How To Communicate Effectively With Your Au Pair
Now that you have finally found the right Au Pair for your family and welcomed them to they’re new home, it’s time to build a relationship with your Au Pair. One of the best ways to do it is through clear and honest communication.
As basic as communication may seem, communicating with an individual who is young, just starting to learn the English language, from a different culture, and is a bit shy to open up the first time they arrive in your home, can be a challenge. However, as a parent and as an adult in the house, it’s really just a matter of how you approach the Au Pair that makes communication effective.
Here are some of the things you may want to do when communicating with your Au Pair.
1. Don’t Let Things Build Up
Ask your Au Pair how they feel about certain things, people, or tasks around the house. Do they feel comfortable around your family or the kids particularly? Do they find the tasks difficult to do? Have they done anything wrong? What could they have done better and how can you help them do better? It’s common for us to assume that everything is alright without really asking the person how they feel and the next thing you know, the Au Pair is starting to feel uncomfortable. It’s best to be clear and honest about your feelings when communicating with your Au Pair and encourage them to do the same for you.
2. Beware of Cultural Differences
As you already know, your Au Pair comes from a different cultural background, thus, expect that some of the things she/he does or say will be different from what you would’ve done or said. But what if you hosted an Au Pair who came from the same country where you’re also from? That makes it even easier for the Au Pair and for you! But regardless of where your Au Pair came from, the main thing we want to remind you here is to be patient, be understanding, and to overcommunicate. Feel free to ask questions or send a message via messenger or WhatsApp just to make sure they understood you well. Most Au Pairs as we previously mentioned are shy and would say they understand but really don’t – take the time to double-check just to ensure you really understand each other.
3. Give Feedback Quickly
We are parents and we usually forget things very quickly because our minds are always pre-occupied with the many things we need to do! So we highly recommend that you give feedback to your Au Pair quickly so you won’t forget them. If you saw that they placed the knives at the dishwasher the wrong way, let them know. If they left the kids unattended in the bathroom, remind them to stay with the kids because they might overfill the tub with water or turn on the hot water and burn themselves. Stay on top of these things when communicating with your Au Pair in the beginning until they finally follow through on their own.
4. Set Up a Family WhatsApp group (or in any communication channels) and share any important numbers with the Au Pair
The purpose of having a group chat is obviously to be able to get updates on how the kids are doing with their Au Pair or to remind the Au Pair about some tasks that need to be done or to just simply send random quotes or memes you find funny to share. Furthermore, we recommend that you give important contacts with the Au Pair in case of an emergency involving the kids or other matters that need immediate attention. You can provide your neighbor’s phone number, a friend’s number, or your parents’ number, and of course, providing your and your husbands’ phone number is a must.
We hope these tips we gave you will help you establish and improve your relationship with your Au Pair. Building a relationship with your Au Pair and effectively communicating is actually quite similar to how you take care of your relationship with your other half. The only difference is that you’ll most probably love your Au Pair more! (wink wink).
Need some ideas on how to connect better with your Au Pair? Read our blog on Love Languages below.