Safety

Don’t Let BedBugs Take a Bite out of Your Au Pair Relationship

by cv harquail January 13, 2012

As a host parent, you’ve worried about car accidents, flu shots and even head lice. But did you ever think you’d need to worry about bedbugs? HMJ didn’t think so. But now, bedbug-related fears — all very reasonable — are challenging her relationship to her terrific Au Pair. Dear AuPairMom – We are 18 months […]

19 comments Read the full article →

New Advocacy Group to Help Prevent Exploitation of Au Pairs Worldwide: Your thoughts?

by cv harquail November 19, 2011

HI All- Two colleagues in the Au Pairing community have initiated a project to help international Au Pairs avoid being exploited. Talya Shoup Burnett, of Best Au Pair Guide, and Edina Stone of Au Pair Clearinghouse, are partnering to create Prevent Exploitation of Au Pairs (P.E.A.P.). The organization’s purpose is to raise awareness of the […]

27 comments Read the full article →

Example of an Untrustworthy Ad for Au Pairs

by cv harquail November 19, 2011

Here’s an example of the kind of web comment or bulletin board advertisement that au pairs should be wary of — Anonamomma very cleverly checked for similar text and found this in a place that seemed untrustworthy.

4 comments Read the full article →

Hurricanes? Emergencies?

by cv harquail August 26, 2011

Our Swedish au pair got off Skype with a friend back home in Stockholm last evening as we made dinner, looking rather gray and scared. She asked us to tell her which laws that had been changed now because of Hurricane Irene, and were we allowed to be walking around after dark.

13 comments Read the full article →

Au Pairs and Online Romances: Your role as a Host Parent

by cv harquail June 10, 2011

As host parents we feel responsible for keeping our au pairs safe, since they are under our roofs and with our families. However, we recognize that what they do on their own time is (largely) their own business. Au pairs deserve social autonomy, privacy, and the chance to experiment with new things and new relationships. […]

15 comments Read the full article →

Choosing an Au Pair: Will being “in recovery” from an eating disorder ruin my chances to Au Pair?

by cv harquail May 22, 2011

Would you match with a candidate who told you that she’d been treated for anorexia, and was currently healthy and in recovery? (Keep in mind that being “in recovery” for an anorexic is like being ‘”in recovery” for an alcoholic, in the sense that you are never “over it”, but always in the process of […]

60 comments Read the full article →

Have a 9-11 Plan for your family and your au pair

by cv harquail March 14, 2011

(First published on 9.11.09. Republished with original comments.) Thinking about ‘lessons’ from 9-11 can often be heartbreaking, especially in my community where so many of us lost family, friends and co-workers in the WTC attacks. It’s almost disrespectful to bring up the idea of a “9-11” plan, but maybe thinking ahead about how we might […]

13 comments Read the full article →

5 Ways to Assess an Au Pair’s Driving Skill when Choosing an Au Pair

by cv harquail November 4, 2010

The original title I had for this post was “In which we address, once again, the issue of driving skills”. However, since that’s neither SEO-friendly, nor really helpful, let’s see if we can actually come up with ways to assess driving skill. Everyone who has ever driving a car can call say that s/he’s an […]

33 comments Read the full article →

Can you train an Au Pair to be conscious of safety?

by cv harquail October 7, 2010

Hi AuPairMom, I can’t believe I’m sending this email, but I am at my wit’s end and don’t quite know where else to turn. I’ve been lurking on your blog for about 3 months, ever since we decided that an au pair situation would be a good one for us (we’re first timers). Here’s a […]

34 comments Read the full article →

Swimming, Personal Choices and Cultural Norms

by cv harquail July 5, 2010

A request for advice from “Everybody In The Pool” — Dear Au Pair Mom readers, An issue has arisen with our new au pair (arrived 2 weeks ago) – and it’s not one I anticipated. I’m hoping AuPairMom readers have some thoughts and insights… It’s a cultural issue and also a personal issue. It is […]

134 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →