Your Host Parent approach

Feeling Squished by Our Au Pair

by cv harquail June 23, 2009
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What do you do when your au pair wants so much to be with you and your family that you never get any personal space? And, what happens when, in your efforts to be kind and generous, you continue to cede important personal space, events, and rituals to incorporate her, making your personal space smaller […]

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What skills has your Au Pair learned… from You?

by cv harquail June 20, 2009
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I was downstairs early this morning, in quiet reverie folding laundry. When I dragged the fitted sheets out of the dryer and started the elaborate and effective semaphore choreography that gets them folded into tidy piles, I was reminded of all of the crazy little things that I have taught my au pairs over the […]

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Traveling with Kids: Book to investigate

by cv harquail June 20, 2009
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Strolling across the interweb this morning, I came across this review of a book about traveling with kids … and it looks like the kind of information Au Pair host parents might be interested in. Many of us choose to have Au Pairs over US college student live-ins, or other caregivers, because we’d like to […]

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Your Au Pair’s Guests: A few guidelines….

by cv harquail June 17, 2009
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I just love reading all these posts nodding my head knowing I am not alone in my feelings! One topic that I think may have been covered lightly is Out of Town Guests. Our Au Pair is having A TON of guests! She has her Step Father coming, a single girlfriend, a married couple, her […]

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Extending– without the Agency. Yes or no?

by cv harquail June 17, 2009
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We are in month 8 with our first au pair (she’s frmo Thailand), who has been great. We would like to extend, and she would like to stay for at least six months more, but she would like to do so outside of the agency. Apparently a friend of hers, at the end of her […]

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Working out isn’t working, is it?

by cv harquail June 11, 2009
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What really counts as "work" and when are we willing to bend the rules? This mom’s getting a workout– and not the kind that makes your heart healthy. … "We are family members at our local gym, which provides childcare while parents are working out. We added our au pair to our membership (didn’t change […]

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Advice Wanted: Lost Mojo, Cold Feet. Now what?

by cv harquail June 7, 2009
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Some call it losing your Host Mom Mojo. Others call it cold feet. Whatever it is that MR has, she needs some advice: "My new au pair is scheduled to arrive in less then 3 weeks. So far, we have had 2 au pairs in one year, both were failed matches. To make the matters […]

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3 Ways to Reclaim Your Host Mom Mojo

by cv harquail June 7, 2009
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Remember back when you were a brand new host mom, all excited and positive about getting an au pair? Before you knew that being a host parent could be really challenging at so many levels? Once you’ve had a tough experience, a disappointment, or even just several good au pairs in a row, you can […]

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Rematch? You vote yes or no….

by cv harquail May 25, 2009
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When I saw this comment pop up earlier tonight, it reminded me of the story that we just discussed… so many similar issues. So I have an idea– let’s take a vote on whether or not this mom should insist on a rematch. Then, let’s give this mom some ideas about what to tell her […]

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What’s the cure for “Summer Fever”?

by cv harquail May 22, 2009
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When seasons change, so do family schedules. When family schedules change, so do au pair schedules. And when au pair schedules change, sometimes you uncover a problem. For my family, there is a big difference between winter and summer. In the summer, we spend weekends and even some full weeks at my dad’s house at […]

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