Personal Care

What can an Au Pair expect from a Host Family?

by cv harquail May 3, 2010

In the mirror post to this one, we’re generating a list of ways that families interpret and execute the rules, but with the effect of having the au pair feel mistreated. Here on this page is our chance to list what an au pair can expect from a family when both the family and the […]

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When your Au Pair has an eating disorder

by cv harquail March 25, 2010

Every au pair we’ve ever had (all 11 of them) went on some weird kind of diet. These diets included protein drinks, Slimfast shakes, grapefruits, Diet Cokes for breakfast & lunch and — my personal favorite — rice and bread. (Going without butter was where ya really saved on calories!) Thankfully, most of these diets […]

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Your Au Pair’s Room: Give her a choice of pillows

by cv harquail March 15, 2010

When it comes to bedding for your au pair’s room, there are three criteria that must be met: The bedding must look clean. The bedding must smell clean. There must be enough bedding. It’s a bonus if the mattress is new, if the bigger bed fits the room, or if the sheets are her or […]

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Awkward: It’s not a walk of shame if we know you are safe

by cv harquail March 8, 2010

So let’s jump on in to another awkward topic — If your au pair is having fun, safe overnights, and she just wants to make sure you’re not worried, how should she tell you? Should she even tell you? I don’t actually want to know if my au pair is having fun. I do want […]

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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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If you have a housecleaner, does s/he clean your Au Pair’s room?

by cv harquail December 14, 2009

I admit, I was a little surprised to learn that some of us who pay to have our houses cleaned include the au pair’s room in the housecleaner’s duties. Probably it’s because I’m always trying to save money and have needed to have the housecleaner’s energy all on the main parts of the house, but […]

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Your Au Pair’s Room: How much mess can you take?

by cv harquail December 14, 2009

A host mom sent me a few photos of her au pair’s bedroom (taken with the au pair’s permission). The host mom was agonizing, because the room was a freaking mess. This family’s au pair was following the two most important bedroom-related rules: No dirty dishes and no candles/incense. But otherwise the place was a […]

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Birth Control and Your Au Pair

by cv harquail November 5, 2009

I wasn’t really ready to blog about this particular topic, even though it’s on the list of 378 topics I brainstormed 18 months ago… We got an anonymous comment on a different post that raised the issue… so here we are. It can’t be any harder to blog about than it is to do! You […]

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My Au Pair Won’t Get a Flu Shot … and we have an Infant. Now what?

by cv harquail October 15, 2009

There are several situations where getting a flu vaccine is a MUST— and one of those is if you care for a child under 6 months old. These littlest ones are uniquely vulnerable to both the regular flu and the H1N1 virus– because they are too young to be vaccinated themselves. Adults who care for […]

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Flu Shots for Your Au Pair: Polls

by cv harquail October 15, 2009

Let’s “take the temperature” of the AuPairMom community… and see what’s happening in your home about the flu vaccine and the H1N1 vaccine… 3 Reasons to Take Your Au Pair for a Flu Shot (AuPairMom.com)

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