Interviewing Au Pairs, Have You Parents Ever Offered a Host Family Reference?

by cv harquail September 25, 2016
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Does anyone offer a reference to the Au Pair candidates they are interviewing? While every Au Pair candidate lists at least two references that Host Families can email or call, I’ve never heard of Host Parents offering references to Au Pair candidates. This seems to be a vestige from the days when it was assumed that Host […]

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How Do You & Your Partner Coordinate When You’re Interviewing An Au Pair?

by cv harquail September 21, 2016
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Host Parents who have partners have lots of choices about when — and even whether — to involve both parents in the Au Pair Interviewing process.     I’d love to know, among our readers, what the most common patterns are of getting each other involved. Obviously, if you have a spouse or a parenting […]

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What Are Au Pairs’ Favorite American Trips?

by cv harquail September 18, 2016
Pile of suitcases from your au pair

Hi AuPairMom! I would love to hear from au pairs about their favorite places in the U.S. to take weekend trips. We always seem to end up with au pairs planning weekend trips around our kitchen table, and I’m struck by the places au pairs really want to visit. Vegas and Niagara Falls seem to […]

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Ways to Take the Fury Out Of Infuriating When an Au Pair Does You Wrong

by cv harquail September 16, 2016
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There are some Host Parent – Au Pair situations where, once they happen, you can’t really do anything.  Except get steamed. Even when it’s more than just the Au Pair’s behavior, getting steamed at that other Host Family or even at the Au Pair Agency that let it all happen doesn’t actually help you. So, […]

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Post by Email– not working? Test…

by cv harquail September 16, 2016

Hi Folks- A mom reported that she did not get the most recent post via email. Mailchimp recently upgraded, so I’m wondering if this has created a problem for everyone or if it’s just this one subscriber… so this is a test post.   Soon, back to our regular programming.   cvh

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Your Home is Not an Airbnb – Say no to too many Au Pair guests

by cv harquail September 14, 2016
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Oh good lord, this Host Mom’s got a problem — Her au pair wants to have six people — Six people — SIX PEOPLE — come to visit and stay in the Host Family’s home.  For TWO WEEKS. The answer is obviously, “No, that’s simply not possible”. The Host Mom doesn’t even have to go […]

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Recommend Your Favorite Parenting Books

by cv harquail September 11, 2016
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My neighbor is having her first baby, and I wanted to give her my favorite parenting book — “Becoming The Parent You Want To Be”. But when I went to Amazon to order a copy I was shocked — shocked — to discover that the book is now ten years old. Not that the advice […]

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Visa Questions for Extension Au Pair Who Wants to Travel Home

by cv harquail September 8, 2016
au pair visa questions

Readers, here’s a topic where I’m in the dark. Have any of you experienced this issue and found a solution? We have a fabulous au pair and are looking to extend her for another year. Her visa expires in October. We are essentially getting no help from our agency about how to extend her.   

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Matching With An Au Pair: What Kinds Of Photos Really Help an Application?

by cv harquail September 7, 2016
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As I’ve been writing the forthcoming ebook of AuPairMom’s Secrets for Interviewing Au Pairs I’ve been thinking a lot about the many small details in applications that seem to make a big difference to Host Families. The CameraReadyAuPair, below, must have been reading my mind, because she’s asking some of the same questions I’ve been […]

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Alas, One Au Pair Can’t Cover Your “40 Hour” Work Week

by cv harquail September 5, 2016
au pair advice, au pair problems

It’s a horrible reality:  Even if you have your au pair work a full 45 hours a week, if you work 40 hours a week yourself, your au pair is not going to be able to cover all your childcare needs. Every one of us full time working parents knows– that job is supposedly “40 […]

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