Au Pair Education Requirement: Any new strategies for meeting this?

by cv harquail June 23, 2017
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School’s Out For Summer! You could feel the excitement from each and every kid that streamed out of Edgemont School yesterday, as they brought armloads of art projects and long-forgotten sweaters out to their parents and caregivers at pickup.  And lordy don’t I know that feeling… there is no greater pleasure than hitting the “post” […]

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When All Your Host Kid Wants Is The Former Au Pair

by cv harquail June 9, 2017
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Au Pair transitions can be rough on kids. Some kids wonder if an Au Pair’s departure is their fault. Others get upset when their ‘totally best friend’ departs for her next adventure. Even though we have ways to explain this all to our kids, sometimes the kids have a hard time letting go of their […]

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Her Au Pair Takes Too Many Showers: Is this really the problem?

by cv harquail June 1, 2017
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Too many showers?  That’s so much better than the alternative. Really, who wants to tell their au pair that they need to wash more often? But we know, it’s these seemingly small things that can (1) be annoying and (2) tip us off to some deeper issues that should be addressed.   SoggyHostMom’s problem? “How […]

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Au Pair Robbed at Gun Point: How to help her recover?

by cv harquail May 24, 2017
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She’s safely home. And really upset. Sure, the worst didn’t happen. But it doesn’t matter. The Au Pair still had the experience of being dramatically unsafe, even though she’d done all the right things. The Au Pair still has to drive the car, go out in the evenings, be the responsible adult, and continue being confident […]

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What Happens When Your Au Pair Arrives — Unable to Work?

by cv harquail May 19, 2017
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This mom’s Au Pair has a very specific injury that is preventing the Au Pair from doing the job she’s needed to do.   Sure, it’s an injury from which the Au Pair will recover — eventually. But until then?  While few Au Pairs arrive in the USA wearing a cast or a sling, many […]

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When You Give and Give, and Your Au Pair is Oblivious

by cv harquail May 13, 2017
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Dear Au Pair Host Parents– I need advice/support …. Our awesome au pair went in to an emergency medical situation a couple of weeks ago, where she came down with a stomach pain, which turned into appendicitis, and later a ruptured appendix. All told it was 5 nights in the hospital, and 10 days off the […]

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Beware the “Au Pair Program Survey”

by cv harquail May 9, 2017
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Many of us long time Host Parents received an email today with the disarming subject line: “Tell Us About Your Au Pair.”  The email is actually asking us to participate in a short survey about the Au Pair Program. The email does note that the information “will be helpful to au pairs in pursuing the […]

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When a Host Child Has New, Psychological Challenges

by cv harquail April 29, 2017
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Every host parent of a child with special needs or unique needs knows to look for an au pair who’s ready to handle these sorts of challenges. But, life being what it is, these challenges can show up *after* you’ve matched, and while the au pair is happily placed in your home. Many au pairs […]

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Latest Salvo in Campaign to Shut Down USA’s Au Pair Program

by cv harquail March 24, 2017
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Host Parent Clients of Au Pair In America received a distressing letter from the Agency this week, sharing information about the ongoing legal action against all 15 of the approved Au Pair Agencies in the USA. The letter updates parents on the current status of the suit filed by lawyers from Boies, Schiller & Flexner, LLP, […]

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With Au Pair-Host Parent Problems, It’s Never Just One Thing …

by cv harquail March 19, 2017
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It’s usually a bunch of things, all tangled up in a knot, like when you put tights and long-sleeved T-shirts in the dryer. Just as with a laundry knot, you can’t just pull on (or fix) one thing, and expect the all the little pieces to unlock, unkink, and fold themselves up into nice packets ready […]

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