Example of an Untrustworthy Ad for Au Pairs

by cv harquail November 19, 2011

Here’s an example of the kind of web comment or bulletin board advertisement that au pairs should be wary of —  Anonamomma very cleverly checked for similar text and found this in a place that seemed untrustworthy.    Welcome to Au Pair Mom! Please be sure to check out the “Welcome” tab to see how […]

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Holiday Cards: Do you include your Au Pair in the family photo? (Poll)

by cv harquail November 14, 2011
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Don’t you love getting holiday cards from friends, especially when the cards have a photo of their whole family? We have so many friends who live so far away that the only chance I get to see how their kids are growing is from the holiday card photos.  Plus, I love to put them on […]

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How can employers help working moms? (Survey)

by cv harquail November 13, 2011
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Would you like to share your opinions, insights, and concerns about how employers can support their female employees while these employees pursue their commitment to being great mothers? My colleague Elise Jones is conducting a study looking at factors that influence whether mothers and prospective mothers take advantage of employer-provided work/life support programs, and what […]

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Au Pair Counselors (LCCs): Your #1 Defense Against Bad Host Parent Behavior

by cv harquail November 5, 2011
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It breaks my heart when we get emails and comments from au pairs who are being taken advantage of by their host parents. We know that the host parents’ behavior is out of line, and we’re happy to tell au pairs what host parent behavior is inappropriate or downright exploitative. We tell au pairs to […]

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Damage to the Au Pair Room: Should we have a security deposit?

by cv harquail November 2, 2011
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We’ve had some funny and not so funny stories about damage to our homes by au pairs who were clueless (at best), careless (most often) and intentionally destructive (nightmare). Everything from soaked ceilings under the au pair bathroom, to hair dye on the bathroom walls, to nail polish on the fancy sheets. We have a decent handle on what to expect […]

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9 Ways to Celebrate Halloween with your Au Pair

by cv harquail October 29, 2011
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Special Halloween Edition Halloween is one of my favorite holidays to share with Au Pairs. Unlike some holidays, Halloween doesn’t seem to trigger a whole lot of nostalgia and homesickness. For au pairs who ‘do’ Halloween in their home countries, it’s a chance for her to share traditions from her culture. And, if your au […]

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Help: We Need Our Au Pair to Grow Up

by cv harquail October 28, 2011
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Au Pairs mature a lot during their year(s) in our homes. Most of them become more independent, more worldly, more self-confident, and more self-directed. They pretty much have to grow, since the challenges of living in another country, with another family, with responsibility for childcare are just to much for an immature person to handle […]

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Invasion of Privacy: Time for rematch?

by cv harquail October 19, 2011
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Here at AuPairMom we get some very interesting emails from host parents and au pairs facing challenges in their relationships. Sometimes these questions are easy to answer, other times the whole group of us has to band together to come up with useful advice. Sometimes these emails make me sad — so much struggle, such […]

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Drastic Changes: When a Host Parent Gets Sick

by cv harquail October 16, 2011
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Two difficult challenges have hit my friends this past month. Last week a friend’s BIL slipped off a ladder, and is now in an intensive care unit coping with serious head trauma. His recovery will be long, difficult and uncertain. Earlier in the month, a friend’s sister was diagnosed with cancer, for the third time. […]

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3 Qualities of a Fabulous Host Family

by cv harquail October 16, 2011
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What makes a host family fabulous? And, how is a fabulous host family different from a pretty-good host family? From what I’ve seen, all fabulous host families demonstrate three core characteristics: Clarity Flexibility Positivity 1. Fabulous Host Families Demonstrate Clarity — A fabulous host family knows what they need for a great family- au pair […]

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