Foundations & Basics

Almost-done Au Pair Refuses to Work Weekends!

by cv harquail June 8, 2009

I heard this one ‘thru the grapevine’ over the picnic table tonight– and just so you know, I got irked on the host mom’s behalf, even though I don’t know her!! Here’s the situation: This family’s au pair has a little bit more than a month left before she leaves (for home or for a […]

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3 Ways to Reclaim Your Host Mom Mojo

by cv harquail June 7, 2009

Remember back when you were a brand new host mom, all excited and positive about getting an au pair? Before you knew that being a host parent could be really challenging at so many levels? Once you’ve had a tough experience, a disappointment, or even just several good au pairs in a row, you can […]

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Changing Visa status… should you get involved?

by cv harquail June 3, 2009

Here’s an issue I know absolutely nothing about– whether or not to help an au pair change her visa status. Here’s our host mom’s question: I am a first-time Host parent with a second year Au Pair. She has been with us for 8 months and has decided that she’d like to change her Visa […]

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Starting out on the right foot, when you’re on maternity leave

by cv harquail June 2, 2009

We’ve talked a bit about how to start out with an au pair, and it seems that in general, we think that the best strategy is to get her working right away. This helps your au pair feel needed, distracts her from homesickenss, helps with training, and ramps all of the family up fairly quickly. […]

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Learning about the “Education Requirement”

by cv harquail June 1, 2009

The education requirement for au pairs on one of those features of the program that can be misleading, both for families and for au pairs themselves. My sense is that the US, the agencies and the LCCs all know that meeting the requirements with ‘only’ $500 tuition credit is almost impossible. And, they rely on […]

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What’s the cure for “Summer Fever”?

by cv harquail May 22, 2009

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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Au Pair Advice: Can we get her to speak the right language with the kids?

by cv harquail May 21, 2009

Sing me Spanish techno? This just in from Madrid!! A host mom with a different kind of language challenge! Just about every host family- au pair relationship I know of feels some kind of communication challenge… and these are always exacerbated when the host family and au pair grew up speaking different languages. But this […]

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Follow Up: Rude Comments about Au Pairs– How to respond

by cv harquail May 19, 2009

I was thinking again about our conversation around "Myths about au pairs: Au Pair = "Hottie" , and ideas about how to respond when people make rude comments to us host parents about au pairs. One au pair commented that she was concerned that If people make these sorts of comments in your au pair’s […]

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If you were an Au Pair: Agency or Website?

by cv harquail May 18, 2009

On the heels of our conversation about whether or not we as host families prefer agencies or websites to find our au pairs , comes an email from a potential au pair on the same topic: Next year I plan to get experience as an Aupair. I’m from Australia, and it has been very hard […]

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Should you share your au pair?

by cv harquail May 14, 2009

Good friends share with each other… tips about shoe sales, complaints about PTA events, and the whipped cream on their Frappucinos (yes, really. Ask Jenny.) But, as a good friend, should you share your au pair? (Note that it’s against the guidelines of most agencies for your au pair to work for anyone but you. […]

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