Communication

Your Bra is Showing and My Kids Shirt is on Backwards – Giving APs Candid Feedback

by Texas HM September 11, 2018

I was chatting with fellow long time host mom/LCC/AP Mom regular Julie Dye this week and when she quoted her college professor R Wayne Boss at the University of Colorado – Boulder and it prompted me to shout “Amen” on the spot and ask if I could share/write a post about it! He says this: “Never […]

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Our New Au Pair is Too Quiet: She Hardly Says A Word

by cv harquail November 28, 2016
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We’re enjoying a visit from one of our former Au Pairs, and a friend of hers.  Although both of them speak English well, I’m aware once again of how challenging it can be to interact across language differences, as well as cultural differences, and even family norms. With communication challenges, I always prefer it when […]

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How Can We Develop a Connection with our Socially Detached Au Pair?

by cv harquail June 4, 2016
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The Goldilocks Conundrum Your connection with your Au Pair is too heavy, or it’s non-existant. Your Au Pair is either a homebody, sticking close to the house demonstrating little interest in the world around her/him. Or, your Au Pair is always gone — whether physically or socially. S/he  does the job, and then disappears. We […]

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13 Things Your Au Pair Wishes Host Families Knew, guest post by Janine Snyder

by Janine Snyder August 5, 2015
au pair problems

Janine Snyder, aka GoAuPair’s ‘Au Pair Sis’, has some insight to share from an AuPair’s perspective. Au Pair Sis and AuPairMom aren’t related, but we have a shared mission: we’re both working to help Au Pairs and Host Families strengthen their relationships. From AuPair Sis: When an Au Pair chooses to leave everything he or she […]

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Helping Au Pairs Teach Second-Languages to Kids

by cv harquail March 12, 2015
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Does anyone feel like s/he’s cracked the nut on having an au pair help teach a child a second language? Many host parents chose au pairs with this goal in mind, knowing these key things: Au Pairs also need to speak English so that they can achieve their language learning goals Few Au Pairs are taught […]

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When Your Au Pair’s Efforts to Help Just Make Things Worse

by cv harquail February 10, 2015
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You know it’s a sad story when it begins … “One weekend in an effort to emulate Martha Stewart…” … I lovingly planted thyme in between the flagstones of my back patio. My plan was for the herbs to fill in the dirt lines, crowd out the weeds, and offer up a fragrance when we walked around […]

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New Year, New Expectations: Having A ‘Reset’ Conversation

by cv harquail January 28, 2015
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[ Here’s one from the archives — We’ve been using the term “reset conversation” a lot this past year… here’s where it comes from, and how to execute one. ] There are several times each year, and several times in each AuPair year, when it makes sense to reset your expectations with your au pair. The […]

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Do you ‘overshare’ or ‘undershare’ with your Au Pair?

by cv harquail August 21, 2014
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I didn’t realized what a private creature I could be until we had our first au pair. With roommates it felt like nothing was off limits, and with my DH the main thing I kept closed was the bathroom door. But with au pairs? More of a challenge finding the right space between being closed and […]

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Talking Politics With Your Au Pair

by cv harquail July 3, 2014
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“Obama never should have taken the soldiers out of Iraq.” So opined my neighbor’s au pair, over dinner last week. “Obama let the Iraq people down, because he promised that the US would protect their freedom,” she continued. My neighbor choked on her caesar salad, fighting back the urge to scream “Stop watching Fox News!“ […]

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Bilingualism Benefits Young Brains … and older ones, too.

by cv harquail June 3, 2014
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From WarmStateMomma: For parents raising bilingual kids (or trying to) – I saw this article about a study on bilingualism: “Our study is the first to examine whether learning a second language impacts cognitive performance later in life while controlling for childhood intelligence,” said lead author Dr. Thomas Bak, of the University of Edinburgh, in […]

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