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Guidelines & rules

6 Reasons why your Au Pair should NOT work a second job

by cv harquail March 6, 2010

We’ve talked recently about the issues related to having an au pair work extra hours for the host family, and we’ve also talked about whether you should let your au pair babysit for your friends. But we haven”t talked about whether you should permit your au pair to work at another job. “Why haven’t we [...]

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Do Au Pairs have to pay income tax?

by cv harquail February 22, 2010

I have absolutely no idea whether Au Pairs have to pay US income taxes. I always thought that one of the benefits of using an Au Pair Agency was that the agency somehow dealt with that? Or maybe they don’t make enough money really to have anything to pay? I honestly don’t know. But someone [...]

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Tim Gunn’s advice on breaking the rules

by cv harquail February 21, 2010

If you ask Tim Gunn for advice about breaking the rules, he’ll tell you two things: 1. Make it work, and 2. Use the Bluefly accessories wall thoughtfully. Both pieces of Tim Gunn’s advice to fashionistas apply to au pairs & host families. In general, I am black handbag = black shoes kind of person. [...]

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Best Practices for asking your Au Pair to work Overtime

by cv harquail February 19, 2010

Based on the overwhelming response to the post from NJ Dad wanting to know more about common practices when folks ask their au pairs to work overtime, I thought it would be a good idea to summarize the key findings. Just to be clear– nobody is recommending that you expect your AP to work over [...]

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Extra Hours: What’s fair pay when you break this taboo?

by cv harquail February 13, 2010

Many parents find that 45 hours a week is not enough childcare. Either you have an emergency late night at work, a kid home sick, a snow day, or a bookclub meeting. Some parents have work + commute combos that mean they’re away from home 10 hours a day, m-f, even if they stagger their [...]

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Moms & Au Pairs: Can I hold us to different tv rules?

by cv harquail February 4, 2010

I’m a believer that different members of a family have different privileges and responsibilities, depending on their roles and their ages. Parents have more privileges than do children, and employers have more privileges than do employees. The rules that we follow can be different, as long as they are fair. Nobody, and I mean nobody, [...]

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Why Safety Rules Matter

by cv harquail January 30, 2010

I get a lot of crap from people about the safety rules at our house. Apparently we’re a little strict. Probably our most prominent safety rules have to do with driving. For example, I don’t use my cellphone when I drive. I just don’t. I’m that person who waits ’till she gets where she’s going, [...]

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Helping Your Au Pair Extend, with Student Status: Advice Wanted

by cv harquail January 10, 2010

Hi Au Pair Mom Readers! Love the site and am totally addicted. The advice is so helpful! I need advice on the subject of college education for my au pair. Our au pair has indicated an interest in attending university here in the U.S. instead of in her home country (Germany). It’s unclear whether she [...]

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This Time Last Year: January 2009

by cv harquail December 31, 2009

No one is more surprised than me to see how much we’ve covered here on AuPairMom! I can’t believe the number of topics, posts, comments, concerns and wisdom that have appeared here so far– and we’re still going strong! Sometimes it’s hard to remember what we’ve discussed, so here’s a new feature: This Time Last [...]

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Share One Bit of Advice for a New Host Parent

by cv harquail December 30, 2009

By popular demand, here’s a challenge to all you host parents: Your challenge: Offer ONE, just one, thing you wish you knew when you became a host parent. If someone else has already offered your #1 bit of advice, go on to share your #2 bit of advice. Let’s rack ‘em up, parents. (Au pairs, [...]

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