Random Advice

Update on the Au Pair Lawsuit — what’s next?

by cv harquail January 10, 2019

I could hardly sleep last night after reading the Wall Street Journal’s article about the recently proposed settlement of the lawsuit against Au Pair Agencies. The agencies will be paying out around 65 million dollars to au pairs who sign up online at a site created by the law firm pursuing the suit. As many […]

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Does a candidate’s childcare or work experience really matter?

by Texas HM October 24, 2018

I fully realize this flies in the face of parental logic/intuition and I regularly get a shocked expression when I tell other host parents that I don’t factor childcare experience AT ALL into my au pair interviewing/selection process. Keeping in mind our au pairs’ favorite joke is that it’s easier to get into the CIA […]

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Are oldest children better au pairs? Does an au pair’s family dynamics determine success?

by Texas HM October 16, 2018

On the last post a couple of folks commented that they would “never pick an only child” AP again. After a painful transition I myself recall saying that I was “never going to pick a youngest child again” – for many of the same reasons those people attributed to only children so it got me thinking – does […]

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Help This Mom Choose an Au Pair for Her Child with Autism

by cv harquail August 31, 2018

We can’t *really* tell which candidate is better, but we might be able to give this host mom some ideas for thinking about her choices. … First let me offer a big thank you – your blog is a wealth of information and I’ve learned so much from reading through it (and I’m grateful […]

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Finishing Strong – Having a Proactive Conversation about the End – by TexasHM

by Texas HM August 20, 2018

Photo by Alora Griffiths on Unsplash Over the years in part thanks to some great advice on this site I have had many “we really need you to hold it together” proactive chats with our au pairs. Some didn’t really need the chat and finished the last day with the same zeal and commitment that they did […]

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Updates and Open Thread – by TexasHM

by Texas HM August 13, 2018

Happy Monday everyone! In case you missed the PBS special last night on the au pair program (and weigh in by our fearless leader CV who I thought did a fantastic job!) here is the link to watch that and as always, happy to hear your thoughts on the special. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/have-au-pairs-been-exploited-as-a-cheap-source-of-labor Secondly, I wanted to […]

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Cultural Exchange: Little things you’ve learned about the US from your Au Pair

by cv harquail May 22, 2018

I was flipping back through some old posts and found one asking what our Host Kids have learned about other cultures from their Au Pairs. Northern NJ Mom’s list (reposted below) made me smile, and wonder: What kinds of small things have you learned about the US or your Au Pair’s home culture? Let ’em rip, […]

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My Au Pair Is Selling Products on Facebook: Should I care?

by cv harquail September 29, 2017

Au Pairs who want to make extra money, beyond their stipend and in violation of the State Department rules, usually stick to a few basic strategies — working a few extra hours for their family, walking a dog or two, or taking the rare emergency babysitting job down the street. None of these jobs are legal […]

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Beware the “Au Pair Program Survey”

by cv harquail May 9, 2017

Many of us long time Host Parents received an email today with the disarming subject line: “Tell Us About Your Au Pair.” The email is actually asking us to participate in a short survey about the Au Pair Program. The email does note that the information “will be helpful to au pairs in pursuing the […]

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