Get the easy email newsletter! Just add your address to the yellow box, below right.
Powered by MaxBlogPress  

Can this relationship be saved?

How should an Au Pair handle travelling with the Host Family, for 5 weeks?

by cv harquail May 10, 2012

Au Pair Somebody posed this question on a different post, and I’m repositioning it here, along with the responses from the APM community. Please join the conversation! Well this is my situation and I am so pissed off because it took me by surprise! My host family decided to move from Colorado to Virginia in [...]

23 comments Read the full article →

What to do when your Au Pair’s job performance starts to slide

by cv harquail March 31, 2012

In the seasons of the Au Pair year, there often comes a time after The Honeymoon and All Systems Go, but before On the Way Out, when some au pairs hit The Minimum Viable Performance. (Sometimes, though not always, this is paired with The Slough of Not Giving a Shit  Not Caring Anymore.) During The [...]

67 comments Read the full article →

How can we tell our Au Pair we don’t want to extend?

by cv harquail March 13, 2012

Probably the biggest downside to the extension option is the possibility for a mismatch between the family’s interest in extending and the au pair’s interest in extending. When both sides don’t clearly share the same expectation, someone is bound to get disappointed. And, when people are disappointed, they often withdraw from a relationship and leave the [...]

21 comments Read the full article →

Who Pays For the Au Pair’s Car Insurance?

by cv harquail February 24, 2012

You do. Car insurance is one of the many ‘other’ costs that host parents incur when they have an au pair. Host parents who need the au pair to drive a car as part of his or her work duties obviously pay for the car insurance, just as they pay for the gas and for [...]

52 comments Read the full article →

Au Pairing in an UnHappy Home

by cv harquail February 23, 2012

Several times a year we get an email from an au pair who is trapped in an unhappy host family home. The family might be recovering from some tragedy– the loss of a parent, a scary illness, money problems. The parents might be estranged or divorcing, or there might be issues with alcohol abuse and [...]

15 comments Read the full article →

When Your Former Au Pair Comes Back to Visit

by cv harquail February 21, 2012

It can be kindof amazing when a former au pair comes back to visit.  You remember her when, and she remembers you, and now everyone has grown and changed (usually for the better!). Depending on how things were when your au pair departed, and where you are as a family and as a parent, your [...]

21 comments Read the full article →

Au Pair Asks: What if I’m not really prepared to handle these kids?

by cv harquail February 20, 2012

Dear Au Pair Mom, I really love to read your blog, and have been reading it for a few months now, back when I started on my quest to become an Au Pair. And now for the first time I’m writing to you for advice. I have just moved to my host family and have [...]

27 comments Read the full article →

Should You Wake Your Au Pair When You Leave For Work REALLY Early?

by cv harquail February 19, 2012

Hi AuPairMom, We are welcoming our first au pair in about 3 weeks, and we are very excited. Your blog really helped us decide that this was the right type of child care for our family. We need someone with scheduling flexibility, because we have an always-changing, somewhat odd work week. I have to leave [...]

43 comments Read the full article →

Can This Au Pair Relationship Be Saved? Real Concerns vs. Nitpicky Concerns

by cv harquail February 8, 2012

If only the distinction between “real concerns” and “nit-picky concerns” were clearcut, we’d never need to share ideas with each other! We all seem to face, at some point or another, that question: Am I being unreasonable, or are my concerns legit? We have to address this question before we take any action, like asking [...]

22 comments Read the full article →

Our Au Pair is Dating My Husband’s Close Friend. Now what?

by cv harquail February 4, 2012

And speaking of trying to maintain some privacy around ones adult social life, Here’s an email that has me completely stumped.  How do they stay “host parents” to their au pair, and friends with their friend, and have any separate adult social life? We really need your ideas here, folks. Dear Au Pair Mom, I [...]

25 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries