Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You are not a LCC and YES this is true.

Yes, I am. Here is my agencies statement on this:

http://kcampbell.aupairnews.com/room-board-dos-and-donts/

HM here, and I appreciate this list. I have never seen anything like this before. I wish our LCC was as organized about sharing information as you!

Anonymous wrote:You are not a LCC and YES this is true.

Yes, I am. Here is my agencies statement on this:

http://kcampbell.aupairnews.com/room-board-dos-and-donts/

You are not a LCC and YES this is true.

Anonymous wrote:Families provide room and board and that includes the basic toiletries : shampoo, soap and toothpaste.

No, they don't. I am an LCC and this is not true.

Families provide room and board and that includes the basic toiletries : shampoo, soap and toothpaste.

Longtime HM here:

We have been with three agencies over the years, and none has ever specified that we should pay for toiletries. That said, we always have offered to do so, but I will say that few have taken us up on it. We used to just say "we will cover your toiletries" and then one AP was shocked - SHOCKED - that I balked at her $50 Brazilian legwaxing kit, because that was, in her view, a toiletry! So we learned to say that we pay for "the items that keep the AP clean - soap, shampoo, toothpaste, deoderant" and the AP should pay for the items that keep him or her beautiful (legwaxing kits, expensive face cream). We leave the bathroom stocked with shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, and body lotion, but it's been at least 5-6 years since an AP has used any of the items we have provided (my children end up using htem sometime in month 6 or 7, when it's clear AP is not going to). We do offer to get the AP whatever essential items he (or she, when we had females) would like, and the AP always has my credit card to use for a trip to CVS, but few actually do this. They just buy their stuff for themselves and call it good.

I think it's important for HFs to have essential toiletries available to the AP but it's really not our responsibility to shop for the exact brand of things that the AP may want (in our household, we buy all this stuff at Costco, which is probably not considered very cool to a 21 year old guy...)

Anonymous wrote:A little reminder :
Basic toiletries ARE to be provided to the au pair ALL YEAR LONG, not just in a basket when she arrives.
That is : shampoo, soap/shower gel and toothpaste.

That's the first time I hear this. Is this based on agency recommendation? I do set up fresh soap and toothpaste for her arrival, and there is usually (many) bottles of various shampoos left from the previous APs. I take her to CVS a few days after arrival so she can buy what she needs. It never occured to me that I should provide what I consider personal hygiene supplies... I guess each AP has specific preferences for these types of products and would probably not want to use my basic ivory soap and shampoo anyway...

Anonymous wrote:A little reminder :
Basic toiletries ARE to be provided to the au pair ALL YEAR LONG, not just in a basket when she arrives.
That is : shampoo, soap/shower gel and toothpaste.

Source please

A little reminder :
Basic toiletries ARE to be provided to the au pair ALL YEAR LONG, not just in a basket when she arrives.
That is : shampoo, soap/shower gel and toothpaste.

23:04 here. Agree. She came with a laptop and then got herself a tablet too, so she was all set for that. I also gave her an iphone (we pay for the service) so she can watch shows on that as well.

Unless she has a laptop for watching Netflix, she's going to spend a lot of time in your common spaces without a TV in the bedroom to decompress and unwind.

We left some pads/tampons under the sink in the bathroom "just in case" she needed some unexpectedly. But we didn't put them in a gift basket or anything!

We sent a gift box to the APIA orientation site where AP was staying initially. (Honestly, APIA does this in such a way that you feel like a huge jerk if you don't do it. We felt obligated and annoyed by that feeling, even though we totally would have sent her something regardless.)

When she arrived, there was a bouquet of flowers in her room. We did not do a gift basket there, but we made sure everything she needed was available.

Also, we do not put TVs in any of the bedrooms (just the one TV in the living room). But we did provide her with our Netflix account information as well as our Amazon Streaming info and HBO GO info. So she could log in to view shows that way on her computer/phone.

Anonymous wrote:Include all basic toiletries to get her started, like shampoo, conditioner, etc and tampons, pads. Also snacks and water....she may be hungry the first few days and nervous to poke around the kitchen at first.

Tampons & pads? Did you give her a box of condoms too? Creepy...

In the bathroom we had a hair dryer, shampoo/conditioner, soap, etc. - things to get her started until she found brands here she preferred. Also a plunger - there is nothing more embarrassing than having to ask someone for a plunger or to help you with a clogged toilet.

Other things for the bathroom and room -
alarm clock
full-length mirror
extension cord
hangers
laundry basket
trash can


Here's my list of ideas for the Welcome basket, although we didn't have everything. One tip about the gift card, she thought it was just a card and didn't realize it was virtual money, so make sure she doesn't throw it out without realizing!
Picture frame
Metro card
Map
Slippers and robe?
Blue tak/putty for hanging posters
Welcome sign or card made by the kids
Mug (Starbucks DC mug)
Starbucks gift card
Snacks
Water bottle