Vacations

What’s the cure for “Summer Fever”?

by cv harquail May 22, 2009
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When seasons change, so do family schedules. When family schedules change, so do au pair schedules. And when au pair schedules change, sometimes you uncover a problem. For my family, there is a big difference between winter and summer. In the summer, we spend weekends and even some full weeks at my dad’s house at […]

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Setting Guidelines when your Au Pair has guests

by cv harquail April 23, 2009
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When an au pair has guests come to visit, it is tempting for the Host Parents to give the au pair lots of ‘extras’– extra time off, extra flexibility, extra food and space, and basically to try to accommodate their au pair’s expected desire to spend time with the visiting friend or family member. This […]

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Summer Au Pair Programs: Anyone tried them?

by cv harquail April 5, 2009
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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
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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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Poll: How long, exactly, is “two weeks vacation”?

by cv harquail March 11, 2009
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The question has been posed: How do you count "two weeks vacation"? I’m not sure of the "official" rule, so I hope a Local Community Counselor can chime in, but in the meantime, let’s see how we host moms interpret that guideline. And, when you and your Au Pair arrange her vacation, how do you […]

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Advice Wanted: Au Pair changed her vacation… now what?

by cv harquail March 10, 2009
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Moms- Big conversation going on today about Mary’s au pair…. Here’s the conversation so far…. Join in! Our au pair has been with us for 8 months. She transitioned from another family and has not been the greatest. She does the bare minimum and has left the children unsupervised. She doesn’t make good decisions and […]

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Don’t take your Au Pair on vacation during her first 3 months!

by cv harquail February 8, 2009
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Okay host moms- I’m coming out with a pretty specific "Don’t": Don’t, I say DON’T, take your au pair on a vacation the first 3 months she is with you. Why? Because: 1. It sets up inaccurate expectations about how she will be treated (e.g., as a guest and tourist vs. as a ‘working’ member […]

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It’s YOUR vacation, not hers. Okay?

by cv harquail February 2, 2009
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I had a long listen at a neighborhood party last week…one of my host mom friends had just come back from a family vacation to Disneyworld. Three kids, three adults, two bedrooms, 5 days. And for my friend, not a vacation at all. What went wrong? I’ll tell you what went wrong. My friend forgot […]

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Plan Ahead for the Holidays. How will your Au Pair celebrate with you?

by cv harquail October 1, 2008
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I was just stunned to learn this morning that there are only 12 weeks until Christmas. 12 Weeks!!! While my Jewish friends have been celebrating their new year, I have been stumbling along oblivious to how quickly the fall has been flying by…. so thank goodness that blogger Tsh over at SimpleMom.com reminded me that […]

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