How Long is Too Long to Hold an Au Pair Candidate’s File?

by cv harquail April 7, 2016
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I don’t know anything about baseball, but even so, the question raised in this post is a little “inside baseball”.  I think that means, you have to know a good bit already to even have an opinion about it. Briefly, the situation: — A mom writes that she’s having a hard time finding candidates, and she […]

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Write Your Departing Au Pair A Decent Letter of Reference

by cv harquail April 5, 2016
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…as long as she wasn’t unsafe, devious, or truly dreadful. A Host Parent Letter of Reference Makes a Difference Whether it’s for an au pair extending with another family, rematching due to poor fit with you, or applying for a job, school program or other opportunity, a letter of reference helps your au pair document […]

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Share Your Schedules for Training Your AuPair — The First Week

by cv harquail April 3, 2016
DailySchedule

Looking over the many posts about getting started with an au pair, I made an interesting discovery: We have no posts with actual, recommended schedules. We have one really solid post from 2008 (!) where I list 5 strategies for orienting your au  pair in the first week: 1. Start with the typical day’s tasks. […]

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Seeking Guest Editors for the Spring

by cv harquail March 29, 2016

Hi Everyone- I have a big commitment over the next three months — I’m working hard on a book, plus building a platform, writing a newsletter and starting some vlogging.  I have too much on my plate, and just not enough time (and typing energy) to keep all the plates spinning.   I’ve decided that […]

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Addressing a Vast Gap Between Ethical Standards: Yours vs Your Au Pair’s

by cv harquail March 25, 2016
john rawls

There are “cultural differences” and there are “philosophical differences”. With cultural differences, it’s less about “right” or “wrong” than about how folks prefer to do things. With philosophical differences, it’s all about right and wrong.   So how do you manage when you discover that your au pair thinks something is perfectly fair to do, but […]

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Safety Tips for Au Pairs Using Tinder and Other Dating Apps

by cv harquail March 22, 2016
make good choices

Used to be we’d only have to give our Au Pairs a safety lecture about drunk guys at bars who assume things when they hear the words “Au Pair”.  Now, if our Au Pairs are using dating apps to meet people, we might have to expand our conversation about what’s safe and what’s appropriate. Yes, […]

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Tips for a Nervous First Time Host Mom

by cv harquail March 16, 2016
Mary Poppins

Do you remember how excited you were, once you’d matched with your first au pair? Wondering what s/he’d really be like? How the kids would take to her/him? How you’d all get along? I myself was in a bit of a haze, getting ready to return to work from maternity leave, starting up classes again, […]

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Monitoring Your Au Pair’s Driving Using Car Apps and Tools

by cv harquail March 11, 2016
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In the new era of the quantified self, we have Fitbits for counting steps, apps for managing nutrition, online calendars to coordinate schedules, and GPS to get us where we need to go. Many of us use these tools not only for our selves, but also to organize our Au Pairs. We also now have […]

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Interviewing Rematch Au Pairs? Check Their References

by cv harquail March 7, 2016
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The Rematch / Transition Process makes everyone tense.   Au Pairs want to find a better situation but worry that host families will assume that rematch was their fault. Host Families want to find an in-country au pair who’ll fit better with their family, but want to avoid taking on some other family’s “reject”. Agencies […]

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Innocent Au Pair Shunned By Jealous Host Mom

by cv harquail March 5, 2016
innocent

Sorry about the headline, but how else to summarize this dilemma, below? Before you jump in with good advice, which you will, let’s remember that we only know one side of this story, and we should proceed with the assumption that it’s accurate. Take it away, team. Dear AuPairMom– Well, I’m a 23 year old […]

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