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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Angry 11 yr old, Avoidant Parents- what’s an au pair to do?

by cv harquail March 27, 2011
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Dear AuPairMom — Hi, I was using google to look for some advice when I came across your website. I’m an au pair and I’ve been living in the US for 3 months now and at the minute, my 9 months remaining just feels like the longest time. I look after 2 kids and I’m […]

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Infidelity more of a concern than you’d think

by cv harquail March 25, 2011

Hi readers- A quick note here before I dash off to work today– I took down the previous post about the au pair who saw a host parent’s infidelity. Why? Because not one, or two, but three different and unrelated people emailed me to say that the post ‘hit too close to home’ for them. […]

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How risky is it to travel when her J-1 Visa is soon to expire?

by cv harquail March 17, 2011
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Smart Risks vs. Risky Risks Everything is risky, including traveling with your au pair outside of the US while she is on a J-1 visa. We know from previous conversations that even though a visa may still be valid, a customs person could deny your au pair re-entry into the USA. But how real is […]

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Plan Ahead for Disasters: Tips from CalifMom

by cv harquail March 14, 2011

We know what we ‘should’ do, but we often just don’t get to it. Who wants to think about how she or he can respond to horrific tragedies, like terrorism, earthquakes, and floods? That’s the kind of thing for action movie heros, not ah pair host parents, right? We’ve brought this issue up before and […]

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