Welcoming Your New Au Pair While You Say Goodbye To Your Former Au Pair.

by cv harquail October 24, 2015
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How do you manage to welcome a new Au Pair and create room in your heart for the Au Pair in your home, while you’re still missing your former Au Pair, the one who’s gone home? This question is not so much about “overlap”, when you have two au pairs in your home. It’s more […]

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Would You Consider a Transgender Au Pair Candidate?

by cv harquail October 21, 2015
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As more Americans become aware of transgender people’s concerns and rights, we’re seeing more transgender people coming forward to participate fully in our society. We’ve got transgender actors like “possibility model” Laverne Cox, transgender television hosts/media personalities  like Janet Mock (whose autobiography I recommend to everyone), transgender characters at the center of TV dramas, and of […]

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My Host Mom Hits Her Child — what should Au Pair Do?

by cv harquail October 19, 2015
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Au Pairs are very aware that they are expected to follow the parenting philosophy of their host parents. Au Pairs have to ‘get over’ cultural differences and differences in family tradition that suggest a particular way to handle a situation. Usually, Au Pairs draw on their own cultures’ and families’ parenting practices when they find […]

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Is Having Our First Au Pair Supposed To Be This Hard?

by cv harquail October 16, 2015
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A brand new Host Mom writes to share her distress.   Her Au Pair has been with them a whole two weeks now, and things haven’t fallen into place. Her toddler’s unsure about his new caregiver. The Host Mom’s unsure about how to coach the new Au Pair. The Au Pair’s unsure about how to […]

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Should You Tell Another Host Mom That Her Au Pair Is Planning To Bail?

by cv harquail October 12, 2015
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“It takes a village.” That’s what my mom friends and I say when we talk about seeing each other’s kids do naughty things. In my bookclub we have a actual pact– if we see something, we say something. There’s a way that this agreement can feel kindof nosy. How can you tell Violet’s mom that […]

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5 Reasons to Take Your Au Pair to See “He Named Me Malala”

by cv harquail October 9, 2015
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For a cultural exchange that will bring you and your au pair closer, take her (or him) to see the documentary film “He Named Me Malala”. He Named Me Malala opens nationwide this Friday, October 9.  Here’s the link to find showings near you: http://theaters.henamedmemalalamovie.com/ 5 Reasons Why You Should Take Your Au Pair to […]

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Toddler “Hates” New Au Pair. What to do?

by cv harquail October 8, 2015
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Our third Au Pair just arrived and has been here for almost three weeks. She is very sweet, is trying hard, and while she may be too meek for our family, we are hoping she will come out of her shell with time.  We may have made a mistake by overlapping her with our last […]

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When Your Au Pair Eats “Too Much”

by cv harquail October 2, 2015
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When you sign up for an Au Pair, you imagine your grocery bills to get about 20% larger. What’s incremental — beyond what you’re already buying — is another adult size portion of the main foods — another 8 oz of meat for each entree, 7 more bowls of cereal, another 3/4 of a gallon […]

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Au Pairs and Modesty: A Challenge of Cultural Fit

by cv harquail September 29, 2015
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I had just come back from dropping my kid off at school. As I climbed out of my car, my neighbor walked by on the way to the park with my favorite golden retriever. I was compelled to run down the driveway and get a cuddle from that darn dog. It was only when I […]

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When is the Best Time to Discuss Extending with an Au Pair?

by cv harquail September 22, 2015
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When your family has found an au pair who really fits, and when an au pair has found a situation where s/he’s flourishing, the obvious question is — should we extend? Extensions can be a gift to both the family and the au pair. The Au Pair gets a few more months on the USS […]

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