au pair handbook

When Having An Au Pair Exposes Cracks in Your Marriage

by cv harquail January 30, 2016
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Getting an Au Pair can expose cracks in your marriage that you haven’t seen before. Getting an Au Pair can also force you to pay attention to dynamics that have been there all along but that you and your spouse have “successfully” avoided before. It’s not the Au Pair herself or himself that “causes” the […]

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Au Pair Handbook: Describing “Give and Take” Philosophy

by cv harquail May 23, 2015
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One in an ongoing series of posts on very specific information to include in your AuPair Handbook… HostMom MeanwhileInCanada writes: I am currently in the process of revising the section of my handbook on give-and-take & related attitude (it’s in the section on “being part of the family”). I know there have been multiple discussions on […]

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Au Pair Handbooks: Instructions about Child’s Allergies

by cv harquail May 16, 2015
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As part of a series of posts on very specific information to include in your AuPair Handbook… One HostMom writes: I need to update our handbook to for our incoming au pair with details on our child’s allergy. I’m not sure what level of detail would be helpful, or how to make the issue serious […]

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Your Au Pair Handbook: Can it help you screen for the right candidate?

by cv harquail November 1, 2014
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Your Host Family Handbook can be a good tool for screening prospective Au Pair Candidates. Handbooks generally outline the concrete expectations of a host family as well as the particular rules and parameters that an au pair is expected to work with.  Sure, a long handbook might seem daunting to an au pair candidate, but […]

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Family Handbook Ideas for Au Pairs Caring For Infants

by cv harquail June 25, 2014
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Caring for an infant, especially when the parents are brand-new to parenting, can pose special challenges for an Au Pair. Au Pairs in these situations will already be ‘infant-qualified’  — meaning that they’ve had direct experience with infants and will know how to do all the basics.  But because parents are still feeling their way […]

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New Year Review: Reset Au Pair Expectations for 2012

by cv harquail January 7, 2012
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There are several times each year, and several times in each AuPair year, when it makes sense to reset your expectations with your au pair. The start and end of school, the start and end of summer, when there is a big change in your family’s routine (like the end of maternity leave), or when […]

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Are “crazy” Au Pair guidelines really all that crazy?

by cv harquail June 9, 2010
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I laughed at the comment by Taking a Computer Lunch, on rules in her family handbook: My least favorite rule that I had to add – don’t burn candles and leave your room. Duh! As I look through our family handbook, there are some real doozies. My personal favorite is “In the evening, please do […]

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Should you share your au pair?

by cv harquail May 14, 2009
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Good friends share with each other… tips about shoe sales, complaints about PTA events, and the whipped cream on their Frappucinos (yes, really. Ask Jenny.) But, as a good friend, should you share your au pair? (Note that it’s against the guidelines of most agencies for your au pair to work for anyone but you. […]

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