Money

How to Reduce the Costs of Having an Au Pair

by cv harquail July 23, 2016
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Parents who are researching childcare options for the first time invariably experience “sticker shock”. Who knew that a year of childcare in America could cost as much as a year at a good instate university? Whether childcare is provided by a retail day care center, a someone-else’s-home-based childcare center, a nanny, or an au pair, […]

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Extra Hours: What’s fair pay when you break this taboo?

by cv harquail February 13, 2010
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Many parents find that 45 hours a week is not enough childcare. Either you have an emergency late night at work, a kid home sick, a snow day, or a bookclub meeting. Some parents have work + commute combos that mean they’re away from home 10 hours a day, m-f, even if they stagger their […]

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Do you pay your Au Pair for her orientation days?

by cv harquail January 27, 2010
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When do you start paying your Au Pair? Do you consider her training days to be ‘work’ for you, or do you wait until the Thursday night she arrives in your home before the clock starts? For our first au pair or two, we just paid them starting when they arrived, because it didn’t occur […]

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Settling Accounts — *Before* she departs

by cv harquail August 17, 2009
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The comment from PA AuPair mom in the post about docking the au pair’s pay sent a chill down my spine, and reminded me that I need to write and post this bit of advice: Before your Au Pair leaves, be sure to settle all accounts with her. This advice is not for host parents […]

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