Cars & driving

Why Have a Curfew on Your Car and not Your Au Pair?

by cv harquail May 13, 2015

Some readers have wondered why a family might put a curfew on the au pair car, but not have a curfew on the au pair him/herself. They point out that if au pairs are dependent on the au pair car for transportation during their time off, then having a curfew on the car is effectively the […]

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Au Pair Asks: Should I offer to rematch to solve a driving problem?

by cv harquail March 24, 2015

Hi Au Pair Mom, I am currently an Au Pair on the East Coast. I arrived in Jan 2014 and extended another 6 months. Everything is amazing and we have had no issues in the time I have been here. But now a pretty big problem has arisen and I dont know what to do. […]

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Who Pays for Your Au Pair’s Gas?

by cv harquail January 10, 2015

Au Pairs should pay for their own gas when they use the family’s car(s) on their own personal time. Host Families should pay for gas used when the Au Pair drives for family and child-related activities. Managing who pays for gas is pretty simple, right? If only cars came with two gas tanks, or funky meters […]

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Improve Your AuPair’s Driving With an Online Driving Class

by cv harquail September 5, 2014

An online driving course is an easy, inexpensive way to get both you and your AuPair feeling confident about her/his driving– before your au pair even arrives in the USA! Here’s a tip from TexasHostMom— Our first AP was 26 when she arrived and had been driving for some time, so I never thought we’d have […]

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Open Thread: July 12

by cv harquail July 11, 2014

We’re baaaaack! I know that you’ve missed the Open Thread — I can tell from all the re-directions in the comments on the posts! Use this open thread to toss out any question or concern you have — except for one: If you are an au pair outside the USA whose host parents are somehow […]

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Dead End: When you need an Au Pair to drive, but your Au Pair can’t

by cv harquail August 31, 2013

When you read the email, below, you’ll think the challenge is about the au pair not being able to drive. And not being able to learn. And really needing an au pair who can drive. And deciding to drive her back and forth to her evening class. And more. Really? If the problem really were […]

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All Unhappy Au Pair Situations Are Unhappy in Complicated Ways

by cv harquail November 25, 2012

In the nearly 6 years we’ve been talking together on this blog, we’ve never once had a concern with an au pair that was simple. Never. Not once. The situation is never just “She won’t follow directions”, or “He can’t pass the state driver’s license test”. There’s always some complicated mix of themes, usually involving […]

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6 Ways to Limit the Au Pair Car to Protect Your Au Pair

by cv harquail August 14, 2012

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Next to having safety rules for our children, the au pair’s personal driving is usually the activity that is most “regulated” by host parents. Whether this car is for the sole use of the au pair or whether it is shared with the host parents, most host parents put some kind of limitations on the […]

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Who Pays For the Au Pair’s Car Insurance?

by cv harquail February 24, 2012

You do. Car insurance is one of the many ‘other’ costs that host parents incur when they have an au pair. Host parents who need the au pair to drive a car as part of his or her work duties obviously pay for the car insurance, just as they pay for the gas and for […]

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Do you let your Au Pair drive in the snow?

by cv harquail January 23, 2012

Snowstorms in weird places (like Oregon) and snowstorms in predictable places (like Chicago) have raised the question for many aupair host parents — Do you allow your au pair to drive in the snow? Of course, there are a million variables that affect this decision. Here are the ones I came up with off the […]

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