Your Host Parent approach

Making New Year’s Resolutions WITH Your Au Pair

by cv harquail January 4, 2016
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Number 5 on the short list of stupid, true things about life that I try not to let annoy me is this: It’s hard to change things* when people around you resist having you change. *”things” being: yourself, your situation, how you do things, what gets done, what is prioritized, etc. We forget that our lives are so […]

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Thanksgiving Thoughts about Gratitude

by cv harquail November 24, 2015
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[Two years ago we enjoyed this post on gratitude, and au pairs. Since there are so many new and different readers of the blog now, that I thought I’d post it again.  Following up this post is a chance to reflect what you’re thankful and grateful for in your host family- au pair relationship.  cv] […]

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Should Au Pairs or Host Families Pay Extension Fees? (Poll)

by cv harquail November 2, 2015
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TexasHM came across an interesting fact about extension application fees — it turns out, not all agencies automatically make these fees the responsibility of the Host Family. Depending on the practices of your particular Au Pair Agency, your family might choose to pay the fee yourself, split it with your Au Pair, or even have […]

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Gentle Ways to Let Go of Your Departed Au Pair

by cv harquail October 24, 2015
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Letting go of an Au Pair you’ve loved having as part of your family can be really, really hard. Really hard. Of course, it’s a nice problem to have … but it’s still a challenge. After all, you’ve had a wonderful year with your Au Pair — s/he’s been happy, the kids have been happy, you’ve been […]

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Should You Tell Another Host Mom That Her Au Pair Is Planning To Bail?

by cv harquail October 12, 2015
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“It takes a village.” That’s what my mom friends and I say when we talk about seeing each other’s kids do naughty things. In my bookclub we have a actual pact– if we see something, we say something. There’s a way that this agreement can feel kindof nosy. How can you tell Violet’s mom that […]

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When Your Au Pair Eats “Too Much”

by cv harquail October 2, 2015
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When you sign up for an Au Pair, you imagine your grocery bills to get about 20% larger. What’s incremental — beyond what you’re already buying — is another adult size portion of the main foods — another 8 oz of meat for each entree, 7 more bowls of cereal, another 3/4 of a gallon […]

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When What Host Parents Want Isn’t Quite What Host Parents Do

by cv harquail September 1, 2015
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Sometimes I look at my Au Pair handbook and roll my eyes. It is more fantasy than reality. More aspirational than actual. I look at the way I’ve described our family life: “We’re a fun loving family who enjoys playing together“, and I think of all the times I’d have preferred to stay on the […]

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Does Every Au Pair-Host Parent Relationship Deflate Towards The End?

by cv harquail August 25, 2015
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In a world where most AuPair-Host Parent relationships are just “fine”, are those of us who’ve had terrific Au Pairs simply lucky? Or have we forgotten the hard parts –as we’ve forgotten the pain of childbirth, or the sleepless nights of new parenthood– and just held on tightly to the good? Truth be told, I’ve […]

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What Forever Au Pair Wishes Her Host Family Knew

by cv harquail August 10, 2015
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Forever AuPair offered this as a comment to the earlier post13 Things Your Au Pair Wishes Host Families Knew, by Janine Snyder (AuPairSis). I thought it would make a great post of its own! What I Wish My Host Family Knew 1. Support your Au pair when she disciplines your kids, even if you would have done […]

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What Kind of Role Model Are You For Your Au Pair?

by cv harquail July 31, 2015
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The most wonderful thing a host mom or dad can hear from a former au pair is “You taught me how to be a good parent.” I will confess that I’ve heard this myself, from the two au pairs we’ve had that we’ve stayed in touch with and that have become parents themselves. It was […]

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