Your Host Parent approach

Traveling Together — Managing your Au Pair’s independence and Safety

by cv harquail January 18, 2011

And his voice had the sound of water leaving a vaseline bathtub

Dear AuPairMom Readers– I would love the input of some other host families regarding our upcoming cruise vacation with our Au Pair. We have never done a vacation like this with an AP and I am concerned about how best to make it work. Going along on the cruise are me (Host Mom), my husband, […]

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Experienced Host Parent is Weary: How can she regain enthusiasm for the Au Pair program?

by cv harquail January 12, 2011

Over time, being an au pair Host Parent can start to feel tiresome. Even though each au pair is new, with his or her own talents and challenges, the activity and responsibility of being a host parent stays the same. Sure, with each new au pair relationship you get better and better with your handbook, […]

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At Best, Two Weeks of Resentment?: How to handle that rematch period

by cv harquail December 22, 2010

How many among us who have lived through a rematch can describe the two weeks between agreeing to a rematch and having the au pair depart as anything close to a pleasant, respectful experience? I’m not even going to put up a poll for that question. I bet, too, that one reason we don’t initiate […]

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Should you get involved in another Host Parent’s Au Pair issue?

by cv harquail September 24, 2010

I promised you that there was a part 2 to the story of the au pair and host parents who were struggling with responsibility for damage to a car. That issue was shared with us by a host mom with a personal connection to the au pair. In addition to hoping for some ideas on […]

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Bring-A-Friend Friday!

by cv harquail September 16, 2010

Here are some questions for all of you Host Parents: Before you found AuPairMom, were you a little lonely? With no one to talk to who really grokked what it meant to have an au pair? Or who could celebrate your successes, and listen with empathy to your challenges? Were you ever frustrated that you […]

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Managing Au Pair Transportation in the ‘Burbs: Ideas for this Host Mom?

by cv harquail August 27, 2010

Our previous two posts, Providing Your Au Pair With Safe, Affordable, Convenient Transportation , and Don’t Abuse A Cluster Taxi have been set-ups for this next question, from SanJoseMom. SanJoseMom is a first-time host parent and trying to organize her expectations and establish a foundation for a successful au pair year. Hi AuPairMom – I […]

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Providing Your Au Pair With Safe, Affordable, Convenient Transportation

by cv harquail August 25, 2010

Here on AuPairMom we get a lot of questions about driving skills, driving privileges and managing cars. Behind all of these questions, like “who should pay for gas?” or “Avoiding a sense of entitlement” or “keeping track of car use“, is one simple principle– Host parents must provide our au pairs with affordable, safe, and […]

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Cultural Exchange: Let’s ramp up our learning

by cv harquail August 20, 2010

The world of au pairing makes some pretty big promises. Au Pairs are promised a year of hard work and adventure, the chance to live in the USofA, and the opportunity to learn first hand about American culture. Families are promised an energetic adventurous young adult who will partly assimilate into their families and partly […]

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After the Honeymoon: Seasons of the Au Pair Year

by cv harquail August 13, 2010

A host mom who prefers to remain anonymous shares her reflections, and helpful questions, about that delicate stage in your Au Pair- Host Family relationships…. those days when it only begins to dawn on you that, with this terrific au pair as well as any other, there will always be challenges… After the Honeymoon… The […]

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