Can this relationship be saved?

Our Au Pair is from Tokoyo and her world has fallen apart. How can we help?

by cv harquail March 13, 2011

Dear Au Pair Mom- I’m sure that we are not alone with this concern, and we’d love some ideas how to help: Our au pair is from a town about 25 miles southeast of Tokyo (further aware form the center of the earthquake). She is terribly worried about her family and friends after the earthquake, […]

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How Should An Au Pair Bring Up A Challenging Topic? Your preferences

by cv harquail March 9, 2011

We all want our au pairs to let us know if they have questions, concerns, or issues that are bothering them. But how do we want them to bring these issues up? In our family, the informal-yet-scheduled-family-meeting is the best place to bring up any “issue” that goes beyond something like how best to load […]

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Arguments between my child and my Au Pair are driving me nuts!

by cv harquail March 5, 2011

Dear Au Pair Mom readers– Our au pair has been with us for 1 1/2 months. She’s 19, Italian, and speaks excellent English. She cares for our daughter while I work part-time the house, part-time out. The problem is that our daughter, who is about to turn 4, is having a hard time with this […]

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Calling all Forms, Worksheets, LogSheets and More!

by cv harquail February 16, 2011

We’ve had a request to add some resources to AuPairMom– in the form of a depository of forms. I’m not quite sure how we’ll do this, technically, but– please email me any forms that you’d like to share with other host parents and/au pairs. These can range from preprinted gratitude cards that you include in […]

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Au Pairs and “Twins and a Toddler”

by cv harquail February 4, 2011

Hello, HostDad in NJ here looking for some advice from the group– We’ve had an Au Pair since our daughter was 3 months old and have loved it. We are now in our 7th month with our second Au Pair who is an absolute rock star. Anyway, we are expecting twins (yeah!/OMG now what?) in […]

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Classic Case: Can you change a Princess?

by cv harquail February 2, 2011

A Host Mom writes: Hello! I am writing because I have a bit of a princess situation on my hands — a princess situation with nuance. I am looking for advice on how to try to make this work. Our new AP, 19 years old, arrived about a month ago from a Western European country. […]

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Au Pair Community Resources: Calling all LCCs, Experts and Artists

by cv harquail January 30, 2011

Several LCCs have emailed to ask if we could include their blogs in the list of LCC blogs on the sidebar. I’d like to be able to list any counselor, consultant, or expert who has something to offer to the AuPairMom community, and I’d like to upgrade this to a fuller and more organized presentation […]

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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 […]

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If my au pair gets married, can she still au pair?

by cv harquail January 23, 2011

What happens if your au pair decides to get married– not just engaged, but actually married — during her year with your family? We have our first au pair. She is from China and she has been with us since July. She met a man and is planning on getting married in a few days. […]

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Most Engaging Posts of 2010 on Au Pair Mom (part 2)

by cv harquail January 21, 2011

You asked, and here they are: The 11 to 20th most engaging posts of 2010! 11. Au Pair Asks: When Host Kids Are Mean (86) 12. Au Pair Abruptly Quits, then wants to come back to see kids. Really? (poll) (85) 13. Can an Au Pair be happy without driving privileges? (80) 14. Au Pair […]

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