When to Disclose Host Parent Illness During Au Pair Match

by cv harquail July 18, 2016
16463233379_b667727063_m

Recently we’ve discusses Au Pair illnesses, when an Au Pair ought to share this information with Host Parents, and how / when Host Parents can best respond. Now, the shoe’s on the other foot, with this email from HostMomWithGoodPrognosis. Should this information be shared before matching with an au pair? Or later, once the au pair […]

26 comments Read the full article →

Should I Tell the Other Host Family Their Au Pair Is Leaving Early? (Poll)

by cv harquail July 7, 2016
6824864579_d0480c3166_m

Dear AuPairMom —  My au pair’s good friend here is an au pair as well. According to my AP, the friend is scheduled to work for her host family for a year but will be leaving a few weeks early. The problem? The Au Pair hasn’t told her Host Family that she’s leaving, even though […]

24 comments Read the full article →

Easy Patriotic Dessert for 4th of July –Au Pairs & Kids

by cv harquail July 2, 2016
Chmelik

Fourth of July picnics are the perfect time for desserts that feature the Red, White, and Blue, the Stars n’ Stripes, or your own combo of patriotic symbols. Some of these are marvelous, and simply too complicated. Between all the beer, burgers, and babies, who has time to make a fancy cake?   Hence, I […]

3 comments Read the full article →

Male Au Pairs: Everything You Wanted To Know about BroPairs

by cv harquail June 30, 2016
7301106978_3cacbc0379_m

Male au pairs are revolutionaries, and so are the families that host them. I love the ways that male au pairs and families that host them are pushing American stereotypes about masculinity and childcare. I love that male au pairs help us see different ways that our kids can connect to adults. I love that […]

39 comments Read the full article →

Chatting With Other Host Moms…In Real Life

by Frances Scher June 28, 2016
friend image

Frances Scher here again… I’ve been brainstorming this idea lately, and want to get some feedback. When we first started out hosting au pairs, my husband and I expected to meet a lot of other host families. Then we would know someone who had been down this road before and would be able to give firsthand […]

63 comments Read the full article →

Helping an Au Pair Whose Host Dad Is Acting Inappropriately

by cv harquail June 26, 2016
innocent

(Reposting from its previous place in another thread:) Writes Host Mom X, I need some urgent advice on an uncomfortable situation, with a new au pair and her Host Dad: One of our au pair’s besties recently ended her year, and our au pair has taken that host family’s new au pair under her wing. […]

52 comments Read the full article →

When & Why Do You Really Need an Au Pair Who Can Swim?

by cv harquail June 25, 2016
7181614291_038595db8a_m

A new host mom sent a long email about several challenges she’s experiencing with her Au Pair (and we’ll get to them in the next week or two). Her concern about her new Au Pair’s swimming skills stood out to me, maybe because my neighbors down the street — with a new au pair– have […]

22 comments Read the full article →

Newbie Host Mom Totally Not Sure She Needs Help (She Does)

by Frances Scher June 22, 2016
owl mailbox

  Hi! I am Frances Scher, and I am taking a turn at the APMom mailbox.  First up is a letter from a new host mom. Her previous expectations of the au pair program don’t seem to be lining up with the current reality. The au pair is not doing her job and following the […]

31 comments Read the full article →

Welcoming Frances Scher as Contributing Editor: Notes on the Blog

by cv harquail June 21, 2016
Frances S

Hi Everyone! I know, it’s taking me for. eh. ver. to make any moves with the administration and management of AuPairMom. No ads yet, can’t get organized for sponsored posts, upgrading tasks postponed not just till a rainy day but waiting for a monsoon, and so on. Meanwhile, I’m 56,000 words into what Annie Lamott […]

5 comments Read the full article →

Managing the Financial Costs of Rematch: Getting an Agency Refund

by cv harquail June 16, 2016
10870850604_63e61fa0e3_m

What’s a fair way to manage the costs to the Host Family of a rematch situation that they did not request themselves? Dear AuPairMom, We are currently in a re-match situation and I’m struggling with the agency’s rematch policy. We are only 2 weeks into a 12 month extension with our Au Pair, and she […]

15 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →