Back to: Italy Training
Dos
Do: Interact with their Children
- The sky’s the limit when you ask how to interact with children
- Rule number one: keep the kids safe
- Rule number two: have fun!
- Make bubbles, paint, go for a walk, tell stories and jokes, read books, watch a movie (occasionally), and be creative in your activities!
- These kids can sometimes have intense schedules so let your time with them be fun, not another pressure-filled activity
Do: Care About Them
- Anyone, even (and especially) a young child can feel when you’re being sincere and when you’re faking it
- Believe it or not, the majority of the time, they will know when you’re having fun with them and when you consider it a chore to be with them
- So relax and have fun!
- Ask them questions about them, open up and tell them about yourself
- Think of your time with them as a learning and growing experience (for them and for you!) and it will be much more enjoyable for both of you
Do: Talk. A Lot.
- The host family’s main goals are to help their children:
- Be exposed to another culture
- Have a responsible, excellent source for childcare
- You can help them do both by interacting with your host children
- Good ways to ensure a lot of interaction:
- Have a plethora of stories (both fictional and from your personal life) that you can tell over and over again
- Do an activity with the child(ren) and narrate what you’re doing
- Ask them a lot of questions and talk about their answers and ideas (‘what if’ scenarios are fun to do here)
Do: Be Patient But Keep Tabs on Their Progress
- Helping children learn and grow doesn’t need to be intense or even charted
- If they are having trouble with certain skills or activities, be patient
- Be patient and kind in your corrections
- If the child is making a mistake, just help them understand a correct way without pointing out their mistake
- For example (with grammar):
Child: He go like this. [Incorrect]Traveler: Oh, he goes like this? [Correct]
Do: Be Helpful in Tidying and in the Daily Routines
- When it comes to mealtime, offer to help set the table, cook something, or do the dishes afterward
- Remember: you’re a guest in their home but this doesn’t mean you’ll be served like you’re staying at a hotel
- Be helpful and be aware of ways to help
Do: Remember to be grateful
- Saying thank you goes a long way — in the program and in life generally
- Those two words, when spoken sincerely, can make the difference between a positive experience and a negative one
- We bet you can remember a time when you did something nice for someone and it didn’t even cross their mind to say a simple thanks — and we’re sure you can also think of a time when someone went out of their way to tell you thank you
Don’ts
Don’t: Get Angry
- Kids will be kids; they will probably do something annoying or unfriendly at some point
- Depending on their maturity, this could include running away, screaming, or simply being irritating
- Whenever this happens, remember to be the bigger person
- If you need to, take a break from the situation
- Talk to the parents about misbehavior from the perspective of we
- I.e. “[Child] is very good at [note a positive]. However, I noticed that [Child] acted in this way in this situation [describe]…How can I help him act more [calmly/appropriately/etc.] in those situations? What works for you?”
- Come up with a plan together of how to handle the behavior
- Stay in touch with your program director about these situations
- Work through problems with the long-term in mind
- If the child physically hits you or hurts you, tell Rome Abroad right away
Don’t: Stay Shut Up in Your Room
- The last thing a host family wants is to go through the whole process of finding you and getting to know you before you take a flight to their home is for you to spend the whole time in your room
- Remember: this arrangement is a very friendly one, so they’re not going to force you to come out of hiding
- However, you should be aware of how much time you spend in your room and how much time you’re actually interacting with the family
Don’t: Leave a Mess
- This is probably common sense for most house guests, but we like to err on the side of being overly clear
- If you make a mess, clean up after yourself
- If you see a mess, either help the child clean up after themselves or take the initiative to clean up
- Don’t see this as “I’m being the family maid;” see it as “I am being helpful and considerate”
- Leave things better than you found them