Driving Skills | Health | Education | English Language Skills | Child CareAu Pairs in General | Religion | Telephone | Diet | Miscellaneous

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The following information is generalized and compiled from questions posed to the agents and interviewers in India. Although au pairs from the India may or may not have had these experiences/beliefs, Au Pair in America wishes to share this general information with our families.

Driving Skills

1. Cost and difficulty to obtain a driver's license
   It is not difficult to obtain a license and the cost is approximately $10.00
2. Obtaining a driver's license e.g. driving lessons, practical and theoretical test?
   To obtain a driving license on has to go through driving lessons and take a practical driving test.
3. Availability and cost of obtaining an International Driving license
   The international driving license can be obtained in India and the cost is $6.00
4. Obtaining a driving license
   Only the wealthy women obtain driving licenses.
5. How common is it for 18-26 year olds to own their own car or use the family car
   It is not common for 18-26 year old men and women to possess their own car or to use the family car.
6. Cars - manual or automatic
   Manual

Health

1. Most common inoculations
   BCG, Polio TB
2. Innoculation for TB (Tuberculosis)
   Yes
3. Free health service
   No
4. Cost and regularity of visits to the dentist
   No. Dental treatment is expensive.

Education

1. Percentage of young women that go on to university
   5-6%
2. Alternatives chosen if not attending university
   Most of the women do not study after secondary school. Only a few women from the middle and the upper class families choose a career course after school.
3. Importance of educational opportunities of the Au Pair in America program to the au pair
   Educational opportunities for the Au Pairs are an attractive feature of the Au Pair in America program.
4. Start and finish of the academic year
   The academic year in India starts in July and completes in April.

English Language Skills

1. Is English a compulsory subject in the schools in your country?
   Yes, in most of the schools.
2. Description of the study of English in schools e.g. from what age English is taught, how many years is English compulsory, courses focused on written or oral skills
   English is taught in some schools from 1st standard and in some other schools from the 4th standard. Most the the courses like math, physics, chemistry, etc. are taught in English after the School level.

Childcare

1. Common attitudes to and types of discipline for children
   The attitude is positive and discipline is strict in the upbringing of children in India.
2. Physical discipline of children
   No, but sometimes this method is used in the low-income group families.
3. How child care is obtained if formal qualification not held
   Through the family tradition of looking after the children at home, teaching and taking care of children at Nursery schools and Day Care Centers or a formal training in Child Care Course.
4. Sharing child care responsibilities by both parents
   The mother takes on the primary child care responsibilities in the family. However, the father does share the responsibility to a lesser extent.
5. Both working parents
   No, only recently, in the upper middle class families, the trend of both parents going for work has started in the four metropolitan cities and a few big cities in India.

Au Pairs in General

1. The concept of being an 'au pair'
   It is not very common.
2. The motivation of young people to want to be an au pair
   To learn about the culture and people in the USA.
3. Improving job potential upon returning home after a year in the USA
   It certainly does improve job potential.

Religion

1. Most common religions
   India is a secular state and people are allowed to practice any religion. Most common religions are Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Sikhism.
2. Practice of religion by young people
   Yes.
3. Would a young person choose to practice a religion that is different than her family's religion
   Very rare
4. Common religious practices e.g. special practices or dietary restrictions
   No.

Telephone

1. Telephones in the home
   Many families do not have telephones
2. Would most parents/family speak English well enough to take a message from an American Host Family?
   Yes, usually those who apply for the program come from families that can speak and understand English.
3. Computer or e-mail access
   No.

Diet

1. Attitudes to eating meat
   Meat is not consumed often.
2. Vegetarianism
   Yes.
3. Other common dietary traditions
   People have simple tea habits.

Miscellaneous

1. Freedom of their family to socialize and date
   No.
2. Curfews at home
   Yes, on a selective basis.
3. Sharing household chores
   Yes
4. Diversity of population
   Yes
   If so, would this be represented in the young people you would recruit?
   No.
5. Three main characteristics of the people
   Dynamic, ambitious and traditional.
6. Attitudes to nudity both in and out of the home e.g. sunbathing in the nude?
   Nudity both in and out of home is considered indecent.

Additional useful information
The young people of India, especially from the middle-income groups and higher income groups, are brought up carefully right from schooling until they find a career and get married.

Au Pair in America®, 2007