Before your AuPair arrives

Sample Family Handbook, from HM Amy Tea

by cv harquail March 14, 2013

When you’re planning to welcome a new au pair, nothing is a better use of your time than updating– or creating — your Family Handbook. Whether your Handbook is filled with instructions for how to use the washer, or whether it’s more like a Manual that has all your car-related rules, getting that stuff written […]

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Should Your Prospective Au Pair Talk with Your Current Au Pair?

by cv harquail October 12, 2012

When you are trying to make sure that your potential new au pair has a realistic understanding of what to expect of your family, it seems like it might be a great idea to have the potental au pair talk with the current au pair. Of all people, your current au pair knows your family, your routine, […]

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F.A.Q.: Must we use an Au Pair Agency to engage an Au Pair?

by cv harquail January 14, 2012

Must we use an Au Pair Agency to engage an Au Pair? Yes. Sure, you can go it alone, but then you would not be operating within US Law. We emphatically recommend that you use an approved agency to find and retain your au pair. Following the laws and regulations protects both your family and […]

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Interpreting the Lanugage of Lag Time: Emailing Prospective Au Pairs

by cv harquail September 27, 2011

It’s kind of ironic for me to post a query about the topic of how to interpret the lag time between sending an email and an au pair candidate responding. As several of you with whom I correspond with on email already know– I can be “not very prompt” in my replies. What does this […]

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Enough with the Gift Baskets!

by cv harquail February 21, 2011

A long time ago, I was experimenting with doing a vlog (a video post), but I never posted it because I looked kindof dorky. Also, a few months later, the lovely Susan Robinson of Cultural Care started her AuPairAnswerMom vlogs, and does them so well that I thought I’d just stick to text. But then […]

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How can an Au Pair candidate hasten a match?

by cv harquail January 11, 2011

Yesterday we got this email from an au pair candidate who is very excited about finding a family. She asks: How could I be selected as an au pair as soon as possible? I offered her a little advice, and I’d love to hear what you all might suggest… Hi I’m Shannon from (Southeast Asia), […]

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When should we send our Family Handbook to our incoming au pair?

by cv harquail January 6, 2011

As every reader of this blog knows, we are big fans of the concept of the Family Handbook. And by “we” I don’t mean the royal moi, but all of us host parents (and even au pairs). It really helps to create a handbook to get your expectations and needs out into clear language, and […]

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5 Ways to Assess an Au Pair’s Driving Skill when Choosing an Au Pair

by cv harquail November 4, 2010

The original title I had for this post was “In which we address, once again, the issue of driving skills”. However, since that’s neither SEO-friendly, nor really helpful, let’s see if we can actually come up with ways to assess driving skill. Everyone who has ever driving a car can call say that s/he’s an […]

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Choosing an Au Pair Agency: Two questions that might make a difference

by cv harquail July 28, 2010

We haven’t talked in much detail about how to choose an agency — I’ve steered clear of that topic because I haven’t wanted anyone to think that I’m some kind of au pair agency secret agent, sent out to lure unsuspecting host families onto the rosters of agencies for an unspecified but generous kickback. Also, […]

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Help Your New Au Pair Pack: 5 things to bring, 5 things to leave behind

by cv harquail July 9, 2010

West Coast Mom suggests that we pool our collective wisdom to generate a packing list for our incoming au pairs. This list would not include the basics (they’ll all think to pack underwear). Instead, this list would cover wht an au pair needs to bring to support her or his adventure. What we pack reflects […]

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