Random Advice

Can this relationship be saved? Our Au Pair rubs me the wrong way….

by cv harquail April 15, 2009

Sometimes a host parent’s complaints about an au pair seem legitimate. Sometimes the complaints don’t seem legitimate. And sometimes, the host parent just really isn’t sure. Here’s a long request for advice from Anonymous . She sets it up as though she might be a bad person… and let me tell you that by the […]

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3 Ways to be a Great Host Parent

by cv harquail April 14, 2009

Here’s the first in an occasional series about Ways to be a Great Host Parent . Sorry Tolstoy. Whether happy or not so happy, not every host family is the same. We host families like to revel in our uniqueness and we like to think that, for the lucky au pair, our family is just […]

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Au Pair Mom Admin: When Au Pairs comment … Poll

by cv harquail April 10, 2009

Hi Moms & Dads, I’ve been wondering how you all feel about the comments by au pairs on various posts, and whether you’d like me to take a more active role in managing the participation of au pairs in our conversations. We have had some really useful comments from au pairs, where they have asked […]

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Myths about Au Pairs: Au Pair = “Hottie”

by cv harquail April 6, 2009

magazine photo as mask hiding identity.jpg

What is it about the term “au pair” that triggers salacious comments from people who should know better? What do you do when someone says something rude about au pairs as a concept? This question popped up a few weeks ago for HostMomToBe: … There is this one very annoying situation that I really could […]

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Summer Au Pair Programs: Anyone tried them?

by cv harquail April 5, 2009

Summer Au Pair Programs are kind of a new thing … or at least they are new to me. The agency we’ve used hasn’t offered that program, and I’ve only recently become aware that there are several agencies in the US now doing this officially. And, not to forget, there are many au pairs and […]

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Your House is Not a Youth Hostel

by cv harquail April 3, 2009

Let me repeat that: Your house is not a youth hostel. It’s not a hotel. It’s not a pied a terre. Your house is your home, and if you choose to have friends of your au pair as overnight guests, there is a lot to think about. One blatant sign that a host mom and […]

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The 3rd Car: Avoiding a sense of entitlement

by cv harquail March 31, 2009

We all want to be generous, and we all want to be appreciated. There’s nothing like having a third car for your au pair to use to make you aware of the tension that can exist when you want to be generous and want to be appreciated. When we bought our first Volvo wagon to […]

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Should a former Au Pair step in to mediate a Host Family – Host Kid “situation”?

by cv harquail March 30, 2009

Active Contributor Franzi, former au pair and now Host Mom, has shared a lot of advice seasoned with the perspective of both sides of the Au Pair- Host Parent relationship. Now, she’s in uncharted territory–wondering how to respond as a "former" au pair and current Host Kid Confidant. While I’m so happy to see au […]

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Poll: Putting groceries away… fair chore?

by cv harquail March 28, 2009

One great treat of the internet age is ordering groceries on line to have them delivered to home at your convenience. We’ve been doing this for several years now, and it’s been worth every extra penny. I just log on whenever I find the time, and I schedule the delivery for when our au pair […]

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Getting her stuff back home: Is there a cheap way to ship things?

by cv harquail March 27, 2009

The amount of money your au pair has saved and the amount of stuff she needs to get back home are inversely proportional. That’s a problem, because if she wants to take that stuff home, it’s gonna cost some money. How can your au pair get that extra stuff home as inexpensively as possible? One […]

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