Does a candidate’s childcare or work experience really matter?

by Texas HM October 24, 2018
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I fully realize this flies in the face of parental logic/intuition and I regularly get a shocked expression when I tell other host parents that I don’t factor childcare experience AT ALL into my au pair interviewing/selection process. Keeping in mind our au pairs’ favorite joke is that it’s easier to get into the CIA […]

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Are oldest children better au pairs? Does an au pair’s family dynamics determine success?

by Texas HM October 16, 2018
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On the last post a couple of folks commented that they would “never pick an only child” AP again. After a painful transition I myself recall saying that I was “never going to pick a youngest child again” – for many of the same reasons those people attributed to only children so it got me thinking – does […]

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Your Bra is Showing and My Kids Shirt is on Backwards – Giving APs Candid Feedback

by Texas HM September 11, 2018

I was chatting with fellow long time host mom/LCC/AP Mom regular Julie Dye this week and when she quoted her college professor R Wayne Boss at the University of Colorado – Boulder and it prompted me to shout “Amen” on the spot and ask if I could share/write a post about it! He says this: “Never […]

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Help This Mom Choose an Au Pair for Her Child with Autism

by cv harquail August 31, 2018

We can’t *really* tell which candidate is better, but we might be able to give this host mom some ideas for thinking about her choices. …   First let me offer a big thank you – your blog is a wealth of information and I’ve learned so much from reading through it (and I’m grateful […]

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Life Lessons in Cultural Exchange – Soft Benefits by TexasHM

by Texas HM August 25, 2018
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There are often discussions of the additional soft costs of hosting – some of which are “harder” and can be quantified like car insurance, little higher water/food bills or an additional Disney ticket but some of which can’t like the emotional investment/bonds made or time spent investing in your APs experience by providing a shoulder to […]

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Finishing Strong – Having a Proactive Conversation about the End – by TexasHM

by Texas HM August 20, 2018
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  Photo by Alora Griffiths on Unsplash Over the years in part thanks to some great advice on this site I have had many “we really need you to hold it together” proactive chats with our au pairs.  Some didn’t really need the chat and finished the last day with the same zeal and commitment that they did […]

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Updates and Open Thread – by TexasHM

by Texas HM August 13, 2018
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Happy Monday everyone! In case you missed the PBS special last night on the au pair program (and weigh in by our fearless leader CV who I thought did a fantastic job!) here is the link to watch that and as always, happy to hear your thoughts on the special. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/have-au-pairs-been-exploited-as-a-cheap-source-of-labor Secondly, I wanted to […]

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Back to School – How to Ease the Transition by TexasHM

by Texas HM August 8, 2018

Can you believe it’s that time of year again?!  If you are anything like me, in spite of how awesome my kids are about this time every year I am counting the days back to school (and the routine it brings back into our household)!  So how can host parents and au pairs work together to […]

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Seeking Northeastern-Area Host Parents to Interview

by cv harquail July 3, 2018
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Hi All– Engulfed by the crazy processes of prom/graduation / house-selling /house buying /moving and /writing-a-book, I have been profoundly unable to post here in Au Pair Mom. But, I do need to share this request from Ivette Feliciano of PBS NewsHour Weekend, who is seeking parents to interview for an on-air segment. I was […]

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Cultural Exchange: Little things you’ve learned about the US from your Au Pair

by cv harquail May 22, 2018
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I was flipping back through some old posts and found one asking what our Host Kids have learned about other cultures from their Au Pairs.  Northern NJ Mom’s list (reposted below) made me smile, and wonder: What kinds of small things have you learned about the US or your Au Pair’s home culture? Let ’em rip, […]

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