Being generous

Using Your Car is a Privilege, not an Entitlement: Best practices

by cv harquail March 24, 2009

Second only to food as a ‘terrain of struggle’ is the shared family car. While the luckiest of us host families has an extra clunker or not-so-clunker available for the au pair to use as her own, many more host families have their au pair share the family car. And, some host families do not […]

40 comments Read the full article →

The kind of question I love to hear from Au Pairs! And your answers …?

by cv harquail March 14, 2009

I’m so glad to have the chance to highlight some of the nicest things about having an au pair. Discussing the good things not only benefits host parents who are new to the whole thing and need some encouragement, but also helps out any experienced host parents who need to be re-juiced. Here’s a question […]

11 comments Read the full article →

Advice Wanted: ‘Former’ Au Pair Has Outstayed Her Welcome. What to do?

by cv harquail March 10, 2009

Speaking of being taken advantage of and being too generous…. check out Cynthia’s situation….And offer her some advice!! Does anyone have experience when AP wants to spend the 13 month with you??? I can’t seem to get her to leave. She always says her plans have change or she is waiting for money, etc. LCC […]

11 comments Read the full article →

Tip: Save those Ice Skates!

by cv harquail January 18, 2009

At the park across the street, the pond has frozen. (This is actually what it looks like!) Every time the pond freezes, I congratulate myself for saving my old ice skates. About five years ago, when my little ones were taking skating lessons , I bought myself skates that actually fit me so that I […]

3 comments Read the full article →

Gift, Bonus or Tip: Call it what you want, but keep in mind….

by cv harquail December 17, 2008

I’m intrigued by the comments in the previous post about a Christmas/ Holiday tip for your au pair… it seems that some readers are taken aback by the idea that one would tip ones au pair. As a trained social scientist, I see these reactions as "data" — but what is the data telling me? […]

12 comments Read the full article →

Advice wanted: How to Keep Track of Au Pair’s personal car use?

by cv harquail December 17, 2008

How do you and your au pair keep track of her personal use of your shared car, so that she pays for her own gas while you pay for the gas used when she’s on duty? I must admit, I’ve had the luxury of (most times) having a third car that was pretty much only […]

27 comments Read the full article →

Au Pair Moms: Be my päkapikud?

by cv harquail December 15, 2008

I have a little Christmas wish, prompted by a few comments from you readers over the last 2 weeks or so. I’m wondering, would you be my holiday päkapikud? What’s a päkapikud? A päkapikud is a little Estonian elf. Our very first Au Pair, Margit, used päkapikud as a nickname for my daughter. How can […]

5 comments Read the full article →

How much should you tip your Au Pair at Christmas?

by cv harquail December 12, 2008

If you celebrate Christmas and if you don’t, the quote-unquote Holidays are a time of year when many people think about giving, some people think about getting, and most of us think about both. If you were to search for information about Christmas Tips for au pairs, you’d discover that the commonly-advised amount is "one […]

15 comments Read the full article →

Christmas Tip: Tell your Au Pair what your family believes about Santa

by cv harquail December 12, 2008

Three Wise Monkeys (Oops, I Mean Three Silly Reindeer) by Pink Sherbet Photography.

Don’t put your au pair in that awful situation of being the person who blows Santa’s secret. Explain to your au pair how your family talks about the man in the red suit, what he does, and what he means. Help her understand your way of discussing the Santa phenomenon, so that she can coordinate […]

1 comment Read the full article →

Food and your Au Pair: Label it if you don’t want her to eat it

by cv harquail December 9, 2008

Do you know what it feels like to spend two precious hours baking several dozen homemade cookies for your daughter’s class party, only to discover the next day, when you go to wrap them, that your au pair and her friends have eaten all but 6? That’s about how I felt last week, when an […]

18 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →