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

Rematch & “transitions”

Lonely Au Pair Plans Early Departure – Do we approve?

by cv harquail December 3, 2011

Hi there AuPairMom, I was hoping you may be able to give me some advice. I am a 22 year old UK girl working as a AuPair in Germany. I have been here for just over 3 months. When I first arrived I found it difficult but was soon used to the job. The family [...]

16 comments Read the full article →

Host Parent Wish: That Rematch would fix things, not send problems to another family

by cv harquail August 25, 2011

If host families could change the au pair ‘system’, there are many things we would improve. Chief among these would be how au pairing is advertised, how au pairs are recruited and interviewed, how au pairs fulfill education requirements, and most of all, how au pair rematches are handled. Rematch and transition processes are the [...]

47 comments Read the full article →

Unbearable Fighting Between Siblings: Fair cause for rematch? (Bettina)

by cv harquail June 28, 2011

Here’s Bettina’s story about her host kids… click back to the original post to discuss whether, if, and how an au pair can make a positive difference in host family dynamics. I’m an au pair in the US for 2 weeks now, and I really like it here. When I arrived, I immediately felt comfortable [...]

44 comments Read the full article →

Au Pair Asks: Is it okay to call it quits?

by cv harquail June 12, 2011

Dear Au Pair Mom, Hi, I emailed once before about an angry 11 year old and was wondering if I could bother you once more for some advice. I’ve now been here 5 and 1/2 months and I really feel like rematch is the only option now. I realise this is incredibly inconvenient for my [...]

17 comments Read the full article →

What can Host Parents Do about Deceptive Agency Practices?

by cv harquail April 14, 2011

Readers, I must admit that these stories of being screwed by both agency & au pair get me upset. Thank goodness these stories are more rare than the terrific au pair and the perfectly fine au pairs we have little reason to need advice about. We all know that most au pairs, and most agency [...]

34 comments Read the full article →

Getting a Refund from an Unsupportive Agency

by cv harquail April 11, 2011

Readers, there is sadly more to the story of Deflated HostMom. She and her DH are having trouble getting the finances between the family and the au pair, and the family and the Agency, settiled to their saristaction. As Deflated HostMom describes: We have already paid our current au pair her full education allowance, and [...]

4 comments Read the full article →

Au Pair “Shopped for a New Family” with Agency’s help — behind our backs

by cv harquail April 11, 2011

Our au pair came to us last Tuesday, out of the blue, to inform us she “wants to be by the beach” and wants to enter rematch. She has refused any attempt at mediation. We learned today that she had listed herself, over a month ago, on a third-party site for in-country au pairs and [...]

58 comments Read the full article →

When Agencies Reward Au Pairs Who Lack Commitment

by cv harquail February 9, 2011

Like most customers, I want to believe that the company selling me things has my best interest in mind. I should know better– after all, I’ve taught in business schools for over 15 years. But still, I hope that even when a company exists to make money  they believe that they also exist to serve [...]

137 comments Read the full article →

When Host Parents Disagree, once an Au Pair has let them down

by cv harquail January 29, 2011

When there is more than one host parent in the household, it’s important for host parents to present a united front. Parents & Partners need to agree on household rules, behavioral expectations, and childcare preferences, and communicate in agreement to the au pair. When host parents disagree, it is impossible for an au pair to [...]

21 comments Read the full article →

Au Pair Asks: My Host Mom wants to get rid of me. … Am I alone in this feeling?

by cv harquail January 16, 2011

Readers, here’s another one of those emails that I just don’t have a good answer for… Can any of you au pairs or host parents offer her some comfort? Hi Au Pair Mom, I am an au pair and always read this blog, to know if I am doing right, to have kind of a [...]

52 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries