Au Pair Scheduling: How to count time around Drop-Offs and Pick-ups

by cv harquail June 10, 2013
sometimescrafter-owl-pillow.jpg

When does an au pair actually ‘stop’ being on the clock?   Is it when the kids are off with someone else, or when the au pair is back at ‘home base’? Before we even address this substance of the question, I need to point out  => If you have to count minutes down to […]

38 comments Read the full article →

Male Au Pairs, Revolutionaries and Change Agents

by cv harquail May 30, 2013
justin

Can male au pairs change the world? The Wall Street Journal would like you to think so. Belatedly, I’ve come across this WSJ article: No, Girls Are Not Natural Baby Sitters, by Charlotte Alter, that suggests that ‘normalizing’ male au pairs would hasten the demise of sexism. Yea for that, I say. I love the […]

35 comments Read the full article →

Overnight hours: Should we be able to schedule Au Pairs to work overnight?

by cv harquail May 25, 2013
owl pillow

StudentHostMom writes with a question about overnight childcare. Our contract strictly forbids leaving the kids alone with the au pair overnight. Our main reason for getting an au pair was to support me as I returned to classes, part time, to finish my college degree. Since my husband travels all week, every week, our Au Pair […]

78 comments Read the full article →

Mother’s Day Musings, from Au Pairs to Host Moms

by cv harquail May 12, 2013
3988176336_06b3fef5d6_o

What do our au pairs really think of us Host Moms? Every now and then I wonder about this. Au Pairs see us at our very worst mommyness (e.g., wet hair, no makeup, screeching about laundry) and at our very best (snuggling our kids, solving problems, singing in the car).  Au Pairs also see what […]

46 comments Read the full article →

Proposed Immigration Legislation Affecting AuPairs: What do you think?

by cv harquail May 10, 2013
flags

This week, many host families received letters from their Au Pair Agencies and/or from the Alliance for International Education and Cultural Exchange. (Note: The Alliance is an advocacy group for cultural exchange programs. Many au pair agencies are members). Previously, we’ve received requests to contact our Representatives about changes in Tax Law. This time, it’s US Immigration regulations. (See […]

90 comments Read the full article →

What do Host Parents think about Nanny Cams?: Au Pair Asks

by cv harquail May 8, 2013
kid spy

It’s been a long time since we had our last conversation about Nanny Cams. We’ve had a couple of suggestions for a post about them, but I have always resisted.   Only about 15% of host parent readers who took our poll back then reported that they even considered using a nanny cam. Personally, I […]

59 comments Read the full article →

When Your Au Pair Loses Your Smart Phone

by cv harquail May 7, 2013
droid meets pavement

Yeah, it happens.  The phone falls out of a pocket into a puddle. Or a purse gets stolen. Whatever the reason … If your au pair loses or breaks the smart phone that you provided for her/him, it is up to her/him to replace it, or to pay to replace it. One of our au […]

60 comments Read the full article →

Apps for Au Pairs — Suggestions from Lara Coffee

by cv harquail May 6, 2013
top 10 smart phone apps for au pairs

Host Mom, Marketer and Blogger Lara Coffee (@laracoffee)  has gathered together her recommended “Top 10 App for Au Pairs” and sends the link our way.  Lara writes:  I know most families might not provide a smart phone, but from my experience, the Au Pairs have their own devices any ways. We hope our Au Pairs are not […]

59 comments Read the full article →

How Can We Help Our Grieving Au Pair?

by cv harquail April 18, 2013

About three weeks ago my au pair’s boyfriend (local in the USA) died suddenly in an accident. By way of background, she has been with us since last June and is planning to stay another year.  We have twin boys that are 13 months old.  Both my husband and I work in demanding jobs.  We […]

21 comments Read the full article →

How To Rematch: Share your best practices

by cv harquail April 16, 2013

Rematching with your au pair is both a horrible drag and a great opportunity. Rematching au pairs is a drag. Rematches are always hard to execute and fraught with anxiety and second guessing– and that’s just on the au pair’s side. Host parents have to tell the au pair that the match isn’t working, deal […]

218 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries

Next Entries →