Cars, Phones & Computers

Our Au Pair Generously Let Her Boyfriend Drive Our Car — Now what?

by cv harquail July 19, 2017
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Generosity in a host parent – au pair relationship is critical. Our inclination to give, to forgive, to cut someone else a break, is what creates important flexibility in a relationship.  That’s why we say strong relationships always have a little ‘give’. One of the biggest questions for Host Parents and Au Pairs alike is how […]

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Counting On-Duty Au Pair Hours When You’re In A Car or Plane

by cv harquail March 15, 2017
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How does your family handle the Au Pair’s time spent with the family over a long car or plane trip? Formally and officially, we are supposed to count all of this time as “on duty” hours.   But, if you have a long haul to get to your vacation destination, you can use up a […]

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When You Discover Your Au Pair was Driving Under the Influence

by cv harquail February 11, 2017
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Readers, I can’t really preface this one with anything but a request for some wisdom — Dear Au Pair Mom — We have just had an au pair debacle that we are trying to sort through and I was wondering if anyone has any advice. Our au pair asked to use our car to go […]

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How to Help Your Au Pair Appreciate the “Au Pair Car”

by cv harquail January 20, 2017
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We all want to be generous, and we all want to be appreciated. And, there’s nothing like having a third car for your au pair to use to make you aware of the tension that can exist when you want to be generous and want to be appreciated. When we bought our first Volvo wagon […]

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Au Pairs, Don’t Even THINK About Driving For Uber

by cv harquail January 18, 2017
cars

When I saw the first mention of this in the comments several weeks ago, I was surprised. Au Pairs driving the Host Family car as a second job? What Au Pair would even presume s/he could use the Host Parents car to drive on off-duty hours to earn some extra money? With the Host Parents’ car?  […]

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When Your Au Pair Lies About Mileage on the Car

by cv harquail November 14, 2016
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Sorry for the long lapse in posting…I’m still recovering.   To nudge me (and you?) back into the challenges of Host Parenting, here’s an email about a problem that we faced with our Au Pair too.    It was especially disappointing — and surprising — since this happened with perhaps our most mature, measured, and […]

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Au Pair Tech Update: Sharing SmartPhone Accounts & Apps while Staying Secure

by cv harquail August 14, 2016
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You know that whole argument that you should make sure both parents know how to diaper, feed, and soothe a baby, so that no one parent gets “stuck” with all the hardest work because the other parent quietly “deskilled” him/herself? I paid attention to that advice with my kids, and contradicted it with our phones, […]

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Monitoring Your Au Pair’s Driving Using Car Apps and Tools

by cv harquail March 11, 2016
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In the new era of the quantified self, we have Fitbits for counting steps, apps for managing nutrition, online calendars to coordinate schedules, and GPS to get us where we need to go. Many of us use these tools not only for our selves, but also to organize our Au Pairs. We also now have […]

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Car Insurance for Your Au Pair: What do you pay? (Survey)

by cv harquail February 5, 2016
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Please join us in finding the best deals by adding your car insurance info to our Google Spreadsheet at this link: Au Pair Mom Car Insurance Survey  . 

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Transforming a Terrible Driver into a Safe Driver: Au Pair Success Stories?

by cv harquail February 3, 2016
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Usually when a Host Family gets a new Au Pair and discovers that the Au Pair can’t actually drive well or safely, we all say “Rematch”.   It’s just too darn hard to orient an Au Pair, teach the Au Pair to drive yourself, find the extra money for significant driving lessons, and/or deal with the […]

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