Guest Posts

Step-By-Step Guide to Au Pair Matching, by TexasHostMom (update)

by cv harquail July 24, 2017
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TexasHost Mom’s post, sharing her step-by-step process for contacting Au Pair Candidates, is one of our most read (and most appreciated) posts on AuPairMom. We love her clarity, and not just because sometimes we really just want to execute a good routine rather than obsess about what to do next. Long time readers know that […]

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Seeking Guest Editors for the Spring

by cv harquail March 29, 2016

Hi Everyone- I have a big commitment over the next three months — I’m working hard on a book, plus building a platform, writing a newsletter and starting some vlogging.  I have too much on my plate, and just not enough time (and typing energy) to keep all the plates spinning.   I’ve decided that […]

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What Forever Au Pair Wishes Her Host Family Knew

by cv harquail August 10, 2015
sea-fashion-woman-water-medium

Forever AuPair offered this as a comment to the earlier post13 Things Your Au Pair Wishes Host Families Knew, by Janine Snyder (AuPairSis). I thought it would make a great post of its own! What I Wish My Host Family Knew 1. Support your Au pair when she disciplines your kids, even if you would have done […]

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13 Things Your Au Pair Wishes Host Families Knew, guest post by Janine Snyder

by Janine Snyder August 5, 2015
au pair problems

Janine Snyder, aka GoAuPair’s ‘Au Pair Sis’, has some insight to share from an AuPair’s perspective. Au Pair Sis and AuPairMom aren’t related, but we have a shared mission: we’re both working to help Au Pairs and Host Families strengthen their relationships. From AuPair Sis: When an Au Pair chooses to leave everything he or she […]

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Everything I know about DISC for Selecting Au Pairs — guest post by Should Be Working

by Shouldbeworking March 4, 2015
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The always-helpful ShouldBeWorking has offered us her practical wisdom on so many occasions — and now she’s up to it again. This time, she’s put together ALL her advice about how to use the DISC profile tool for understanding potential au pair candidates. Not every Au Pair Agency uses the DISC profile, but for host […]

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Male Au Pairs: Not just for male host kids, by ReturningHM

by cv harquail December 16, 2014
just peeking

When ReturningHM offered to write a post about her experiences with male au pairs, I was delighted. Many new readers find AuPairMom by searching the term  ‘male au pair’. There simply isn’t that much information out there about the benefits and challenges of male au pairs vs female ones. Folks are curious about what it […]

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Host Mom Dumped at Funeral by Extension Au Pair-turned-Bridezilla

by cv harquail June 4, 2014
au pair extend photo

Readers, I couldn’t think of another headline that would capture the gawd-awful truth of this host mom’s story. Let’s call her “UnluckyHostMom”.  Dear AuPairMom– I know that you typically post questions, and that you occasionally run guest posts written by readers.  I recently had such a terrible au pair experience, that I thought it would be […]

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Bridging Yards, Bridging Cultures, Guest Post by Amy Massey

by Amy Massey May 29, 2014
bridge between two back yards, with girls lauging

Here’s a guest post from Amy Massey, a long-time reader, a host mom, and now a placement director with A.P.EX PROaupair. Amy writes about her experiences as a host parent who — like her backyard neighbor– has a child with special needs. Please note that this post isn’t sponsored by PROaupair, nor is it an advertisement […]

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Improving the Matching Process: 10 Things I Wish Au Pairs Would Do

by Texas HM May 21, 2014
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Matching well matters — for both Host Parents and Au Pairs. Asking good questions and getting thoughtful answers helps a lot when it comes to finding a good match, but there’s more that host parents and Au Pairs can do.  TexasHM had some great ideas (I italicized the points I particularly loved): “In the matching […]

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Au Pairs and Common Sense: Guest Post by TakingAComputerLunch

by TakingAComputerLunch February 27, 2013
Mother Owl, fox, baby shower card, baby shower invitation, adoptive mother card, grandmother, whimsical, blank card

Common sense plays a huge role in how we function as adults, especially those of us with children. As parents, we know a late night out will cause us to pay double in the morning, because the kids’ internal alarm clocks don’t reset just because we’ve had no sleep. We know we need to think […]

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