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being taken advantage of

Took the car for the weekend & lied: Should I report car stolen?

by cv harquail January 23, 2010

The quick answer? Only if you’re ready to rematch, and Only if you are ready to have your au pair hate you. And you may well be ready for that, if this situation is what it’s boiled down to: I actually just found this great blog because I believe my au pair has stolen our [...]

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Working out isn’t working, is it?

by cv harquail June 11, 2009

What really counts as "work" and when are we willing to bend the rules? This mom’s getting a workout– and not the kind that makes your heart healthy. … "We are family members at our local gym, which provides childcare while parents are working out. We added our au pair to our membership (didn’t change [...]

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Rematch? You vote yes or no….

by cv harquail May 25, 2009

When I saw this comment pop up earlier tonight, it reminded me of the story that we just discussed… so many similar issues. So I have an idea– let’s take a vote on whether or not this mom should insist on a rematch. Then, let’s give this mom some ideas about what to tell her [...]

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My Au Pair is ruining my life…

by cv harquail May 10, 2009

Saving this post until after APAW— it’s too much of a misfit after all that appreciation! … I am counting the days until she is gone. She refuses to do anything except be a lukewarm body. She claims nothing is her responsibility. I provide written instruction each day. She ignores them. She isn’t suppose to [...]

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Don’t take your Au Pair on vacation during her first 3 months!

by cv harquail February 8, 2009

Okay host moms- I’m coming out with a pretty specific "Don’t": Don’t, I say DON’T, take your au pair on a vacation the first 3 months she is with you. Why? Because: 1. It sets up inaccurate expectations about how she will be treated (e.g., as a guest and tourist vs. as a ‘working’ member [...]

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Food and your Au Pair: Label it if you don’t want her to eat it

by cv harquail December 9, 2008

Do you know what it feels like to spend two precious hours baking several dozen homemade cookies for your daughter’s class party, only to discover the next day, when you go to wrap them, that your au pair and her friends have eaten all but 6? That’s about how I felt last week, when an [...]

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