: 8.0 hours
Wednesday 9.00 AM to 7.00 PM Changing diapers, bottle feed the babies, wash bottles. Interact with the babies when they are awake. Total: 10.0 hours
Thursday 9.00 AM to 5.00 PM Changing diapers, bottle feed the babies, wash bottles. Interact with the babies when they are awake. Total: 8.0 hours
Friday 9.00 AM to 5.00 PM Changing diapers, bottle feed the babies, wash bottles. Interact with the babies when they are awake. Total: 8.0 hours
Saturday Total: 0.0 hours
Sunday Total: 0.0 hours Total for the whole week: 44.0 hours
Schedule Details
What back-up childcare do you have available in case you require more than 45 hours in a given week? Grandparents and baby sitter
How often does your schedule change? Weekly
Additional comments about your schedule. Father works from Monday to Friday. Mother works every Mondays, Wednesdays and two Fridays a month. Mother is on maternity leave and will not start working until Janenury 2016. This is just an estimate weekly schedule since the mother's work schedule is not the same every week.
Cultural exchange: The Kuo family Cultural exchange
How will you promote cultural exchange in your home? We will have her involve with our family events, such as thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. During our free time, we can also explore the bay area together.
How could you address homesickness with your au pair should she experience it? We will try to include her as part of our family. In order to help her deal with her homesickness, we will have food that is from her country when she is feeling down. In addition, we can also help her find community that represent her country.
How could you work with your au pair to identify and bridge moments of cultural differences? We will all sit down and discuss our views and needs.
Will you ask your au pair to teach your children her native language and if so, how will you help your au pair to also improve her English? My children will be too young to learn a new language. The au pair is welcome to teach my children her native language but she is not require too.
Describe any experiences your family has had with other cultures: I worked in a dental office where I deal with people from all walks of life. One advantage of living in the bay area is the diversity of people. We interact with people from different cultures in daily life.