First ever au pair arriving next week - any advice?

[HannahnotAgnes]

As the title suggests, we are getting our first ever au pair arriving next week, so was wondering what advice / hints / tips people had to make it successful?

She's 19 & from Italy & it'll be her first time as an au pair also, so we want to make her feel welcome & settle in as quickly as possible.

Bump.

I always make a big 'Welcome !' banner for the window, and get the girls to colour it in. All our au pairs seemed to love this, and some put it up in their room whilst they were with us.
I also get a welcome basket with a magazine, some chocolate, some shampoo, conditioner, lip balm and other little goodies which is a nice thing to be waiting for them.
We eat out a lot, and have found taking them out for dinner on their first or second night is a good start (this might not work for everyone!). It's also a nice excuse to take them to Westfield which is v close to us, and whilst not everyone's cup of tea, has tended to make the eyes of our au pairs from small European towns come out on stalks with excitement!
I offer a drink when they arrive, and food, do a house tour, and then give them some time to unpack, and to call home etc. They all seem to bring presents for us and for the children which gets things off to a good start.
I give them the wifi password, and log them into our netflix account. I also print out a local map, and mark on it the schools, piano teachers house, local cafe, station etc. I also give them their money for the first week, and that month's travel money, up front.
And then I make sure I spend all of the first week showing them around the area, introducing them to teachers, describing where we are. I also make sure I take them on public transport, and give them a tube map. And try to set them up with other local au pairs if I can.
I find I relax a little bit once each new au pair has been out to meet someone for coffee, and once they have used the tube to get into central London by themselves. Once that's done, I feel they are flying!
Good luck with your new arrival! I hope it all goes smoothly.

Thank you, that's very helpful.

Depending on how old your children are and how much childcare, housework, household chores (if any) you’re expecting her to do I’d be very clear with your children as to what the au pairs role will be in your family and what she will/will not be doing.

I say this as a friend had to send her au pair home due to the dreadful way her kids treated her...

How old are your dcs?

I have a detailed timetable and list of house rules. It is better to be clear about expectations upfront. If your aupair's English is not so good, it helps for her to have something in writing to refer to.

Thanks all.

DCs are 7, 9 & 11.

We included the timetable & expectations of tasks within the contract, so plan to talk that through with her when she arrives. Hopefully that will be ok.

Will definitely get some kind of welcome basket.