Agencies & Local Counselors

Why Doesn’t the Au Pair Agency Want Us to Help Out Another Au Pair?

by cv harquail January 18, 2016

When Host Families hear about Au Pairs in trouble, we often try to help. Host Families sometimes get some early, insider information about Au Pair – Host Family relationships that are deteriorating. When the Au Pair in question looks like s/he’s getting a raw deal, it can be tempting to offer to step in and help. […]

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Finding an Au Pair for a Situation That’s Not a Cakewalk

by cv harquail August 13, 2015

Host Mom Dorsi writes what she claims is a rant… but what we know is simply the reality. It can be hard to get responses from Au Pairs when the situation you’re offering doesn’t look relatively easy. We are in the early search for a new AP. I have contacted 8 candidates from one agency […]

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13 Things Your Au Pair Wishes Host Families Knew, guest post by Janine Snyder

by Janine Snyder August 5, 2015

Janine Snyder, aka GoAuPair’s ‘Au Pair Sis’, has some insight to share from an AuPair’s perspective. Au Pair Sis and AuPairMom aren’t related, but we have a shared mission: we’re both working to help Au Pairs and Host Families strengthen their relationships. From AuPair Sis: When an Au Pair chooses to leave everything he or she […]

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When Dental Drama Threatens Your Au Pair’s Extension

by cv harquail June 4, 2015

Dental insurance in the USA is pretty crummy. Or at least the insurance we have is — I swear that there’s never a procedure that’s completely covered or enough coverage to make it through the year. I supposed I should take this up with the HR department? But I guess I should be happy that we […]

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Massachusetts’ Domestic Workers Rights Bill. Time to write letters?

by cv harquail May 12, 2015

Massachusetts Host Families with Cultural Care Au Pair received the email, below, from their agency. As with so many forms of ‘official’ government communication, it’s hard to understand exactly how this bill might affect Au Pair Host Families and what any Host Family ought to do about it. Here’s the letter, please share your thoughts […]

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Energetic Male Au Pair Lacks Judgment. Should we rematch?

by cv harquail May 6, 2015

Dear AuPairMom — Our family has had au pairs since 2008. We had some amazing aupairs some mediocre and some terrible experiences that resulted in rematches. So one would think that we went through so many situations, we now know how to pick the right au pair and we know when it’s time for rematch. […]

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How Should Au Pair Host Parents Respond to Charges Against the Au Pair Program?

by cv harquail March 23, 2015

While I was away last week, a very disturbing post hit the Washington Post Wonkblog, where the title shares its central claim: “Au pairs provide cheap childcare. Maybe illegally cheap.” In the post, the author describes a class action lawsuit being brought against US Au Pair Agencies by a Colorado group called Towards Justice, on behalf of […]

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Fun Au Pair Activities for Monthly Cluster Meetings– ideas?

by cv harquail March 8, 2015

Dear AuPairMom and Readers– I enjoy reading the blog and learning from all your advice. I wonder if we could crowd-source some ideas? Our Au Pair Community Counselor is a lovely person, but sometimes she seems a little out of touch with what Au Pairs might think is fun or useful. Our Counselor […]

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Everything I know about DISC for Selecting Au Pairs — guest post by Should Be Working

by Shouldbeworking March 4, 2015

The always-helpful ShouldBeWorking has offered us her practical wisdom on so many occasions — and now she’s up to it again. This time, she’s put together ALL her advice about how to use the DISC profile tool for understanding potential au pair candidates. Not every Au Pair Agency uses the DISC profile, but for host […]

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Au Pair Extraordinaires: How Different Are They?

by cv harquail February 13, 2015

The Au Pair Extraordinaire program offers host families the chance to match with an au pair who has additional documented childcare qualifications by paying somewhat more per week. This option seems particularly attractive to families with infants and toddlers who seem to need a more experienced hand (e.g., a colicky child). The idea here is that someone […]

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