training

What skills has your Au Pair learned… from You?

by cv harquail June 20, 2009
_images_content_web_features_feature3_ft_linencloset07_m.jpg

I was downstairs early this morning, in quiet reverie folding laundry. When I dragged the fitted sheets out of the dryer and started the elaborate and effective semaphore choreography that gets them folded into tidy piles, I was reminded of all of the crazy little things that I have taught my au pairs over the […]

13 comments Read the full article →

Starting out on the right foot, when you’re on maternity leave

by cv harquail June 2, 2009
200906022003.jpg

We’ve talked a bit about how to start out with an au pair, and it seems that in general, we think that the best strategy is to get her working right away. This helps your au pair feel needed, distracts her from homesickenss, helps with training, and ramps all of the family up fairly quickly. […]

5 comments Read the full article →

Advice Wanted: How to set the right tone from Week 1

by cv harquail May 13, 2009
Hawaii 5 on Flickr - Photo Sharing!_1241656033866.jpeg

OK experienced host moms (and dads), I need some of your advice. Although I have had three Au Pairs, they have all ended in transition so I feel like a new host mother. Since this is the first time I am going into the AP relationship with the aid of other mothers as mentors, I […]

56 comments Read the full article →

Phases of the AP Year

by cv harquail June 2, 2008
4-seasons-fairies.jpg

To everything, there is a season.…. this was true of your relationships with your college boyfriends, and it’s true of your relationships with APs. Every AP relationship follows a predictable pattern– the anxiety of selection, the celebration of finding someone, the anticipation of her arrival, the chaos of orientation, the ease of the cruising time, […]

7 comments Read the full article →

Next Entries →