After becoming a mom, I left a traditional 9-to-5 for a job that allowed me to work from home. I didn’t want to leave my children for an office all day — or have my children leave me. For our family, that meant daycare was off the table. I tried hiring local nannies, but they were expensive and lacked the flexibility I needed. So in 2022, I tried something new: I enrolled in the Au Pair Program, run by the State Department, and welcomed into our home a lovely young woman from Brazil. With a baby, a 2-year-old, and a 4-year-old in tow, it was the unique and affordable childcare solution I desperately needed.
But now, the Biden administration is threatening to take that option away with new proposed regulations that would make the program unworkable for thousands of families like mine who depend on it.
And depend on it we do.
Day in the Life
At 5:30 a.m., I wake to my husband leaving for work. From our house in Northern Virginia to Washington, D.C., he has an hour commute. Though my 4- and 2-year-olds will be up soon, I stay in bed for a few more minutes — the baby, after all, didn’t sleep.
By 7 a.m., toddlers are dragging me downstairs. I’m outnumbered three-to-one, and it’s breakfast time. Relief doesn’t come until 8:30 a.m., when my au pair begins work. At 8:45 a.m., she drives my oldest to preschool.
I’m fortunate to work from home but
