Scheduling

The Saturday Night Situation: When your Au Pair doesn’t think it’s fair that s/he’s on duty

by cv harquail May 21, 2011

There are two kinds of host family schedules — those that use up all of their 45 hours during the host parents’ Mon – Fri work week, and — those that don’t. I can pretty much guarantee you that if your host family schedule is the second kind, and you try to use your au […]

119 comments Read the full article →

What if we don’t follow through to rematch, when we said we would?

by cv harquail November 19, 2010

One of the most important lessons I learned when my kids were toddlers, and one of the important lessons I’ve tried to impart to our au pairs, is that actions have consequences. If we said no drawing on the wall and you drew on the wall, well then you would not be able to use […]

21 comments Read the full article →

Reading the Fine Print: How do Au Pair Agency contracts differ?

by cv harquail November 16, 2010

With our previous conversation about whether or not an au pair is supposed to be paid pocket money if s/he takes additional vacation weeks, I was reminded of this very simple and confusing issue: Although US regulations apply to any US au pair, each agency has its own ways of interpreting and explaining the rules. […]

30 comments Read the full article →

Our Au Pair Wants More Vacation: How to handle?

by cv harquail November 13, 2010

Every au pair gets two weeks paid vacation, and the convention is to have the host family choose one week, while the au pair chooses the other, subject to family agreement. The host family has slightly more ‘say’ about vacation scheduling, simply because the host parents need to arrange for childcare while the au pair […]

32 comments Read the full article →

She extended, and left her enthusiasm behind…

by cv harquail October 9, 2010

Readers, we got this request from one of our regular contributors, who needs our advice this time… Her situation is long, and the story is complex, but I’m posting it all because (it seems to me) that the context matters. There are issues of schedule change, trauma in the Host Mom’s life, efforts to work […]

37 comments Read the full article →

Exploited in Italy: What’s the best way to leave my host family?

by cv harquail October 5, 2010

Dear Moms, I’ve found your website infinitely helpful to get a look at “the other side” of the au pair experience, and now I’m hoping that you can help me. The Situation I am an American girl who moved to Europe to be an au pair last month. My host family consists of a single […]

8 comments Read the full article →

From “Part Time” to “Full Time”: Can I ramp up my au pair’s hours over time?

by cv harquail July 7, 2010

Dear AuPairMom, I’m a mom, employed part-time, who is thinking about getting an au pair. I’m thinking of having an au pair to (1) care for my kids while I’m working, (2) work with me as a mother’s helper as I care for the children, and (3) make it possible to get other things done […]

21 comments Read the full article →

10 Days of Work that Might Surprise Your Au Pair

by cv harquail June 7, 2010

What’s most surprising thing for Au Pairs to learn about Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day? A. They mark the beginning, middle and end of “summer”. B. They are celebrated with barbecues and maybe some nice cold beer. C. They are days when most Americans have “off” but most Au Pairs do not. Answer? […]

91 comments Read the full article →

Au Pair Guidelines: What’s a reasonable curfew? (Poll)

by cv harquail June 2, 2010

Do you have a curfew for your au pair on nights before she or he is scheduled to be on duty? Many Host Parents find that they need to be explicit about what time their au pair should be home, to make sure that she or he is ready to go the next morning. They […]

72 comments Read the full article →

Scheduling Your Au Pair: The Half Day

by cv harquail May 28, 2010

I don’t know whether to be embarrassed or self-congratulatory when I say that the only place I have even run afowl of the Au Pair Program Regulations has been around half days. It wasn’t intentional, mind you, but I was ‘doing it wrong’. Oops. Au Pairs are supposed to be scheduled only for five and […]

92 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →