guidelines

Setting Guidelines when your Au Pair has guests

by cv harquail April 23, 2009
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When an au pair has guests come to visit, it is tempting for the Host Parents to give the au pair lots of ‘extras’– extra time off, extra flexibility, extra food and space, and basically to try to accommodate their au pair’s expected desire to spend time with the visiting friend or family member. This […]

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Advice wanted… best medium & process for communicating expectations?

by cv harquail April 5, 2009
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Calif Mom needs some ideas for upgrading her communication system with her au pair. My AP joined us last summer and is going to extend (yay!). I have been wanting to fine tune some expectations ahead of signing those papers, and have been taking notes on specific things I would like her to start doing […]

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Help: My Au Pair is Blogging about My Family!

by cv harquail January 11, 2009
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It’s s Web 2.0 nightmare no Au Pair Host Parent is ready for — your au pair is blogging about your kids, your family, your discipline strategies, and who knows what all else. And the picture is not altogether flattering. What do you do? Here’s how md describes her challenge and her request for advice: […]

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Food and your Au Pair: Label it if you don’t want her to eat it

by cv harquail December 9, 2008
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Do you know what it feels like to spend two precious hours baking several dozen homemade cookies for your daughter’s class party, only to discover the next day, when you go to wrap them, that your au pair and her friends have eaten all but 6? That’s about how I felt last week, when an […]

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Our Home: Guidelines

by cv harquail May 15, 2008

Principle: Our home is for you to enjoy as a member of the family, and we expect that you will treat it with respect and consideration. You should clean up after yourself (put your dishes and clothes away) and do your own laundry, but we do not expect you to clean the whole house or […]

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Caring for the Children: Guidelines

by cv harquail May 15, 2008

Principle: We want you to help Child1 and Child2 grow into curious, happy, and friendly little children When on duty, your first priority should always be engaging with the children, facilitating and supporting their activities. Always be just a little bit early to pick up Child1 and Child2 at school. They get very nervous when […]

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Safety: Guidelines

by cv harquail May 15, 2008

First and foremost, your job is to make sure that you, Child1 and Child2 are safe. Never hit or shake the children. If long bouts of bad behavior ever frustrate you, it’s okay to tell the child to take a time out, have them sit in a safe place and take time to regain your […]

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AuPair Guidelines

by cv harquail May 14, 2008

Here is a sample of what you might use as “Au Pair Guidelines” Feel free to cut & paste, add, revise, whatever, to make these guidelines fit with your family practices and priorities. If you come up with some good guidelines, please add them to the Comments section! (Note: It is easy to personalize these […]

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