How Should an Au Pair Decide Which Family to Match With?

by cv harquail October 13, 2016
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A PopularAuPair candidate faces an embarrassment of riches. Lots and lots of  families are contacting her via the website where she’s posted her application.  She’s got many to choose from as she accepts or declines invitations for interviews.  But she’s not 100% sure of the criteria she should use. She explains: I’m a 20 year old American […]

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Your Au Pair’s Bedroom: What to provide to make your Au Pair comfortable and welcome

by cv harquail October 11, 2016

Picture yourself in this room.  Imagine that you’ve just spent 8 hours with energetic kids, talking in your second language, driving on unfamiliar streets on the wrong side of the road. Wouldn’t it be lovely if you could walk upstairs, open the door, and step into a room like this?   It doesn’t have to […]

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Au Pair Getting High In Our Home

by cv harquail October 9, 2016
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When we know an Au Pair is doing something that contradicts our house rules, but we aren’t able to present positive proof of this, what can we do? We don’t want to be accusatory. But then again, we’re sure we’re right. We don’t need to see him or her rinsing out the bong in the […]

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Au Pair’s Room Is Also the Playroom. The Laundry Room. And the …

by cv harquail October 7, 2016
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Here’s another email that indirectly points out how important it is that US Au Pairs and Host Families have State Department Regulations that make certain conditions mandatory. This Au Pair, writing from Europe, has discovered that her Host Family family expects the Au Pair bedroom to also be the “playroom”. US Au Pair regulations require that an […]

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Don’t Evaluate Your Au Pair’s Performance

by cv harquail October 5, 2016
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Occasionally I get emails from Host Parents wondering about “performance reviews” for au pairs.   These emails ask whether anyone has a form they might share that helps parents evaluate Au Pairs on their performance of specific tasks.  Or, they ask if we have a feedback tracking system, where parents can set goals for au pairs’ performance […]

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When Interviewing Au Pairs, What’s In Your First Email?

by cv harquail October 2, 2016
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How do you present your Host Family when you’re introducing yourselves to Au Pair Candidates? It’s tough to strike the right balance between selling the appealing parts of your Host Family Situation so that you draw applicants towards your family, and being realistic enough to deter candidates who’d be a really poor fit with you […]

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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
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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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