Foundations & Basics

Your Advice Wanted: Should you have your new Au Pair overlap with your old Au Pair?

by cv harquail July 7, 2008
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Calling All Host Moms- We want your opinions! ** Should a Host mom have her incoming Au Pair overlap with her outgoing Au Pair? ** A reader recently posed this question in the comments section of the post on Orienting Your New Au Pair. Rather than responding unilaterally with my $.02, I’d like to get […]

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Want Safe Driving? Forbid your Au Pair to use the cellphone in the car. Period.

by cv harquail July 1, 2008

The announcement that California and Washington will ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving prompts me to write about safe driving and cell phones. For a long time, we didn’t even give our Au Pair a cell phone, but now she has one for her own use and for family emergencies. So, we […]

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Ways to start orienting your New Au Pair: Some advice for the first two days

by cv harquail June 30, 2008

The first two or three days can be really overwhelming– not just for your new Au Pair, but for you. It’s like drinking from the proverbial fire hose — Where do you possibly begin? How can you get it all done? How much will she actually understand? Should you spend the first few days sightseeing […]

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What are Host Dads afraid of? The Top 3 “Fears of the Host Dad” & How to manage them

by cv harquail June 25, 2008

Back when you were deciding whether to get an Au Pair, you might have encountered some resistance from your potential Host Dad. “I’m not sure I want someone else living in our house.” “Isn’t it just easier to hire a bunch of babysitters?” “Maybe you should cut back at work.” “Why can’t the kids just […]

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Our Home: Guidelines

by cv harquail May 15, 2008

Principle: Our home is for you to enjoy as a member of the family, and we expect that you will treat it with respect and consideration. You should clean up after yourself (put your dishes and clothes away) and do your own laundry, but we do not expect you to clean the whole house or […]

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Caring for the Children: Guidelines

by cv harquail May 15, 2008

Principle: We want you to help Child1 and Child2 grow into curious, happy, and friendly little children When on duty, your first priority should always be engaging with the children, facilitating and supporting their activities. Always be just a little bit early to pick up Child1 and Child2 at school. They get very nervous when […]

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Safety: Guidelines

by cv harquail May 15, 2008

First and foremost, your job is to make sure that you, Child1 and Child2 are safe. Never hit or shake the children. If long bouts of bad behavior ever frustrate you, it’s okay to tell the child to take a time out, have them sit in a safe place and take time to regain your […]

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AuPair Guidelines

by cv harquail May 14, 2008

Here is a sample of what you might use as “Au Pair Guidelines” Feel free to cut & paste, add, revise, whatever, to make these guidelines fit with your family practices and priorities. If you come up with some good guidelines, please add them to the Comments section! (Note: It is easy to personalize these […]

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