¿Y cuándo esté la Granny?

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Tolerancia, flexibilidad y comprensión garantizan el éxito de la experiencia Granny Aupair

Cuando la familia acoge a la granny en su hogar, acoge a una mujer que al principio apenas conoce. Pero pronto deja de ser así. Para todos los implicados, la experiencia Granny Aupair supone una pequeña aventura y conocerse mutuamente brinda una maravillosa oportunidad para aprender unos de otros.

Estos son algunos consejos para preparar la llegada de “su” granny.

• Alojamiento
  Aclare de antemano dónde se alojará la granny. ¿Dispondrá de un cuarto de baño propio o lo tendrá que compartir? ¿Sería mejor alojarla en una pensión cercana?
• Choque cultural
  Si la cultura de su país es muy distinta de la cultura de origen de la granny, dele un tiempo para adaptarse. Quizá al principio su nuevo entorno le resulte algo extraño y la granny necesite un poco de tiempo para ordenar sus impresiones.
• Vacaciones y tiempo libre
  Aclare de antemano con la granny cuál será su tiempo de libre disposición. ¿Está invitada a participar en todas las actividades de la familia o habrá ocasiones en que la familia prefiera estar sola? Dé a la granny la oportunidad de conocer su país anfitrión.
• Asignación mensual y gastos de viaje
  Llegue a un acuerdo claro sobre los aspectos económicos. La comida y el alojamiento son gratuitos, en contraprestación por el cuidado de los niños. Aclare directamente con la granny si ésta prefiere recibir una asignación mensual o que se le abone una parte de los gastos de viaje.
• Labores domésticas
  Una granny au-pair no es una empleada del hogar. Sin embargo, muchas grannys están dispuestas a echar una mano con las labores de la casa. Coméntelo con la granny, así ambas partes sabrán a qué atenerse.

   

   

Tips for families
Wealth of experience and challenge

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Granny Aupair is a small adventure for everyone involved: every encounter holds many wonderful opportunities to learn from each other and to have lots of fun together!

The most important requirements as a host family are

• Friendliness
• Open-mindedness
• Pleasure and interest in other cultures
• to welcome the Granny and involve her in your family life
• an own room for the Granny

Starting out is always difficult
Usually not everything runs like clockwork in the settling-in-period. There can be several reasons for this:

• Many families want the Granny to settle in as smoothly as possible and do not immediately talk about their wishes as well as tasks and responsibilities. But this will be more difficult later on.
• In the beginning, living together is probably just as unfamiliar to you as it is for the Granny - give each other time and be patient when things need to become attuned.
• The Granny may not have overcome the culture shock yet, and is struggling with physical accompanying factors, moodiness, an increased need for sleep or exhaustion.
• This first period can be a little strenuous for you as a family as well as for the Granny. But with a bit of good will on both sides this can be overcome quite quickly!

Possible language difficulties
Hardly anything cuts us off from the environment as much as linguistic hurdles. Please consider the following points:

• Not all grannies speak the language of the host country at a high level. At least most grannies have not had daily practice in the language – in spite of all their preparation.
• You can support the Granny in learning or improving the new language by speaking slowly, by using simple words and (if your time allows) writing small notes on furniture and objects in the apartment or writing down useful phrases or important concerns as well as arrangements for better understanding and practice for the Granny.
• In our experience, many grannies wish to improve their language skills during their stay abroad. Talk to the Granny about how you can help her, e.g. by taking a language course or meeting local people.

Challenge in living together with a Granny as a family
When complete strangers start living together, communication smooths the way:

• Even if Grannies are mature women, in order to achieve a smooth cooperation you have to clearly communicate your expectations towards the Granny at the very beginning. Don't rely on the Granny to "recognize" your expectations based on her life experience. She won't - she is orienting herself in a foreign country and will be grateful for clear words.
• The Granny usually comes from a different culture with completely different family rules and habits and therefore has no chance to decipher and understand your "unwritten family rules" correctly - so do not hesitate to talk openly about them.
• Often the problems in living together daily arise through the accumulation of many small things - the grannies feels the displeasure of the host family, but has not understood the actual problem or has interpreted something wrongly, since the complaints were not expressly named by the family.
• Loving, open and clear words from your side offer valuable guidance to the Granny and make it easier for her to fulfil your wishes.
• And there is another important aspect to consider: not only different cultures are coming together with the Granny, the host parents and the children, but it is also a meeting of different generations. That's why a lot of communication and exchange is needed to get to know and understand each other's life worlds - after all, everyone only looks through their very own "generational glasses".

Conflicts are part of intercultural encounters!
When people from very different cultures spend time together, differences inevitably emerge sooner or later. This is totally normal and right.

• Stay calm in view of problems and tackle difficult situations instead of seeing them as an insurmountable obstacle or possibly even as an insult or attack against your own family.
• Concern and disappointment are often involved when difficulties arise, or there are misunderstandings.
• Conflict situations are almost always part of intercultural understanding, so take it for granted when they occur.
• The positive accompanying effect of conflicts is that they can improve living together - provided that all parties are prepared to talk openly and honestly about the conflict and to find a solution together.

Culture shock is independent of age and origin and can affect any traveller
Grannies have a lot of life experience. But that doesn't mean that they are immune to culture shock – strange surroundings can have a disturbing effect on anyone and do not inspire a lot of confidence.

• Culture shock is not a personal inability, but a normal reaction to unknown and strange environments.
• Overcoming it requires a certain amount of time and above all a lot of patience.
• Symptoms of a culture shock can be homesickness, increased need for sleep, distrust, low tolerance of strangers, lack of self-confidence, loneliness (including isolation), loss of control, depression, sudden intolerances or allergies.
• Culture shock is often the reason why young au pairs as well as experienced grannies abruptly end their stays abroad.

Homesickness and contact to the family at home
Naturally the Granny has come to support your family and to experience something new. But it is normal for her heart and mind to dwell with her loved ones at home and this can lead to homesickness.

• Like culture shock, homesickness is not a question of age. Grannies also repeatedly express the concern that they might get homesick.
• The wish that the Granny's loved ones can come to visit her during her stay with you may be issued. Think carefully about whether you would like this and, if so, how you would like the visit to take place and when would be the best time (we recommend the time after the Granny visit. But please keep the visa regulations in mind). Discuss this with your family and the Granny in good time.

On the whole, spending time with the Granny doesn't present a family with insurmountable challenges. Communication is the key - talk about everything that matters, but also about things that may seem unimportant to you. Talk about everyday things, ask questions. If there is time, you can let the Granny tell something about herself and her daily life or about her family: If she can talk about the people she misses, she will associate them with you and your life on the spot. This can also help alleviate any homesickness. At the same time you will learn more about your children's Granny - what is important to her, what amuses her and what moves her emotionally. In short: You get to know and appreciate her as a person very closely.

Granny Aupair Principos

Estimada comunidad de Granny Aupair,

A lo largo de más de una década, hemos vivido muchas historias increíbles: bellas, emocionantes, armoniosas y, a veces, también malentendidos o situaciones difíciles, como las que ocurren cuando se encuentran desconocidos. Pero algunos principios han resistido siempre la prueba del tiempo, y nos gustaría compartirlos con todos ustedes:

* Nos tratamos con respeto, honestidad y confianza.

* Como familia, tratamos a nuestra abuela como a un miembro más.

* Como abuela, soy una ayuda fiable, abierta y tolerante que se implica con la nueva familia y sus estructuras.

* Respondemos con prontitud a todas las solicitudes de contacto y correos electrónicos.

* Mantenemos actualizados los datos (como la fecha de llegada, etc.) de nuestro perfil.