health

Au Pair’s Dr. Host Dad insisting she receive Vitamin B shots? No. No. No.

by cv harquail February 19, 2015
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This particular pair of host parents wins the prize for “Most Invasive Expectations”. I received an email from an au pair currently working in Europe. She writes: Hi AuPairMom– I don’t know any other au pairs and so I’m hoping to get some advice from you on this difficult situation. I have been living with […]

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Creepy, Crawly, Contagious Things- What if your Au Pair catches them too?

by cv harquail July 27, 2014
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(Reposted from our archives, since an Au Pair Asked…) When I became a mom I knew that that I would need to become accustomed to dealing with things that, pre-motherhood, had completely grossed me out. I’m talking about poopy diapers, vomit, bloody noses, fart jokes, and public belching. These were things that I would have […]

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What To Do When Your Au Pair Doesn’t Bathe

by cv harquail January 20, 2013
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Some issues are just too awkward to talk about. But we have to talk about them anyway, because these are the very issues that keep host parents and au pairs from really connecting. We’ve hit some of these issues already– contraceptives, personal safety, swimming when she has her period (I told you they were awkward!), […]

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Did You And Your Au Pair Get Your Flu Shots?

by cv harquail October 29, 2012

Some folks seem to love to prepare for emergencies. Here in the New York Metro area folks are darting around getting water, batteries, and in my case lots of chocolate, so that they’ll be ready for whatever Hurricane Sandy as in store for us. You can’t believe the lines at the supermarket. This morning there […]

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How do you assess an Au Pair candidate who has suffered from depression?

by cv harquail September 24, 2012

Dear Au Pair Mom, We are currently looking for a new aupair and I am concerned about an application that the agency has sent to me.  We have hosted girls for ten years from all over the world. Our kids are 11, 10, and 7 years old. One candidate looks especially good, except for few things. […]

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Candid, awkward issue: Choosing Au Pairs who are obese

by cv harquail January 26, 2011
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AuPairMom is a place where we host parents (and au pairs) can talk about issues that only other host parents and au pairs can understand. Often, these issues are tough ones that touch upon cultural differences, style differences, political differences, and deep personal preferences. Every now and then, we get a topic that we want […]

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When your Au Pair has an eating disorder

by cv harquail March 25, 2010
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Every au pair we’ve ever had (all 11 of them) went on some weird kind of diet. These diets included protein drinks, Slimfast shakes, grapefruits, Diet Cokes for breakfast & lunch and — my personal favorite —  rice and bread. (Going without butter was where ya really saved on calories!) Thankfully, most of these diets […]

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3 Reasons to Take Your Au Pair for a Flu Shot

by cv harquail October 14, 2009
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We’re talking regular flu here, the annual kind, the kind that killed over 24,000 people in the US last winter. [ H1N1 coming up in the next post.] Sure, lots of the people who died were already weak from other illnesses. But many who died were healthy until they got influenza. You don’t have to […]

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Medical Care for your Au Pair: Your responsibility?

by cv harquail July 16, 2009
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What happens when your Au Pair gets sick and needs some medical care? We already know that as good host parents we need to provide them with reasonable ‘sick time’ off and not dock their pay (although I think it’s fine to reschedule their hours in the same week). But what about the cost of […]

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