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Random Advice

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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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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 [...]

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Do you let your Au Pair drive in the snow?

by cv harquail January 23, 2012

Snowstorms in weird places (like Oregon) and snowstorms in predictable places (like Chicago) have raised the question for many aupair host parents – Do you allow your au pair to drive in the snow? Of course, there are a million variables that affect this decision. Here are the ones I came up with off the [...]

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Would you ask your Au Pair to help out at someone else’s party?

by cv harquail January 22, 2012

Do you think it’s appropriate to ask an au pair to got to your kids’ school and help out at a birthday event there, for someone else’s kids? Here’s the email that prompts the question: Dear AuPairMom – I am mostly satisfied with the family I am working for. We’ve had a few problems but [...]

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Holiday Break: Open Thread

by cv harquail December 29, 2011

How is your holiday going so far? I don’t know why I’m surprised, yet again, that the ‘vacation’ time is passing too quickly, that I have less time than I’d imagined to ‘get things done’, and that I’ve been more or less effective at not feeling too guilty about what’s not getting done. Okay, so [...]

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How can employers help working moms? (Survey)

by cv harquail November 13, 2011

Would you like to share your opinions, insights, and concerns about how employers can support their female employees while these employees pursue their commitment to being great mothers? My colleague Elise Jones is conducting a study looking at factors that influence whether mothers and prospective mothers take advantage of employer-provided work/life support programs, and what [...]

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Query from Reporter: Any takers?

by cv harquail September 11, 2011

We got a request from Annys Shin, writer at the Washington Post, who is looking for host parents in the DC, Maryland or Virginia area whom she could contant for insight about the au pair program. Here’s her contact info if you’d like to ‘help a reporter out’: Annys Shin Staff Writer, Washington Post ShinA@washpost.com [...]

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Tip: Know When to Blame the System (part 1)

by cv harquail August 17, 2011

Tonight I couldn’t sleep (feeling anxious about not posting on APM!) and so I tried to sneak downstairs so I could read the September issue of Vogue until I felt sleepy. Alas, no matter how softly I pressed my toes to the stairs, they groaned. They squeaked. They made so much noise that I could [...]

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