What Kind of Role Model Are You For Your Au Pair?

by cv harquail July 31, 2015
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The most wonderful thing a host mom or dad can hear from a former au pair is “You taught me how to be a good parent.” I will confess that I’ve heard this myself, from the two au pairs we’ve had that we’ve stayed in touch with and that have become parents themselves. It was […]

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When Your Au Pair Connects With Everyone But You

by cv harquail July 30, 2015
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Not every Au Pair hits it off with every family member. Sometimes there’s a kid or a parent for whom the Au Pair’s personality is a perfect fit. Sometimes the Au Pair is ‘primed’ to listen to one parent over the other because of the Au Pair’s own family history. Sometimes the Au Pair’s home […]

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3 Ways to Help Your Au Pair Break A Texting Addition

by cv harquail July 28, 2015
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… at least while s/he is On Duty caring for your kids. SmartPhone addiction isn’t a metaphor– people actually get hooked on the physical rush of receiving a text. Like Pavlov’s dogs, a simple ‘ping’ starts them salivating for a connection with another person. Another person on the other side of the smart phone, though. […]

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Countdown to One Thousand Posts on AuPairMom

by cv harquail July 26, 2015
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Some numbers are big. Some numbers are significant. Some numbers are just the tip of the iceberg. And some numbers are just around the corner. For me here behind AuPairMom, one number– One Thousand — is rapidly approaching. One Thoushand is big, significant, and just the tip of the iceberg all at the same time. “One […]

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Responding to Surprise Request From Departing, So-So Au Pair

by cv harquail July 24, 2015
hope abrams

Speaking of Au Pairs and a sense of Entitlement, Washingtomom writes:  Our Au Pair just sprung what I hope will be her last ‘surprise’ request of us. How should I respond? We are at the end of our AP’s year, final date is August 7th. She extended with another family and the supposed start date […]

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What About Being an Au Pair Host Parent “Sparks Joy”?

by cv harquail July 20, 2015
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Sparks Joy? If you aren’t one of the three million people who bought this book, or one of the 17 million people I’ve talked to about it, then you might not have thought about a possible link between being an Au Pair Host Parent and The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. If you are one […]

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When Your Previously Swell Au Pair Starts Acting Entitled

by cv harquail July 18, 2015
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Earlier we had a conversation about whether or not au pairs in the USA were, as a group, starting to act more entitled than in earlier times.  By “entitled” we mean, dissatisfied with a situation where the family follows the rules, offers the au pair a car, feeds the au pair well, and aims to […]

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Don’t Fret Over the One That Got Away

by cv harquail July 14, 2015
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It’s easy to obsess about the candidate or host family that seems perfect for you.  We each have an idea of the ‘perfect’ au pair, the ‘perfect’ family, that we conjure up from our imaginations. Sometimes these images are based on previous experience “She’d be just like Elrina, tall, outgoing, fun, thoughtful…” or from a […]

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How to improve your Au Pair relationship in just one minute

by cv harquail July 11, 2015
cat in hat saying WORD

If I told you that you could improve your relationship with your au pair in just one minute, would you try it? Sure you would. You’re a busy host mom (or dad), juggling many demands and competing priorities. And, you’re a busy host mom who wants her au pair to know when she is doing […]

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Au Pairs, How Did Your AP Year Improve Your Job Prospects?

by cv harquail July 9, 2015
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Inquiring moms and dads want to know– How did your Au Pair year help you find a job when you got back to your home country? How did what you learned and experienced as an Au Pair influence your outlook about what was possible for you? We Host Parents would love to believe that being an […]

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