driving

How to Help Your Au Pair Appreciate the “Au Pair Car”

by cv harquail January 20, 2017
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We all want to be generous, and we all want to be appreciated. And, there’s nothing like having a third car for your au pair to use to make you aware of the tension that can exist when you want to be generous and want to be appreciated. When we bought our first Volvo wagon […]

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When Your Au Pair Lies About Mileage on the Car

by cv harquail November 14, 2016
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Sorry for the long lapse in posting…I’m still recovering.   To nudge me (and you?) back into the challenges of Host Parenting, here’s an email about a problem that we faced with our Au Pair too.    It was especially disappointing — and surprising — since this happened with perhaps our most mature, measured, and […]

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Why Have a Curfew on Your Car and not Your Au Pair?

by cv harquail May 13, 2015
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Some readers have wondered why a family might put a curfew on the au pair car, but not have a curfew on the au pair him/herself. They point out that if au pairs are dependent on the au pair car for transportation during their time off, then having a curfew on the car is effectively the […]

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Improve Your AuPair’s Driving With an Online Driving Class

by cv harquail September 5, 2014
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An online driving course is an easy, inexpensive way to get both you and your AuPair feeling confident about her/his driving– before your au pair even arrives in the USA! Here’s a tip from TexasHostMom—  Our first AP was 26 when she arrived and had been driving for some time, so I never thought we’d have […]

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Should I let my Au Pair drive with her arm in a cast?

by cv harquail August 26, 2012

Quick Answer? No. More details? Here’s the specific situation: I have been a subscriber for years and have found your blog very helpful. Now I need some specific – and timely – advice. My au pair broke her right arm (she is right-handed). Should I let her drive? Can she drive the children? She has […]

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

by cv harquail August 14, 2012
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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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Your Au Pair Counselor As A Local Expert and Resource

by cv harquail November 27, 2010
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All local Community Counselors are trained in the fundamental, general issues that are relevant to each and every au pair – host parent relationship. Community Counselors (CCs) must know the US State Department au pair regulations, the contract details of the agency they represent, and the au pair contact, support & rematch practices of their […]

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5 Ways to Assess an Au Pair’s Driving Skill when Choosing an Au Pair

by cv harquail November 4, 2010
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The original title I had for this post was “In which we address, once again, the issue of driving skills”.  However, since that’s neither SEO-friendly, nor really helpful, let’s see if we can actually come up with ways to assess driving skill. Everyone who has ever driving a car can call say that s/he’s an […]

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Don’t Abuse A Cluster Taxi

by cv harquail August 26, 2010
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Within an au pair cluster, there are always some host families with relaxed car guidelines and even some families that don’t care at all what gets done with their au pair’s car. And, there are always some au pairs with significant constraints– their driving is bad, their host parents have only one car — and […]

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Driven to the edge because my Au Pair can’t drive

by cv harquail June 28, 2010
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What happens when your au pair candidate says she can, but then it turns out she can’t? And, what if you said she didn’t really need to, but then you realized she did? When we consider the characteristics and skills we want our au pair to have, we usually think about what we or our […]

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