Choosing an Au Pair

Don’t try to make your “two toddlers, small house, no au pair car” life “attractive”

by cv harquail April 22, 2014

“There’s a lid for every pot.” This wisdom was offered by HRHM four years ago, and it’s stuck with me. I love it because it’s just so TRUE when it comes to au pairs and host families. No matter how weird unique your family is or how weird distinctive an au pair candidate is, if […]

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Explaining To Family and Friends Why You’re Getting An Au Pair

by cv harquail April 18, 2014

Can you remember back to the first time you ever heard about the Au Pair program? I can’t remember how I first heard about it (and I think I assumed I knew what an au pair was). But I *do* remember trying to explain the whole concept to my dad. And then to my coworkers, […]

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What Au Pair Agency Selection Process Works Best For You?

by cv harquail April 9, 2014

A guest post comparing Cultural Care and GoAuPair, by MultiTaskingHost Mom On AuPairMom we spend a lot of time sharing tips for matching with an AuPair. It makes sense that we focus on the interview questions, how to evaluate experience in a certain skill, and how to interpret the vibe given by the potential au […]

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Interviewing Au Pairs: How do you screen for Maturity?

by cv harquail March 17, 2014

On finding an Au Pair who can handle a bunch of kids, a complex household, or both, TexasHM says: You have got to have someone that is bulletproof. Patient, mature, sharp judgment, a jack of all trades and that’s very hard to find — period. There are things you can teach and things you can’t. […]

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Interviewing: When An Au Pair Has Special Experience To Offer

by cv harquail March 6, 2014

Every au pair has his or her ‘thing’ — a hobby, a life experience, a skill or two, a great sense of humor — that sets them apart as an individual. In most matches, this stuff is the icing on a cake. For some families though, these skill could help make that au pair […]

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50 Shades of Shocking? Au Pair has trashy taste in reading

by cv harquail March 1, 2014

It can be pretty exciting to finally ‘find’ your au pair match, and to be able to look forward to meeting your new au pair. That is, until you discover how s/he likes to spend her/his free time. Dear AuPairMom– Am I a prude, or is this something to be concerned about? We recently […]

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The Most Successful Au Pair Picker in all of New Jersey

by cv harquail January 31, 2014

Last weekend I had an insane conversation with a woman who was introduced to me as “The Most Successful Au Pair Picker in All of New Jersey!” Okay, so our mutual friend was exaggerating. But I spied an opportunity for you, dear readers. “How does she do it? What’s her secret? AuPairMoms demand to know!” […]

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Au Pair Candidate with Uncommon Medical Issue: Would you match with her?

by cv harquail January 30, 2014

We get a lot of questions from au pair candidates who wonder whether anyone will match with them, given that they ______(fill in the blank here). For example, we just got an email (below) from an au pair with (non-swearing) Tourette’s Syndrome, who wonders whether host parents will consider her application. When you have an […]

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My Au Pair Application Isn’t Completely True. What should I do?

by cv harquail October 8, 2013

We host parents absolutely depend on an au pair’s application to get an accurate and complete representation of that au pair’s background. Part of the reason why we use Au Pair Agencies rather than websites or Craig’s List is to have a professional (usually, a field person hired by an Agency) interview the au […]

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The Two Biggest Reasons Host Parents Push the Limits of the Au Pair Program

by cv harquail July 18, 2013

Host Parents in the AuPairMom community do their very best to follow the spirit and the letter of the Au Pair Program. Yet even the most honorable, rule-abiding host parents can feel pressure to push the limits of the Au Pair program. Why? Because — as designed– an Au Pair working according to the rules […]

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