What Makes an Au Pair a “Rock Star”?

by cv harquail February 25, 2016

… asks a Host Mom who thinks hopes she has one. I think I’ve always assumed that, like quality and pr0n, “you know it when you see it” if you’ve got a Rock Star Au Pair. And, I’ve probably also assumed that what makes some one a Rock Star Au Pair really depends on what […]

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What’s Luck Got To Do With It?

by cv harquail February 20, 2016
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Absolutely, luck plays a role in the Host Parent – Au Pair Relationship. There’s all sorts of random in the timing of applicants’ availability, in the ways their portfolios get served up by Agencies, in their mention of that one little fact that makes us pay attention, and in the friends they make (or don’t) their […]

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Au Pairs With Manageable Health Issues – Would you match with them?

by cv harquail February 17, 2016
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Two different young women — potential au pairs — write with the same question: How do Host Parents feel about matching with Au Pairs who have manageable health issues? By “manageable”, we mean — well understood, medicated or controlled successfully for a long time, not likely to interfere with caregiving, and not likely to flare up […]

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Creating an Au Pair – Host Parent Partnership that Doesn’t Exclude the Other Host Parent

by cv harquail February 12, 2016
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In some families, parents aim to share childcare and home management equally.  In other families, there is one parent (of the two, three or four) who serves as the “lead parent”.  The Lead Parent is the one who runs the forgotten lunch over to school, stays home when a kid is sick, and manages the family’s childcare. […]

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Which Au Pair Agencies are the Best to Work For?, asks future LCC

by cv harquail February 8, 2016
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What do Au Pair Agencies feel like from the inside? I know that I was delighted when I got to meet the folks at InterExchange face to face — it was clear that they genuinely care about the experiences of their Au Pairs and Host Families.  It seems like people there enjoyed their jobs and […]

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Au Pair Claims There’s Nothing To Eat, but the Fridge is Full

by cv harquail February 6, 2016
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Dear Au Pair Moms — I am a first time host parent to a 20 year old au pair from Eastern Europe.  She’s been with us for two months. We have two toddlers for whom she is responsible 4 days a week. She is “good” with the kids but definitely does not go above and beyond. We’ve […]

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Car Insurance for Your Au Pair: What do you pay? (Survey)

by cv harquail February 5, 2016
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Please join us in finding the best deals by adding your car insurance info to our Google Spreadsheet at this link: Au Pair Mom Car Insurance Survey  . 

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Partnership Advice for Au Pair Host Parents

by cv harquail February 4, 2016
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After our previous post, I went back to an old, old post to clip and repeat these key bits of advice for Host Parent Partners: Host Parent Partners need to confirm, explicitly, how they will work as partners as well as individuals to manage their Au Pair relationship.   Nothing about how having an au pair (or […]

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Transforming a Terrible Driver into a Safe Driver: Au Pair Success Stories?

by cv harquail February 3, 2016
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Usually when a Host Family gets a new Au Pair and discovers that the Au Pair can’t actually drive well or safely, we all say “Rematch”.   It’s just too darn hard to orient an Au Pair, teach the Au Pair to drive yourself, find the extra money for significant driving lessons, and/or deal with the […]

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Untangling and Saying Goodbye to Long-Term Au Pair

by cv harquail February 2, 2016
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Here’s a situation that’s a real outlier — this Host Family has had their same Au Pair for 8 years. First, as an Au Pair, then as a visiting (live in) student. Even though it’s an uncommon situation, I thought you readers might enjoy the whole story and have ideas to share. Now it’s time […]

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