Foundations & Basics

Welcome Your Au Pair With A Custom Google Map

by cv harquail March 19, 2014

HostMom Pippa takes advantage of easy online tools, and comes up with *surely* one of the greatest ideas for helping your au pair visualize her/his new surroundings (aka your world). She recommends creating a Custom Google Map: An easy way to share information with your incoming AP before he or she arrives is to create […]

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Classic Case: Should we keep trying with a Mediocre Au Pair?

by cv harquail March 4, 2014

Here’s a situation we see time and time again on AuPairMom: The family has an au pair (often, their first one) and the au pair is only okay. The au pair’s relationship with the kids is “fine”, but the au pair doesn’t follow through on her other responsibilities. The host parents have tried a few […]

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How to Sabotage the Au Pair’s Authority By Refusing To Discipline Your Kids

by cv harquail February 25, 2014

When I look around troubling dynamics in the au pair — host child– host parent relationship triangle, I see three Host Parent behaviors that seem to set everyone up to fail: 1. Parents undercutting the au pairs authority, especially by reversing decisions. 2. Parents skimming all the good chores, events and behaviors, leaving the au […]

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Autonomy vs. Food Safety When The Au Pair Cooks

by cv harquail February 21, 2014

How do I give my Au Pair autonomy in the kitchen without worrying that my kids are going to eat something that could make them sick? Dear AuPairMoms — I need to find ways to teach my au pairs about food safety, without offending them. Any ideas? Here’s my story: AP1: Raw Bacon My son was […]

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8 Ways To Teach Your Au Pair About Food Safety

by cv harquail February 19, 2014

Milk left out on the counter. Raw eggs in salad dressing. Undercooked chicken thighs. And of course, the picnic lunch with macaroni salad but no ice pack. All of these are food safety disasters. If your Au Pair hasn’t been taught about food safety, though, he or she might think these are harmless mistakes. That […]

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Celebrating Your Au Pair By Creating Experiences

by cv harquail February 15, 2014

Often when we want to celebrate a milestone with our au pair, our thoughts turn to gifts of things. We don’t feel embarrassed turning to gift cards and cash, because we know that our au pairs are often saving money for travel or for some special item at Urban Outfitters. We tend to recommend […]

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When Your Au Pair’s Parents Come to Visit

by cv harquail January 23, 2014

Dear AuPair Mom– We have a lovely, responsible Au Pair whose parents miss her dearly. They have decided to visit twice (twice!) during the year and want to stay with us in order to maximize their time with their daughter. I’m apprehensive about the whole thing, because hosting parents is not the same as hosting […]

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Announcing Au Pair Appreciation Week 2014

by cv harquail January 11, 2014

The 6th Annual International Au Pair Appreciation Week February 1 – 7, 2014 Host Parents, start your appreciation engines.…! For details on how celebrate your au pair or another au pair you know, click ahead…..

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Do You Have Regular Weekly Meetings With Your Au Pair?

by cv harquail January 5, 2014

Some Host Parents swear by the Weekly Meeting as The. One. Thing. (along with the Handbook, of course) that keeps the relationship running smoothly. Weekly meetings have a lot to recommend them. Meetings that are: Regular Planned in advance Agenda driven Happen outside of the day to day rush or parent/au pair transition time — […]

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Do Au Pair Agencies Really Rematch Au Pairs Who’ve Violated Safety Rules?

by cv harquail December 30, 2013

When it comes to host parents asking for a rematch, there are many grey areas. Whose fault was the problem? Did the parties try hard enough to fix things? Is the issue worth rematching over? We can debate these questions in almost every case. Except one– when an au pair violates a safety rule. If […]

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