July 2009

Auto Insurance: Is your AP on your policy?

by cv harquail July 17, 2009
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Here’s a quick question from the suggestion box: Do you put your au pair on your auto insurance policy? For me, this one is a no-brainer. If your au pair drives your car(s), she should be on your policy. It’s not just the law, it’s a good idea. h As younger and less experienced drivers, […]

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Medical Care for your Au Pair: Your responsibility?

by cv harquail July 16, 2009
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What happens when your Au Pair gets sick and needs some medical care? We already know that as good host parents we need to provide them with reasonable ‘sick time’ off and not dock their pay (although I think it’s fine to reschedule their hours in the same week). But what about the cost of […]

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What a little bird said about Au Pairs

by cv harquail July 12, 2009

@dawnpopp Dawn, how is it that your AP wants to cook for you, but (seems like) everyone elses just want to eat? Spill the secrets! # @CaliYost rt @CravingBalance Wally Bock: work life balance comes down to choices, choices connected to what you value. http://ow.ly/gzqQ # @AuPairAnswerMom To me, some of these reasons 4 APs […]

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Can she wake up to her responsibilities?

by cv harquail July 11, 2009
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Here’s a request for advice from a Host Mom in VA Our au pair (our 4th) has been with us 2 weeks. She’s 20, fluent in English, is a rematch from other family (no fault of her own) after several months, and has 3 months left. We have 2 kids 2 and 4. I work […]

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Saying Goodbye to an Au Pair you Parents really love

by cv harquail July 8, 2009
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Last year I wrote a post about “Her Next Adventure”: Telling your kids that your Au Pair is leaving which elicited a lot of good advice for helping the children say goodbye to their au pair. We just got a request from a mom with a different version of the problem– a version which, if […]

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Food secrets from the West Coast: Calif Mom shares all!

by cv harquail July 7, 2009

Calif Mom gets her own post this time! Just TOO MUCH good info to tuck in there as the 27th comment on the Groceries post. Calif Mom writes: For the broader discussion I can vaguely imagine for myself, in some sort of idealized parallel universe, a life in which I would have the entire week’s […]

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Our AP’s appetite is so big, we can’t afford to feed her!

by cv harquail July 7, 2009
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Looks can be deceiving. Many of us have been surprised to discover that the petite young woman who is our Au Pair is actually a bottomless pit or a fledgling linebacker, in terms of how much she can eat. Obviously, no one wants to starve her au pair– part of what we provide for our […]

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Food and Your Au Pair

by cv harquail July 7, 2009
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Boy, that post on Groceries triggered a lot of issues! Rather than try to keep track of them in the comments to that one post, let’s pull them out into posts of their own. So, coming up over the next several days, we’ll have posts about: Our AP’s appetite is so big, I can’t afford […]

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Groceries: How much ‘extra’ can your Au Pair ask you to buy?

by cv harquail July 3, 2009
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As part of our conversations about grocery shopping, food, costs, and being ‘part of the family’, many of us have mentioned that we invite or allow our au pairs to add items to the family grocery list, which we then pay for out of our family budget. Usually, we do this to accommodate our au […]

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Part of the Family: The Au Pairs’ Perspective

by cv harquail July 2, 2009
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Okay Au Pairs– It’s your turn to chime in… and share the au pair side of the ‘part of the family’ equation. What does it mean to you to be "part of the family"? What do host families do that helps you feel "part of the family"? What do host families do that takes away […]

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