If the Au Pair Agency failed in their “due diligence”, what can Host Parent do?

by cv harquail May 19, 2010
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Parents, here’s an emergency plea from a First Time Host Mom, who needs advice on dealing with an unhelpful agency. LCCs and area directors, chime in too, please! Hello! I have a problem w/ an au pair company (which shall remain nameless) and I am not sure how to handle it. We are a new […]

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Getting Down (on the floor) with Host Kids: Too much to ask?

by cv harquail May 19, 2010
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One of my favorite moments as an au pair mom was the summer afternoon I came home to find my two year old in a diaper, my au pair in a bathing suit, both of them in the garden, covered in finger paint. They were having a blast. This particular au pair, although very mature […]

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4 Ways to Reduce “Seasonal Schedule Shift Syndrome”

by cv harquail May 18, 2010
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Seasonal Schedule Shift Syndrome: AuPairMom’s fancy name for “when your au pair gets grumpy because all of a sudden the whole schedule changes, and now s/he has to work an occasional Saturday night.” When school ends and ‘summertime’ begins, family schedules change. Rhythms for your kids’ days may change, as may your own work schedules. […]

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When you need some time alone … with your kids, without the Au Pair

by cv harquail May 17, 2010
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‘SotaGal commented last week about, sometimes, she just wants to be with her kids, alone. “Mommy-a-mano”, no DH, no DP, no AP. Just Mom & the kids. There is nothing wrong with that. We all want 1 on 1/2/3 time, time when we are the only adult in the room, the only adult in the […]

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Rematch with just 2 months to go? Or other options?

by cv harquail May 16, 2010
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An “I need advice right away” post from West Coast Mom: Dear Host Moms, Have any of you rematched near the end of your year? We are considering sending the current AP home, after an alarming call from another Mom who witnessed some alarming AP behavior in front of the kids (followed by months of […]

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The 2nd Best Goodbye Gift You Can Give Your Au Pair

by cv harquail May 15, 2010
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Last year one of our most active and committed community members “Taking a Computer Lunch“, casually mentioned something that she does for all of her au pairs shortly before they depart. She gives them the gift of “The Box“. What is “The Box”? We give our APs the biggest box their home countries permit, either […]

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Working Mom Realities at TheMamaBee

by cv harquail May 14, 2010
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For the small segment of the world who uses Twitter, Fridays are special days, full of treats. #FollowFriday (or #ff, for short) is a day when folks will tweet to recommend someone to follow… and it’s a great way to discover new resources and find new voices. Since most AuPairMom readers, like most Americans, aren’t […]

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Realizing you aren’t ready to be Au Pair host parents? And you have an Au Pair?

by cv harquail May 12, 2010
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If we only knew then what we know now… being an Au Pair Host Parent would be really easy. Okay, easier. As our au pair parenting experiences unfold, we learn a lot about what works and what doesn’t, what we can change and what we can’t, how we can accommodate to an au pair and […]

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Are you really ready to be a Host Parent? The Host Parent Readiness Test

by cv harquail May 11, 2010
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We spend a lot of time on this blog sharing ideas about how to figure out whether an au pair candidate is actually ready to do the job, live in another family, and explore an new culture and country. But, we haven’t spent much time sharing ideas about preparing *ourselves” for becoming host parents. We […]

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Since she’s temporarily returned to the nest– can I still give my (former) Au Pair advice?

by cv harquail May 10, 2010
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Funny how, once an au pair has become part of your life, he or she stays part of your life. Many au pairs go home or on to their next adventure, and we don’t really hear from them again. Others keep in touch with birthday cards and Facebook, and with some we are lucky to […]

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