Random Advice

Honest Truth, how many weeks are over 45 hrs? (Poll)

by cv harquail February 23, 2010

The controversy continues! There’s now some concern over just how widespread is the practice of having your au pair work more than 45 hours a week. Let’s try to put some numbers in this — I’d love to get an empirical assessment of this practice… Problem is that an online poll will NOT give us […]

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Can an Au Pair be happy without driving privileges?

by cv harquail February 11, 2010

[[This question popped up in a different comment thread, and I’ve pulled it out for its own page & conversation, seeing as how this is an issue for many of us. I’ll eventually re-post the comments already made, but here is a start:]] My husband and I are expecting our first au pair in May. […]

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Au Pairs and Your American Politics

by cv harquail February 11, 2010

If you ever come to over to my house, our politics are pretty clear. Right there at the front door, you can wipe your feet on George Bush. Our George Bush doormat is an endless source of amusement for canvassers from Greenpeace, The Sierra Club, Amnesty International, and others. It seems like the only person […]

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Tell your AuPair stories to a Journalism Student

by cv harquail February 5, 2010

… who contacted me as part of her research. This NYU graduate journalism student is looking to speak with current and former au pairs, and families who have lived with au pairs (either currently or in the past), about their experiences for a series of pieces over the next couple of months. Email NannyStoriesNYC@gmail.com for […]

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Your Experiences in Withholding Pocket Money

by cv harquail January 25, 2010

Okay parents– here’s a place to catch the different stories about whether or not you withheld pay from your au pair — for a super legitimate reason– and whether or not there was an Agency policy or response behind that. We’ve already had one mom mention that with the first agency she used, withholding was […]

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Haircolor and Au Pairs: What’s up with that?

by cv harquail January 16, 2010

Last year I made a joke in one post about au pairs spending a lot of money on Garnier Nutrisse hair color, and nobody commented… I thought I was alone in the “What’s with all the hair coloring?” question. I have since discovered, for better or worse, that I am not the only host mom […]

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Helping Your Au Pair Extend, with Student Status: Advice Wanted

by cv harquail January 10, 2010

Hi Au Pair Mom Readers! Love the site and am totally addicted. The advice is so helpful! I need advice on the subject of college education for my au pair. Our au pair has indicated an interest in attending university here in the U.S. instead of in her home country (Germany). It’s unclear whether she […]

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When your departing au pair sours your new au pair

by cv harquail January 5, 2010

For many of us, a new au pair’s arrival is a chance to start fresh, with revised guidelines, new resolutions, and a new attitude. The easiest way to have a fresh start is to have a clean break between outgoing and incoming au pairs. So, even though there are many positive reasons for having your […]

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This Time Last Year: January 2009

by cv harquail December 31, 2009

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No one is more surprised than me to see how much we’ve covered here on AuPairMom! I can’t believe the number of topics, posts, comments, concerns and wisdom that have appeared here so far– and we’re still going strong! Sometimes it’s hard to remember what we’ve discussed, so here’s a new feature: This Time Last […]

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Share One Bit of Advice for a New Host Parent

by cv harquail December 30, 2009

By popular demand, here’s a challenge to all you host parents: Your challenge: Offer ONE, just one, thing you wish you knew when you became a host parent. If someone else has already offered your #1 bit of advice, go on to share your #2 bit of advice. Let’s rack ’em up, parents. (Au pairs, […]

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