I was recently criticized by a host mom on a popular blog for host parents for saying that au pairs don’t have to be “kid people” to be good au pairs. After reading this person’s negative comments, I had to stop and think for a minute whether I should defend myself, ignore the comment as if I’d never read it, or take back what I had said. I don’t believe in senseless blog wars, so I didn’t respond to the comment there and then. But I do stand by the fact that you don’t have to be what is considered a “kid” person to be a good au pair. You don’t. 

When I applied for a job as an au pair, my host family knew that I was not a childcare professional and that I had no intentions of ever working with children again. I was very honest with them with my reasons for wanting to be an au pair: cultural experience and language learning. That was it. And they accepted me as their au pair and did not regret it. Of course, I worked hard and did a good job, which is what is important to most host families. I took good care of “my” kids, enjoyed my time with them, and actually grew to love the family’s children, despite myself. But am I a “kid” person? No way, man! And I know that I am not alone in this.

Most au pairs work as au pairs for the opportunity to live and experience a new country and culture cheaply. The au pairs I know aren’t in it because they adore children. In the case of the au pair job, children are a means to an end. That might sound crass and may be offensive to host parents who think their children are the reason the world turns round, but it’s the truth. Sure, some au pairs love kids, and that’s great. But those who don’t can also make good au pairs. It’s all in the motivation.

So if you don’t work as an au pair to be with kids, why work as an au pair? Check out this post for a few good reasons.

My family does not host an au pair, but it looks like we should!

What are host families really looking for? This is a question I am asked quite frequently. Although there are hundreds, if not thousands, of websites out there about being an au pair, sometimes the most basic information is overlooked. Potential au pairs aren’t exactly sure what qualities are needed to be good at au pairing.

So what do host families actually want in an au pair? I would say the two qualities host families are looking for in au pairs are reliability and flexibility. Families who hire au pairs are usually quite busy and need childcare they can rely on. They need someone who works when they say they will work and who gets the extra jobs done as well. Au pair families don’t have time for flaky.

Flexibility is also important because life in a family isn’t always predictable. At times, host parents need their au pairs to bend a bit. This may mean working extra hours occassionally or changing a schedule at the last minute. As long as host families don’t make a habit of changing an au pair’s work around, some changes are to be expected, and au pairs who can be accept change will do better than those who can’t.

Of course, host families also want au pairs who like children, or who at least can get along well enough with them to do a good job. As I have admitted before, I am not a huge kid person, and I was even less of one at age twenty-one. But I had years of babysitting experience and could work well with children, so not being a massive kids fan didn’t hold me back from having a great au pair experience.

Those are the top of my list of what host families look for in au pairs. What do you think? What are some of the qualities au pairs need to make the job work? I’d love to hear from current (or past) host families on this one …

If you’re an au pair working in America, you are probably celebrating Halloween today. And if you’re an American working abroad, you might also be celebrating Halloween with your host family. Halloween is a great holiday for kids (as long as you keep the scary stuff at bay).

If you’re working this Halloween, be sure to enjoy it! Dress up with the kids, carve a pumpkin, and bake some yummy Halloween treats. This time of year the weather is still bearable (unless you happen to be on the East Coast in the snowstorm!), so enjoy the cool crisp fall air with the kids as well. It may be one of your last chances to be outdoors without freezing, so make sure you take advantage of it.

So what are you doing this Halloween? Are you trick-or-treating with the kids? Or heading to a party yourself?

In case you still need proof that working as an au pair is becoming more popular, here you go. The International Au Pair and Host family day is coming up this weekend. The event is in its second year and is hosted by AuPairCare, one of the first au pair agencies to be approved by the U.S. Department of State and in operation since 1989.

The Int’l Au Pair and Host Family Day is a free event that takes place in roughly one hundred towns and cities around the United States. It is designed as a fun, community event for both host families and their au pairs and serves as an introduction to those new to au pairing. I love anything that promotes cultural exchange and convenient, afforable childcare for parents, so any event that shows the fun and benefit of being (or hosting) an au pair gets my thumbs up.

Has anyone here taken part in an International Au Pair and Host Family event? If so, please tell us about it!

*For more on the Knoxville, Tennessee, event, check out the KnoxNews article.

So how does the Au Pair of the Year award work? Au pair agencies who are members of the Interational Au Pair Association ask their host families for nominations. To nominate their au pair, they have to submit an essay detailing how great their au pair is and how they couldn’t imagine life without her (or him – the au pair of the year for 2009 was a guy). The IAPA reviews the host families’ essays and selects finalists from those families. Au pair finalists are then requested to write an essay themselves, detailing their experience as an au pair. A winner is then chosen based on those essays.

Honestly, I wish that award had existed when I worked as an au pair (as far as I know, it didn’t). I would have loved to have been awarded for all my hard work! But to be really honest, I am not sure that I would have actually won – or even been nominated for the award. I worked really hard, and I know my family loved me (and hopefully still does!), but I did some stupid things, which I’ll tell you more about in another post (don’t worry, I will spill the beans!). But I guess no au pair is perfect, right?

So what do you think about Au Pair of the Year award? Would you like to win it? Do you deserve to win? Are you like me, and a bit jealous you weren’t publicly recognized for your hard work as an au pair? Or is it not really all that important? I’d love to hear your thoughts …

And for host families interested in nominating an amazing au pair for the award, please visit the IAPA’s website for details. The deadline for essay submissions is January 15, 2012. If your au pair deserves the award, be sure to submit yours as soon as possible!