Extending with your current Au Pair: A Bad Idea?

by cv harquail April 20, 2009
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Our post about interviewing extension candidates reminds us of an earlier bit of advice that was a surprise to many of us host parents. My LCC gave me great advice. No matter how good the relationship is, NEVER extend with the same au pair. It almost never works out. She thinks that an au pair […]

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What keeps you hanging on to a disappointing Au Pair?

by cv harquail April 19, 2009
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Let’s look at the other side of the situation of the half-empty/half-full relationship … We’ve shared and commented on stories from host parents who are having bad experiences but can’t seem to let go , even though to us — as outsiders looking in — the decision to rematch (or not to extend) seems both […]

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Announcing…. International Au Pair Appreciation Week!

by cv harquail April 18, 2009
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International Au Pair Appreciation Week May 1 – 9, 2009! Au Pair Appreciation Week is our chance as host moms and dads to celebrate what we enjoy the most about having au pairs in our family lives. Although moms and dads who ask for advice here on AuPairMom are occasionally accused of being grumpy, demanding, […]

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Oh, Dear Readers…..Your emails, discovered, finally

by cv harquail April 17, 2009
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I am having a small heart attack. Every now and then, over the course of writing this blog, I’ve wondered why I never got any email. Sure, lots of you posted messages and comments on the blog itself, and a few of you tracked me down through my profile, but I didn’t get mail of […]

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When you are available and your Au Pair is ‘on duty’ — how to manage?

by cv harquail April 16, 2009
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Caveat: This is NOT a post about (1) when you work at home and your au pair is on duty, [post for another day] or (2) when you are absolutely off duty and she is on duty…[post from earlier today]. This one is about: When you both are at home and available to the kids— […]

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How to find a great host family: Part 1

by cv harquail April 16, 2009
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Although this isn’t a blog for au pairs to get advice on being an au pair, sometimes it’s just nice to have the opportunity to share advice, especially when it comes to helping an au pair clarify her needs and expectations before she begins her host family search. Hello! My name is Casey, I’m from […]

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Scheduling your Au Pair to be on duty when you are at home…

by cv harquail April 16, 2009
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I got a bit of a chuckle when I saw this topic suggestion on the Skribit form: “Should you make your au pair work on weekends if both parents are at home doing nothing?” The topic suggestion was anonymous, but if I had to guess I’d say it was from an au pair. Why? Because […]

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Can this relationship be saved? Our Au Pair rubs me the wrong way….

by cv harquail April 15, 2009
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Sometimes a host parent’s complaints about an au pair seem legitimate. Sometimes the complaints don’t seem legitimate. And sometimes, the host parent just really isn’t sure. Here’s a long request for advice from Anonymous . She sets it up as though she might be a bad person… and let me tell you that by the […]

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3 Ways to be a Great Host Parent

by cv harquail April 14, 2009
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Here’s the first in an occasional series about Ways to be a Great Host Parent . Sorry Tolstoy. Whether happy or not so happy, not every host family is the same.  We host families like to revel in our uniqueness and we like to think that, for the lucky au pair, our family is just […]

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Build the Mothers’ Rights Movement!

by cv harquail April 10, 2009
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Up to this point I haven’t posted here at AuPairMom on topics beyond the particular world of hosting Au Pairs, but today I’m making an exception to share the offer I got, below, from an organization that I really believe in: MomsRising. MomsRising is an organization whose "members are bringing important motherhood and family issues […]

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