"Her Next Adventure": Telling your kids that your Au Pair is leaving

by cv harquail August 25, 2008
waving goodbye little boy2

When people ask me about what it’s like having au pairs, one of the most common questions is “How do you and your kids handle having someone leave (and someone arrive) every year?” It can be very hard on the family, both parents and kids, when an au pair departs. One thing that I have […]

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Checkout Tasks List: Advice for when your Aupair departs

by cv harquail August 25, 2008
checklist

When your aupair is getting ready to leave for home or for ‘her next adventure’, there is a confusing array of tasks for her to attend to. Here is a partial list of tasks — tasks related to the home and the kids– that might help you and your departing aupair stay focused. Bedroom Remove […]

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When your Au Pair complains about working too many hours, but still less than 45… what can you do?

by cv harquail August 4, 2008
no whining cat

A Host mom/reader, Acicala, wrote in a comment/question last week that hit me right in the pit of my stomach, because this particular problem has been the source of nearly all the “APA” (AuPairAnxiety) that I have experienced as a host mom. The problem, in a nutshell, is when your Au Pair begins to complain […]

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6 Potential Problems with Au Pair Overlap

by cv harquail July 25, 2008
partied too hard

Even though the 6 Reasons to Have Au Pairs Overlap are compelling, there can be some significant downsides to this strategy for orienting your new Au Pair. Sometimes, these downsides will be deal breakers — the danger of having one of these problems go from ‘potential’ to ‘actual’ may outweigh the expected benefits of overlap. […]

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Tip: Give your Au Pair your camera so she can take candid shots of your kids

by cv harquail July 24, 2008
S1010105

Marguerite, a community counselor, sent me this great idea she got from one of her host families. The family leaves a camera at home with their aupairs with instructions to take candid pictures of their kids whenever the children are doing something particularly cute or fun. This way the parents get to see some of […]

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6 Reasons to Have Au Pairs Overlap

by cv harquail July 24, 2008
2 horses overlapping au pairs

Once you’ve had the opportunity to orient a new Au Pair, you realize how much work it is to teach an Au Pair all of your family’s systems and personalities. When you imagine doing this again in only 11 months (!), you may start looking for opportunities to reduce the amount of work for you– […]

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Your Au Pair’s Room: Advice about Transition Cleaning

by cv harquail July 7, 2008
mom-vacuum.jpg

As I was staggering down the stairs to the laundry this morning, burdened by my armload of bedding from the Au Pair room, I remembered an important part of preparing Your Au Pair’s Room. This important item is “Transition Cleaning”. Transition Cleaning When your Au Pair arrives, it’s nice to have the Au Pair’s room […]

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Your Advice Wanted: Should you have your new Au Pair overlap with your old Au Pair?

by cv harquail July 7, 2008
2-horses-together.jpg

Calling All Host Moms- We want your opinions! ** Should a Host mom have her incoming Au Pair overlap with her outgoing Au Pair? ** A reader recently posed this question in the comments section of the post on Orienting Your New Au Pair. Rather than responding unilaterally with my $.02, I’d like to get […]

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Want Safe Driving? Forbid your Au Pair to use the cellphone in the car. Period.

by cv harquail July 1, 2008

The announcement that California and Washington will ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving prompts me to write about safe driving and cell phones. For a long time, we didn’t even give our Au Pair a cell phone, but now she has one for her own use and for family emergencies. So, we […]

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Ways to start orienting your New Au Pair: Some advice for the first two days

by cv harquail June 30, 2008

The first two or three days can be really overwhelming– not just for your new Au Pair, but for you. It’s like drinking from the proverbial fire hose — Where do you possibly begin? How can you get it all done? How much will she actually understand? Should you spend the first few days sightseeing […]

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