Sustaining Your Au Pair’s Privacy When You Enter Her Room Without Notice

by cv harquail July 15, 2012

Au Pairs (and Host Parents) need their privacy — that’s why there are rules about the au pair’s room having an actual door (not a curtain or a screen). Pretty much the only time it’s okay to go into an au pair’s room without permission is when there is an “emergency”. Emergencies include: A/C left […]

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When your Au Pair schedules her vacation…when you need her to be working

by cv harquail July 14, 2012
Pile of suitcases from your au pair

The recommended approach to scheduling an au pair’s vacation time is rational and fair… at least in our eyes. We choose one week that we need her/him to take vacation (usually when we are traveling with kids and don’t need her, or when Grandma is visiting) and the we have her pick a week that […]

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Family Fun: The Lyrics to Cookie Monster’s “Share It, Maybe”

by cv harquail July 11, 2012
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I love to annoy my family and friends with purposely wrong lyrics to (what I see as insanely dumb) hit songs. For the last few months I’ve gotten some good mileage out of calling OneDirection “OneDimension”, but now I have something that will truly drive my kids crazy. Yes, I have gotten my hands on […]

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Choosing the Right Au Pair, Expert Advice from CalifMom

by cv harquail June 23, 2012
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CalifMom has been a key part of the AuPairMom community since Fall of 2008. She was one of the first au pair host moms to contribute wise advice, regularly and generously, on many of the toughest situations. Every now and then CalifMom leaves a treat in my inbox — a guest post. Here’s her latest… […]

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Help Your Au Pair Plan for a Fun Summer

by cv harquail June 17, 2012
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As per usual, the summer has snuck up on me. Even though Target is already setting up the ‘back to school’ supplies display, I still haven’t gotten all the swimsuits and suncreen out of storage. And this week marks the last day of school! Thank goodness we have only one week of unstructured vacation days […]

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5 Secrets of Good Au Pair Host Parents

by cv harquail June 10, 2012
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I was tidying up my desk this morning, preparing to get back in the saddle with AuPairMom posts, and I found this post-it note to myself:   Did I ever write this post? I can’t tell, so here it is!   What makes for a Good Au Pair Host Parent? In my experience talking with […]

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Tips for Taking Baby and Au Pair on a Business Trip

by cv harquail May 30, 2012

What can you do to make it easier on you, your au pair and your baby when you all take a business trip together? I’m a first time host mom who’s going to be taking her au pair with her on a business trip with my 8 month old daughter. My au pair understands that […]

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Paying Stipends When Au Pairs Overlap

by cv harquail May 29, 2012
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When your departing au pair has finished training your new au pair, and they are both in your house but only one of them is working, do you (still) need to pay your departing au pair? If your outgoing au pair still has a week or two on her contract, you must still pay her, […]

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Do you celebrate your Au Pair on Mother’s Day? (poll)

by cv harquail May 11, 2012
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Searching through the racks of Mother’s Day cards looking for something just right for my step-mom and mother-in-law, I noticed just how many Mother’s Day cards there are these days for people who aren’t mothers: “You’re like a Mother to Me” “To a special person on Mother’s Day” “Celebrating you for all you do” It […]

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How should an Au Pair handle travelling with the Host Family, for 5 weeks?

by cv harquail May 10, 2012
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Au Pair Somebody posed this question on a different post, and I’m repositioning it here, along with the responses from the APM community. Please join the conversation! Well this is my situation and I am so pissed off because it took me by surprise! My host family decided to move from Colorado to Virginia in […]

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