Your Host Parent approach

Share One Bit of Advice for a New Host Parent

by cv harquail December 30, 2009
200912291750.jpg

By popular demand, here’s a challenge to all you host parents: Your challenge: Offer ONE, just one, thing you wish you knew when you became a host parent. If someone else has already offered your #1 bit of advice, go on to share your #2 bit of advice. Let’s rack ’em up, parents. (Au pairs, […]

97 comments Read the full article →

Holiday Bonus, Tip, or End of Year Cash Gift? (Poll)

by cv harquail December 18, 2009
200912181801.jpg

I’ve been reluctant to bring this topic up again because last year the idea of giving your Au Pair a holiday cash gift or top really seemed to freak people out. Check the earlier posts before you go wild: Gift, Bonus or Tip: Call it what you want, but keep in mind…. How much should […]

41 comments Read the full article →

Temporary Eviction: Would you make your Au Pair stay somewhere else while you are on vacation?

by cv harquail December 17, 2009
200912170858.jpg

Host parents, we got a request for advice from an au pair who is facing temporary eviction while her host parents are on vacation. The situation is a bit of an emergency, since the family is slated to leave within the week. Your ideas? Here’s the situation: Dear Au Pair Mom readers, I am an […]

42 comments Read the full article →

Christmas Tip: Make sure your Au Pair has a stocking

by cv harquail December 10, 2009
200812111017.jpg

If you are a first-time host family, and if you celebrate Christmas, you might find yourself caught off guard when you begin to incorporate your Au Pair into your family traditions. Some families will want their au pair to help select and decorate the tree, others won’t. Some families will invite the au pair to […]

21 comments Read the full article →

Will your Au Pair be On Duty this Thanksgiving? (Poll)

by cv harquail November 22, 2009
200911220913.jpg

Every holiday my DH and I have the same holiday conversation: Should we ask our Au Pair to be on duty? Scheduling your au pair to work on and around holidays, family vacations, and birthdays (yours and hers) can be challenging, because you’re once again right on top of the question– What does it mean […]

39 comments Read the full article →

Thanksgiving Day Tip: Involve your Au Pair in Story Corps’ National Day of Listening

by cv harquail November 21, 2009
200911210919.jpg

Here’s a Thanksgiving activity that you can involve your au pair in, that can keep her engaged, keep family members engaged, and create something special for all of you. Have your au pair lead the family in the Story Corps’ National Day of Listening. The actual National Day of Listening is the day after Thanksgiving […]

3 comments Read the full article →

On celebrating each other’s religious holidays

by cv harquail November 9, 2009
Orange star micamica.jpeg

Only 4.5 weeks till Hanukkah, 8 weeks until Christmas, 9 until New Years… Time to think about weaving your Au Pair into your family’s celebrations. You should think ahead, and talk with your au pair, because holidays can be important times to feel in or out of a family, acknowledged or overlooked, celebrated or taken […]

25 comments Read the full article →

Birth Control and Your Au Pair

by cv harquail November 5, 2009
_2077_2167085417_df477e3ae6.jpg

I wasn’t really ready to blog about this particular topic, even though it’s on the list of 378 topics I brainstormed 18 months ago… We got an anonymous comment on a different post that raised the issue… so here we are. It can’t be any harder to blog about than it is to do! You […]

50 comments Read the full article →

Cultural Exchange and Having an Au Pair

by cv harquail October 20, 2009
difft from other girls.jpg

Today I was interviewed by a journalist who is writing an article for a parenting magazine about the au pair hosting experience. One area she was very interested in was the idea of Au Pairs as a cultural exchange experience for the host kids. She wanted to know: How much of the host family experience […]

13 comments Read the full article →

Share the Cream: Give your AP meaningful work to do

by cv harquail September 28, 2009
200909282010.jpg

One piece of advice my friend Adelaide gave me when we got our first au pair was “Share the Cream.” “Sharing the Cream” means sharing both the good parts (the cream) as well as the tough parts of a job or an experience. I don’t know where Adelaide came up with this saying, but it’s […]

12 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →