when your au pair arrives

How Soon To Schedule Au Pair’s First Day Off?

by cv harquail April 24, 2016
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Venturing into the grey areas of Au Pair regulations and scheduling, a First Time Host Mom asks– how many days might a brand new au pair work before she must be given a day off?   (I phrased it differently in the headline of this post, but essentially it’s the same question).  She’s thinking about […]

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Welcome Your Au Pair With a Fully-Stocked Bathroom

by cv harquail May 24, 2015
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When your au pair arrives in your home, the way that you’ve prepared for their arrival can say a lot about how excited you are to get to know them. We’re all away of the basic things we should have ready —  a clean, happy bedroom, a freshly printed handbook, a personalized map,  a training schedule, […]

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Getting Back On The Right Foot When You Start Out Wrong

by cv harquail February 8, 2014
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Experienced Host Parents know that when your au pair arrives, you get him or her in action right away. Right Away! Even though it’s tempting to let him/her sleep in, or to show her around your wonderful town, or to wait until his English is better before you start giving instructions on ‘how to do […]

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Too much excitement for her first weekend?

by cv harquail January 6, 2011
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Dear Au Pair Mom readers– We are expecting our very first au pair to arrive tomorrow — we are really excited! And we already have a question about the best ways to get her into the swing of family life. We were invited to a birthday party the day after the Au Pair arrives. (She […]

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Orienting an Au Pair when Host Mom can’t be there

by cv harquail June 26, 2010
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Dear AuPairMom, I have organized an au pair to come and help us for a month at the end of June. (This came through a work contact and I have spoken on the phone with the au pair and her mom) . My problem now is that I need to travel to the UK for […]

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The Best $98 You Can Spend on Your New Au Pair

by cv harquail May 20, 2010
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One of the best things a host parent can do with a new au pair is to pay some professional driving lessons. Driving lessons are something that you should consider in addition to having the au pair go out driving with one or more host parents, and in addition to having the au pair study […]

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Maximizing a Warm Welcome from first-time Host Kids

by cv harquail July 30, 2009
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Getting an au pair for the first time is a big deal for host parents, and it’s a particularly bg deal for host kids. They too will be switching from one form of care to another, and they too will have someone they don’t know (yet) living in their house, drivin their car, petting their […]

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What if my kids overwhelm her on her first day?

by cv harquail May 16, 2009
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Request from a host mom: How do you fellow host parents deal with the excitement your kids have for the new Au Pair? We all know how it is, the new Au Pair arrives and the kids barely let them go to the bathroom alone! I feel like I spend the first few days shooing […]

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