Experienced Host Parent is Weary: How can she regain enthusiasm for the Au Pair program?

by cv harquail January 12, 2011
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Over time, being an au pair Host Parent can start to feel tiresome. Even though each au pair is new, with his or her own talents and challenges, the activity and responsibility of being a host parent stays the same. Sure, with each new au pair relationship you get better and better with your handbook, […]

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How can an Au Pair candidate hasten a match?

by cv harquail January 11, 2011
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Yesterday we got this email from an au pair candidate who is very excited about finding a family. She asks: How could I be selected as an au pair as soon as possible? I offered her a little advice, and I’d love to hear what you all might suggest… Hi I’m Shannon from (Southeast Asia), […]

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When should we send our Family Handbook to our incoming au pair?

by cv harquail January 6, 2011
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As every reader of this blog knows, we are big fans of the concept of the Family Handbook. And by “we” I don’t mean the royal  moi, but all of us host parents (and even au pairs). It really helps to create a handbook to get your expectations and needs out into clear language, and […]

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Too much excitement for her first weekend?

by cv harquail January 6, 2011
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Dear Au Pair Mom readers– We are expecting our very first au pair to arrive tomorrow — we are really excited! And we already have a question about the best ways to get her into the swing of family life. We were invited to a birthday party the day after the Au Pair arrives. (She […]

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How can we prepare our Au Pair for significant disruption?

by cv harquail January 4, 2011
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Life brings us wave after wave of change. To move forward, we have to adapt to changes that happen to us and to changes that we make ourselves. And, as parents, we have to help our families anticipate and adapt to the changes we see coming, and to all the surprises we’re not quite able […]

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New Year’s Eve Thanks

by cv harquail December 31, 2010
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Some New Year’s Eve thank you thoughts: Thank you to all of you host parents who are staying in tonight, so that your au pairs can go out on the town. Thank you to all of you au pairs who are staying in tonight, so that your host parents can go out on the town. […]

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10 Most Engaging Posts of 2010 on Au Pair Mom

by cv harquail December 31, 2010
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Each of us has a topic or two that really hits our hot buttons… but have you ever wondered which topics we all seem to want to talk about? In an ‘end of the year retrospective’ moment, I went back and looked over the posts for this past year to see which ones were the […]

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Classic Case: Your childcare needs are not your Au Pair’s priority

by cv harquail December 29, 2010
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There are several situations that host parents and au pairs seem to see over and over. Each time, the situation has its own particular details, and it is happening to a host parent or au pair who feels the problems acutely and specifically. And yet, the situation has an underlying issue that we see time […]

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What are the best lessons you’ ve learned this year about being a good Host Parent?

by cv harquail December 27, 2010
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Kids seem to like the time between Christmas and New Year’s because they have days off to play, Grandparents visiting, parents off work, and if they’re very lucky, 22 inches of freshly fallen snow. Grown-ups seem to appreciate the time to eat a little more, work a little less, reflect on the year gone by […]

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At Best, Two Weeks of Resentment?: How to handle that rematch period

by cv harquail December 22, 2010
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How many among us who have lived through a rematch can describe the two weeks between agreeing to a rematch and having the au pair depart as anything close to a pleasant, respectful experience? I’m not even going to put up a poll for that question. I bet, too, that one reason we don’t initiate […]

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