Swim Safely, by following my sister’s rules

by cv harquail June 10, 2009
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My sister Julia and her family spend the bulk of their summer at the New Jersey shore, biking between the pool at my dad’s house, the pool at the beach club, the river and the ocean. Only one of these locations has professional lifeguards– the rest of the time we all depend on sensible swimmers […]

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Almost-done Au Pair Refuses to Work Weekends!

by cv harquail June 8, 2009
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I heard this one ‘thru the grapevine’ over the picnic table tonight– and just so you know, I got irked on the host mom’s behalf, even though I don’t know her!! Here’s the situation: This family’s au pair has a little bit more than a month left before she leaves (for home or for a […]

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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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What a little bird said about Au Pairs

by cv harquail June 7, 2009

Now that I see a bunch of au pair mom advisors on Twitter, guess I must double up with accounts. my alterego? @cvharquail # Check out this interesting interview about The Daddy Identity Crisis http://bit.ly/102trV # Just found this comparison of au pair programs. Great if you read German (or understand “ja”) http://bit.ly/BlCxe # A […]

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It’s not you, it’s her. Let her go, move on.

by cv harquail June 5, 2009
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Hi AuPair Mom and other other host moms (and dads), Our situation is confounding us! Please help us understand… We have had an absolutely bright, lovely, and energetic 20-year-old Swedish au pair for two months. We had a great first month with her and couldn’t imagine getting along better with anyone! We had a great […]

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A Little Something for/about Host Dads…

by cv harquail June 3, 2009
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Okay Host Dads, it being June and all, here’s a little info treat about– you guessed it– being a dad. Maybe the rest of us moms need to read it too so that we can be more sympathetic. ;-) The Daddy Brain Moms aren’t the only ones whose bodies change after having a baby. Jeremy […]

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Changing Visa status… should you get involved?

by cv harquail June 3, 2009
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Here’s an issue I know absolutely nothing about– whether or not to help an au pair change her visa status. Here’s our host mom’s question: I am a first-time Host parent with a second year Au Pair. She has been with us for 8 months and has decided that she’d like to change her Visa […]

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Starting out on the right foot, when you’re on maternity leave

by cv harquail June 2, 2009
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We’ve talked a bit about how to start out with an au pair, and it seems that in general, we think that the best strategy is to get her working right away. This helps your au pair feel needed, distracts her from homesickenss, helps with training, and ramps all of the family up fairly quickly. […]

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Learning about the “Education Requirement”

by cv harquail June 1, 2009
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The education requirement for au pairs on one of those features of the program that can be misleading, both for families and for au pairs themselves. My sense is that the US, the agencies and the LCCs all know that meeting the requirements with ‘only’ $500 tuition credit is almost impossible. And, they rely on […]

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