When Au Pairs Prioritize Location

by cv harquail April 23, 2011
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“Location, location, location” — that’s all that matter in real estate. And for some au pairs, that’s all that matters in their match. I understand that au pairs have ideas about where in the USA they’d like to live (e.g., California, Florida, and New York), and that they want to maximize the adventure of the […]

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What if Au Pairs came with their own “Handbook”?

by cv harquail April 16, 2011
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For every new host family, our #1 recommendation is to write a family handbook. Most of us here at Au Pair Mom firmly believe that getting our household rules and family-related expectations down on paper helps us be clearer about what is important to us as host parents, family members, and heads of household. Plus, […]

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What can Host Parents Do about Deceptive Agency Practices?

by cv harquail April 14, 2011
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Readers, I must admit that these stories of being screwed by both agency & au pair get me upset. Thank goodness these stories are more rare than the terrific au pair and the perfectly fine au pairs we have little reason to need advice about. We all know that most au pairs, and most agency […]

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Getting a Refund from an Unsupportive Agency

by cv harquail April 11, 2011

Readers, there is sadly more to the story of Deflated HostMom. She and her DH are having trouble getting the finances between the family and the au pair, and the family and the Agency, settiled to their saristaction. As Deflated HostMom describes: We have already paid our current au pair her full education allowance, and […]

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Au Pair “Shopped for a New Family” with Agency’s help — behind our backs

by cv harquail April 11, 2011
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Our au pair came to us last Tuesday, out of the blue, to inform us she “wants to be by the beach” and wants to enter rematch. She has refused any attempt at mediation. We learned today that she had listed herself, over a month ago, on a third-party site for in-country au pairs and […]

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When you’re away, you still have to pay: Stipends when your Au Pair isn’t working

by cv harquail April 8, 2011
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Dear AuPairMom- Do I have to pay a stipend to my au pair is s/he isn’t needed for childcare? I will be out of the country with my son for three weeks and am not taking the au pair with me since i am visiting my parents. Our au pair already took one week off […]

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Hand-Crafted Gifts for the Host Family: Ideas?

by cv harquail April 7, 2011
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Dear AuPairMoms- I’d love some advice about a handmade gift to bring to my new host family. I’ve learned from my agency that, once we have been matched with a HF, we have to begin to complete a pre-departure project. The staff at orientation will look over this and then we are supposed to present […]

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Second Jobs are not a Social Life

by cv harquail April 4, 2011
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Hi! My au pair came to me with a question that I’m a little torn about. Our au pair came to us in rematch after we had our first au pair for 9 weeks. (It was a horrible personality mismatch.) Our new au pair’s driving skills weren’t what her host family needed– but since we […]

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Daily Checklists & Logs: Two examples

by cv harquail April 1, 2011
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A while back I asked if any of you had forms, checklists, or other organizing tools that you’d like to share with AuPairMom readers… and several of you (who are better organized that I) sent some in. Just a few days ago, I got a request from Talliecat: My friend has a very… shall we […]

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American Traditions: April Fools Day

by cv harquail March 31, 2011
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Au Pairs are both easy and hard to tease. Sometimes humor just doesn’t travel well across cultures, and what’s funny to one group elicits a “Duh?” from another. (Example? Black socks & sandals on German tourists). Then again, there are some pranks, jokes, and tweeks that seem universal (e.g., plastic spiders in the cereal bowl). […]

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