Announcing Au Pair Appreciation Week 2014

by cv harquail January 11, 2014

The 6th Annual International Au Pair Appreciation Week February 1 – 7, 2014 Host Parents, start your appreciation engines.…! For details on how celebrate your au pair or another au pair you know, click ahead….. Welcome to Au Pair Mom! Please be sure to check out the “Welcome” tab to see how to navigate through […]

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What Kind of Parent Are You — To Your Au Pair?

by cv harquail January 8, 2014
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No Host Parent wants to feel responsible for an au pair who’s unable to take care of him/herself. We complain to each other bitterly “If I’d wanted another ‘dependent’, I’d have had another kid!” And, we resent the idea that there is another anything (much less an actual person whom we care about) that we […]

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Do You Have Regular Weekly Meetings With Your Au Pair?

by cv harquail January 5, 2014
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Some Host Parents swear by the Weekly Meeting as The. One. Thing. (along with the Handbook, of course) that keeps the relationship running smoothly. Weekly meetings have a lot to recommend them. Meetings that are: Regular Planned in advance Agenda driven Happen outside of the day to day rush or parent/au pair transition time — […]

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What’s Your Host Parent “Word” for 2014?

by cv harquail January 1, 2014
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Of all the different suggestions for setting New Year resolutions ‘n things, my favorite is the one where you choose a word (or two, or even three) to guide you during the new year.   I like this one because it’s so minimal, and so do-able, that it’s hard not to be successful in one […]

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Do Au Pair Agencies Really Rematch Au Pairs Who’ve Violated Safety Rules?

by cv harquail December 30, 2013
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When it comes to host parents asking for a rematch, there are many grey areas. Whose fault was the problem? Did the parties try hard enough to fix things? Is the issue worth rematching over? We can debate these questions in almost every case. Except one– when an au pair violates a safety rule. If […]

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Yes, You Have Our Permission to Leave

by cv harquail December 11, 2013
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or: Just Give Up Already: Au Pair’s Version Somedays, the inbox is pretty heavy. I struggle to understand just what it takes for an Au Pair to realize that — yes, her situation really IS awful — and that — yes, she really SHOULD give notice and leave as politely as possible. All you need […]

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When Your Au Pair Wants to Extend– But Not With You

by cv harquail December 10, 2013
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Her au pair sat down in the kitchen, sipped her Diet Coke, and said: “Of course, don’t take it personally. I’ve really loved being an au pair, but your kids are bratty, your house is a mess, your rules are insane, and you make me work Saturday nights. So I’m thinking, maybe I’ll look for […]

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Thanksgiving Is Not A Spectator Sport: How Will You Involve Your Au Pair?

by cv harquail November 23, 2013
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Thanksgiving is a time when all Host Parents find that they need to get into the ‘Cultural Exchange’ mode.  You can’t just plant yourself on Grandad’s Barcolounger hogging the remote, expect everything to unfold the usual way.  And, you can’t expect that your au pair will feel as comfortable as this kitty (left) if her/his […]

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When Host Moms Need Support and Not Just Advice

by cv harquail November 23, 2013
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AuPairMom gets two kinds of emails– emails asking for advice on how or what to do, and emails asking for support in just dealing with whatever is happening. Interestingly, every email we get is BOTH of those types. Sometimes we know what we need to do. For example, almost every email asking ‘Should we go […]

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Departure Gift Ideas– For Not-So-Great Au Pair

by cv harquail October 15, 2013
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“We only have to endure our au pair for 6 more weeks!”, writes a Host mom.” Yes, endure. Very long story, but we have had a mediocre au pair for the past 10 + months. She only wants to party, lies consistently, does not respect curfew, treats our children like potato sacks, and I have […]

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