Foundations & Basics

When Having An Au Pair Exposes Cracks in Your Marriage

by cv harquail January 30, 2016

Getting an Au Pair can expose cracks in your marriage that you haven’t seen before. Getting an Au Pair can also force you to pay attention to dynamics that have been there all along but that you and your spouse have “successfully” avoided before. It’s not the Au Pair herself or himself that “causes” the […]

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How Best To Celebrate Our Au Pair’s Extension? (Poll)

by cv harquail January 14, 2016

Dear AuPairMom — We’d love the community’s advice about how to recognize and celebrate our Au Pair’s agreement to extend with us. I’d like to know what is expected, common, meaningful, etc. Our family with save about $1500 (not to mention loads of time and hassle) because she’s extending for another year. I’d like […]

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Making New Year’s Resolutions WITH Your Au Pair

by cv harquail January 4, 2016

Number 5 on the short list of stupid, true things about life that I try not to let annoy me is this: It’s hard to change things* when people around you resist having you change. *”things” being: yourself, your situation, how you do things, what gets done, what is prioritized, etc. We forget that our lives are so […]

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Don’t Be Afraid To Rematch If Your Au Pair Can’t Drive

by cv harquail December 11, 2015

I truly appreciate Host Parents who are reluctant to rematch when their Au Pair isn’t “perfect”. I appreciate Host Parents who are willing to “work it out”, who are willing to reset their expectations, and who are willing to celebrate what an Au Pair *has* rather than worry about what an Au Pair is […]

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How To Count Au Pair Vacation Days

by cv harquail December 6, 2015

Please note: Check your Agency’s contract for their interpretation of vacation policies. These may vary from one Au Pair Agency to another. Here’s AuPairMom’s best shot at explaining the logic of vacation days… I’m being sensible, but not necessarily following the specifics of your Agency’s contract. There’s often confusion about how to count the number […]

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Au Pair DUI: Rematch or not?

by cv harquail November 30, 2015

The answer to this one is pretty clear to me, even though I’m not the host parent who’d have to find and train a new au pair right in time for the Holidays: Writes HostMomWithCarTrouble: Would you rematch if your Au Pair got a DUI? It was our car. The kids were not in the […]

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Thanksgiving Thoughts about Gratitude

by cv harquail November 24, 2015

[Two years ago we enjoyed this post on gratitude, and au pairs. Since there are so many new and different readers of the blog now, that I thought I’d post it again. Following up this post is a chance to reflect what you’re thankful and grateful for in your host family- au pair relationship. cv] […]

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Au Pair with Eating Disorder – Should She Leave Early?

by cv harquail November 14, 2015

We’re a little sensitive here at AuPairMom about the subject of eating disorders among young women. Some of us Moms have struggled with them, and some of us have children who have had or are currently working through eating disorders. So, as we go forward with this conversation, please be especially thoughtful. A brand new […]

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Should Au Pairs or Host Families Pay Extension Fees? (Poll)

by cv harquail November 2, 2015

TexasHM came across an interesting fact about extension application fees — it turns out, not all agencies automatically make these fees the responsibility of the Host Family. Depending on the practices of your particular Au Pair Agency, your family might choose to pay the fee yourself, split it with your Au Pair, or even have […]

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