your host parent approach

What Kind of Role Model Are You For Your Au Pair?

by cv harquail July 31, 2015
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The most wonderful thing a host mom or dad can hear from a former au pair is “You taught me how to be a good parent.” I will confess that I’ve heard this myself, from the two au pairs we’ve had that we’ve stayed in touch with and that have become parents themselves. It was […]

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What About Being an Au Pair Host Parent “Sparks Joy”?

by cv harquail July 20, 2015
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Sparks Joy? If you aren’t one of the three million people who bought this book, or one of the 17 million people I’ve talked to about it, then you might not have thought about a possible link between being an Au Pair Host Parent and The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up. If you are one […]

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Au Pair Host Parent Word for the Year: Hygge

by cv harquail January 2, 2015
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Last New Year many of use chose a few ‘words of the year’ to help keep us focused on our values and goals as host parents (and people!). Micro-affirmations like “3 Words“, Core Desired Feelings , and even just a parenting mantra help us make small changes in our habits that, over time, can help us grow. […]

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Should She Ask Her Host Mom To Read AuPairMom?

by cv harquail September 8, 2014
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Dear AuPairMom – I have been reading AuPairMom while I was deciding to become an au pair and I was expecting that what you have on this blog explains what an au pair should expect. My host mom seems to be having some struggles with having an au pair. I’m my family’s first au pair. My family is […]

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How does your professional expertise influence your Host Parenting?

by cv harquail April 3, 2014

All lot of us au pair moms and dads have interesting professional experience. I know from emailing many of you ‘behind the blog’ that we have doctors, lawyers, government service managers, someone who does pr for a city, customer service managers, law enforcement officers, a judge, school teachers, accountants, strategic consultants, small business owners, a […]

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Host Parent Confidential: Who do you confide in about your au pair relationship challenges?

by cv harquail March 11, 2014
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Supposedly, The best way to stay motivated is to tell people about your goal. Supposedly, The best way to get new insights is to talk about your problem with other people who have different perspectives. So if you want to stay motivated to work on your relationship with your au pair, and you want to get […]

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What Kind of Parent Are You — To Your Au Pair?

by cv harquail January 8, 2014
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No Host Parent wants to feel responsible for an au pair who’s unable to take care of him/herself. We complain to each other bitterly “If I’d wanted another ‘dependent’, I’d have had another kid!” And, we resent the idea that there is another anything (much less an actual person whom we care about) that we […]

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What is the right way to discipline your Au Pair?

by cv harquail January 4, 2013
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“Go sit in the corner.” Over the holidays, someone told me that they’d heard about an au pair who was told by her host mom to “go sit in the corner” as punishment for doing something wrong with the kids. I was appalled. What did that host mom think she was doing, disciplining an au […]

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What Can This Host Mom Learn From Her Experience?

by cv harquail October 19, 2012
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It can be so hard to do better with each au pair relationship. I know that I liked to kid myself sometimes that I was actually improving– a better handbook, a clearer understanding of our family’s needs, a nicer au pair room, a sense of the arc of the year, and so on. I actually […]

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3 Qualities of a Fabulous Host Family

by cv harquail October 16, 2011
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What makes a host family fabulous? And, how is a fabulous host family different from a pretty-good host family? From what I’ve seen, all fabulous host families demonstrate three core characteristics: Clarity Flexibility Positivity 1. Fabulous Host Families Demonstrate Clarity — A fabulous host family knows what they need for a great family- au pair […]

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