au pair

Au Pairs and Modesty: A Challenge of Cultural Fit

by cv harquail September 29, 2015
2126272453_e3d3d4fa7a_m

I had just come back from dropping my kid off at school. As I climbed out of my car, my neighbor walked by on the way to the park with my favorite golden retriever. I was compelled to run down the driveway and get a cuddle from that darn dog. It was only when I […]

31 comments Read the full article →

Creepy, Crawly, Contagious Things- What if your Au Pair catches them too?

by cv harquail July 27, 2014
Gdaisy hair

(Reposted from our archives, since an Au Pair Asked…) When I became a mom I knew that that I would need to become accustomed to dealing with things that, pre-motherhood, had completely grossed me out. I’m talking about poopy diapers, vomit, bloody noses, fart jokes, and public belching. These were things that I would have […]

17 comments Read the full article →

Bilingualism Benefits Young Brains … and older ones, too.

by cv harquail June 3, 2014
9259334570_a5a90447a5_z

From WarmStateMomma: For parents raising bilingual kids (or trying to) – I saw this article about a study on bilingualism: “Our study is the first to examine whether learning a second language impacts cognitive performance later in life while controlling for childhood intelligence,” said lead author Dr. Thomas Bak, of the University of Edinburgh, in […]

26 comments Read the full article →

When Host Moms Need Support and Not Just Advice

by cv harquail November 23, 2013
3570063319_dd77cbf29e

AuPairMom gets two kinds of emails– emails asking for advice on how or what to do, and emails asking for support in just dealing with whatever is happening. Interestingly, every email we get is BOTH of those types. Sometimes we know what we need to do. For example, almost every email asking ‘Should we go […]

101 comments Read the full article →

Au Pair Confused: How much income to report for taxes?

by cv harquail March 11, 2013

Dear Au Pair Mom– I’m confused about Income Taxes. I am a second year Au pair who extended with a new family. Last year (2012) I worked 51 weeks and my host mom paid me $200 every week instead of $195.75. She declared $200 on her tax files. What number am I supposed to declare? I […]

16 comments Read the full article →

Cut Your Losses: When your Au Pair starts lying before she even arrives

by cv harquail February 10, 2013
cut your losses, au pair who lies

Our conversation about “when you discover that your au pair is lying” could go on forever, since there are so many different situations in which a lie can be a problem — or something to gloss over. We lie (parents and au pairs) to save face, to avoid consequences, and sometimes to deliberately deceive someone so that […]

18 comments Read the full article →

Does Your Extension Au Pair Deserve a Raise?

by cv harquail January 24, 2013
i love raise.jpg

The experience of a happy au pair year is its own reward. And extending this positive experience is a great way to turn this reward into a bonus. When an au pair and a host family extend their contract with each other for an additional 6, 9, or 12 months, everybody gets a bonus. The […]

80 comments Read the full article →

Should Au Pair Agency Contracts Have a “Flame Out — Opt Out” Clause?

by cv harquail November 5, 2012
hang in there unicorn.jpeg

Host Families can easily get screwed when the au pair that they match with is so bad s/he can’t or won’t make it through the initial two weeks. When an au pair/ host family relationship breaks, there is an emotional and financial cost to everyone involved. Au Pair Agency procedures are designed to push au […]

43 comments Read the full article →

Who Pays For the Au Pair’s Car Insurance?

by cv harquail February 24, 2012
470034331_226dfe6375_b.jpg

You do. Car insurance is one of the many ‘other’ costs that host parents incur when they have an au pair. Host parents who need the au pair to drive a car as part of his or her work duties obviously pay for the car insurance, just as they pay for the gas and for […]

56 comments Read the full article →

When Host Parents Divorce, should Au Pairs testify?

by cv harquail February 2, 2012
5208973775_f0b6039b21_b.jpg

Divorces test all relationships within a family. As the primary/initial family relationship dissolves or is destroyed, all other relationships get implicated. Even the relationships with Au Pairs. Previously, when we’ve discussed how divorces affect au pairs, we’ve mentioned things like crazy schedules, divided loyalties, concerns about finances and stability, and even whether one parent can […]

20 comments Read the full article →

← Previous Entries