Car Accidents

6 Ways to Limit the Au Pair Car to Protect Your Au Pair

by cv harquail August 14, 2012
needlefelted owl ornament scratchcraft.jpg

Next to having safety rules for our children, the au pair’s personal driving is usually the activity that is most “regulated” by host parents. Whether this car is for the sole use of the au pair or whether it is shared with the host parents, most host parents put some kind of limitations on the […]

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Can you dock her pay if she owes you money? Poll

by cv harquail August 14, 2009

Are there any situations when it’s fair for you to withhold or ‘dock’ your au pair’s pocket money? We skirted around this issue in a previous conversation about when your au pair refuses to work, but never answered it directly. Now, we’ve got a topic request (on Skribit) with a very specific situation: You AP […]

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Advice Wanted: Untruthful and ungrateful — what to do?

by cv harquail January 24, 2009
little-white-lies-fingers crossed behing back

One of our moms has an au pair challenge that combines two of the most frustrating au pair-related problems: (1) Her au pair doesn’t always tell the truth, and (2) her au pair doesn’t seem to appreciate what the host mom & family have to offer her. To top that off, our host mom hasn’t […]

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When your Au Pair has a Fender-Bender — Who pays, and what, and how?

by cv harquail September 24, 2008
hound in drivers seat

I have dreaded writing about au pairs and car accidents, because fear of accidents is one of the scariest things about having children, and even scarier when you are entrusting your children to someone else’s driving. Even the best of au pairs can have car accidents. (Heck, even the best of drivers can have accidents!) […]

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