Reply to "Parents don't support being an AP"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Deal breaker for me.  My 1 rematch (out of 4) was with a girl whose mom didn't want her to go.  Mom skyped her daily telling her she missed her.  When AP got homesick and had a hard time in the beginning, mom swooped in to save her, saying you can come home at any time.  Gave AP an easy out.  AP didn't even last 2 months with us.

Now, I ask to talk to APs parents on skype, even for a minute, to introduce my self.  Parents are very happy to meet me to get comfortable with where their daughter is going.  One dad asked me to give a quick look at my kitchen and backyard- just wanted to make sure his daughter was going to a nice place.  This helped because this AP was the most homesick of all, but she stuck with it and really grew during the year. It truly helps if all parties are committed on making the year work.[/quote]

Yep. I had six au pairs - four were successful and two returned home miserably homesick after a month.  The two that returned home had overbearing and unsupportive parents that did not want them to be au pairs and who repeatedly assured them they could just come home whenever they wanted when it was hard and then paid for their plane tickets as soon as they said the word.  Of the four that were successful, two had long-term boyfriends, but the boyfriends were supportive of their choices and encouraged them to have a great year.  All four had supportive parents who weren't there to bail them out when it got hard.  In fact, one of them came to us as a rematch from an awful family, and she wanted to come home, and her mom coached her through it - encouraging her to stick it out and try to find a better family.  She did :) and she was one of our best au pairs.

I would never ever choose someone who had unsupportive relationships at home.  This is a really hard program.  Having someone calling all the time begging them to come home will not end well.[/quote]

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