Phases of AuPair’s Year

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

by cv harquail November 2, 2015
amy gaines

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 […]

38 comments Read the full article →

Gentle Ways to Let Go of Your Departed Au Pair

by cv harquail October 24, 2015
474086212_0e7074a103_m

Letting go of an Au Pair you’ve loved having as part of your family can be really, really hard. Really hard. Of course, it’s a nice problem to have … but it’s still a challenge. After all, you’ve had a wonderful year with your Au Pair — s/he’s been happy, the kids have been happy, you’ve been […]

5 comments Read the full article →

Welcoming Your New Au Pair While You Say Goodbye To Your Former Au Pair.

by cv harquail October 24, 2015
4347538509_f1d591333f_m

How do you manage to welcome a new Au Pair and create room in your heart for the Au Pair in your home, while you’re still missing your former Au Pair, the one who’s gone home? This question is not so much about “overlap”, when you have two au pairs in your home. It’s more […]

18 comments Read the full article →

Toddler “Hates” New Au Pair. What to do?

by cv harquail October 8, 2015
3904781914_07d093f4ab_m

Our third Au Pair just arrived and has been here for almost three weeks. She is very sweet, is trying hard, and while she may be too meek for our family, we are hoping she will come out of her shell with time.  We may have made a mistake by overlapping her with our last […]

25 comments Read the full article →

5 Ways for Au Pairs to Find Other Au Pairs

by cv harquail September 9, 2015
6586274421_981b42df67_m

It’s the season to Welcome New Au Pairs! A time for orienting, driving lessons, checklist making, getting lost, and — sometimes for new Au Pairs — feeling lonely. When a new Au Pair arrives, it’s critical that s/he make a few Au Pair friends right away. Only another Au Pair can understand the unique situation of […]

19 comments Read the full article →

Does Every Au Pair-Host Parent Relationship Deflate Towards The End?

by cv harquail August 25, 2015
8569015920_a9dffccf17_m

In a world where most AuPair-Host Parent relationships are just “fine”, are those of us who’ve had terrific Au Pairs simply lucky? Or have we forgotten the hard parts –as we’ve forgotten the pain of childbirth, or the sleepless nights of new parenthood– and just held on tightly to the good? Truth be told, I’ve […]

52 comments Read the full article →

Au Pairs, How Did Your AP Year Improve Your Job Prospects?

by cv harquail July 9, 2015
great au pair, perfect au pair

Inquiring moms and dads want to know– How did your Au Pair year help you find a job when you got back to your home country? How did what you learned and experienced as an Au Pair influence your outlook about what was possible for you? We Host Parents would love to believe that being an […]

17 comments Read the full article →

Time for a Reset Conversation – with the Whole Family

by cv harquail July 7, 2015
au pair problems, reset conversation

Things were going to hell in a hand basket. Dishes clean but still in the dishwasher. Laundry folded and never put away. Children announcing that they needed to be driven here and picked up there, at the last minute. Spouse “having dinner with a client. I told you about it yesterday” but nothing written on […]

16 comments Read the full article →

How to Fix It When Your Au Pair Starts Out On The Wrong Foot

by cv harquail June 29, 2015
5947460698_b35c698d8a_m

Four weeks in, and your Au Pair still isn’t doing what you’d expected. Worse, s/he’s not doing what you need.   You’ve finished up her formal orientation and in-home training, but your Au Pair hasn’t stepped up to fill the role. Is there anything you can do? There are two kinds of early performance problems. The first […]

24 comments Read the full article →

Welcome Your Au Pair With a Fully-Stocked Bathroom

by cv harquail May 24, 2015
il_570xN.553886241_qytx

When your au pair arrives in your home, the way that you’ve prepared for their arrival can say a lot about how excited you are to get to know them. We’re all away of the basic things we should have ready —  a clean, happy bedroom, a freshly printed handbook, a personalized map,  a training schedule, […]

30 comments Read the full article →