breaking the rules

If Host Parents Can’t Respect Au Pair Contract Rules, Nothing Else Matters

by cv harquail September 16, 2015
amy gaines

For international Au Pairs/ Host Families Outside the USA There’s a hierarchy of requirements for a good Au Pair & Host Parent relationship. Much like Maslow’s famous Hierarchy of Needs, you can’t achieve the higher levels of a good relationship without the basics being there first. Au Pairs and Host Parents ultimately have different hierarchies, […]

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Which Host Family Rules Feel Flexible to Au Pairs?

by cv harquail February 4, 2015
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Okay, Au Pairs — It’s your turn to tell us which Host Family rules you feel it’s okay to be “flexible” with every now and then. [This is a companion post to “Which Au Pair Rules Feel Flexible?”] Since there is no set group of Host Family rules, I can’t create polls for specific ones. Instead, […]

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An Open Letter to Au Pairs without an Agency, Outside the USA

by cv harquail October 5, 2010
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Be sure to read the comments! There is some terrific information about how agencies work (or don’t work) in specific countries! Dear Au Pairs- I’m writing this letter to you to tell you a cold, difficult truth: As much as you hope that you did some careful screening of possible host families, and as much […]

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Locking the Refrigerator, and other ways to mistreat an Au Pair

by cv harquail May 3, 2010
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Riffing on the post Do Au Pairs need a bill of rights? about Au Pairs and a domestic workers bill of rights, Dawn mentioned that A clear listing as to what kind of treatment is reasonable to expect would be very helpful in such circumstances. As one example, in a program where the AP expects […]

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Extending– without the Agency. Yes or no?

by cv harquail June 17, 2009
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We are in month 8 with our first au pair (she’s frmo Thailand), who has been great. We would like to extend, and she would like to stay for at least six months more, but she would like to do so outside of the agency. Apparently a friend of hers, at the end of her […]

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Advice Wanted: Should I intervene in another Au Pair-Host Family situation?

by cv harquail May 7, 2009
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What, if anything, do you do if you become aware of a situation where another host family is taking advantage of their Au Pair? Here are the specifics, as shared by our Host Mom: … A friend that my Au Pair met at the Au Pair "school" in NY just recently moved to our state […]

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