While at lunch with a group of busy parents we pulled out our phones.  We were in the middle of an intense conversation about our favorite apps.  We've all done it, swapped app stories.  Each one of us is adamant that our apps are the best.

Here are some of the apps the group could not live without.  Maybe you will find some to add to your favorite app list. 

• Bestroom Finder-find the nearest restroom anywhere in the world

• Where to Eat-find restaurants located near you

• Bank Apps-search for your own bank app to find the closest ATM

• Amusement Park Apps-Busch Gardens, Disney World, Six Flags all have apps that tell you the wait times for rides.  Invaluable for parents wanting to minimize time in lines.

• Birthday Express-have all your birthdays in one place and get reminders of upcoming birthdays.  This app even downloads birthdays from Facebook and iPhone contacts.

• Find a Coffee Shop--especially good for parents on the go who need a little pick-me-up.

• In Case of Emergency (ICE)-Important for the entire family to have on the first page of your phone.

• AroundMe-quickly find out information about your surroundings including banks, gas stations, supermarkets, hospitals, hotels, movies, etc.

• White Noise Lite-the perfect app for relaxing a baby.

I am sure you have some of your own favorite apps.  Share them with us.

Over the years, cell phone-related questions have become increasingly common.  Earlier this month, I had a call from a host mom whose au pair had gone over on her allowed plan minutes and the host family, who provided her with the phone, found themselves owing substantially more money.  "Everyone knows that you have to be careful on minutes and now she is way over!", this host mom told me.  "Can we make her pay the extra?"
 

Yes-and no-was my answer.  It is an au pair's responsibility to know the limits of the cell phone plan and respect them.  When a host family gives her a phone to use, it is a privilege to be allowed to use it when she is not working.  In this situation, however, host mom had admitted that no rules and guidelines had been given to the au pair.  As with anything else that a host family provides for an au pair, it is important to go over the responsibilties right away so that there is no confusion.  While this is an expensive mistake, it would not be fair to charge the au pair when she was not properly notified of the limits.  I advised host mom to talk with the au pair about the phone and let her know that in the future, any overages would be her responsibility.  While disappointed to have to pay extra, host mom admitted that she had made an assumption that had ended up being expensive. 
 

Have you run into any cell phone issues during your match?  If so we'd love to hear about it and help you navigate!

Before our au pair arrived, my wife and I agreed that we wanted our au pair to have a cell phone to keep in contact with us about the kids or if there was an emergency. 

We added the phone to our overall call plan and allocated a certain number of minutes each month.  LESSON LEARNED with our first au pair we also BOUGHT A CHEAP TEXT PLAN.  Voicemail is so oldschool - everyone now texts- so be sure to add this to your plan so you don't get overcharged. 

We set the expectation with our au pair that the cell phone is a PRIVLEDGE.  The primary role of the phone is to keep in contact with us regarding the care of our children and her safety and as an added benefit she could use the phone to talk with friends and make plans etc...  We made it very clear that while working/on duty her focus should be on the kids and not calling or texting friends. Also we remind our au pair that it is a law in our state NOT to drive and talk on the cell or text. 

I personally have misplaced my cell phone (or was it my daughter who hid it from me??) So I was a tad frustrated but not angry when our au pair said she lost her cell phone (or someone stole it) Either way, be prepared if this conversation comes up and how you will handle.  We were lucky that we were due a free phone with our plan but if that wasn't the case, we would have talked with our au pair about what was fair, should she pay for the replacement or most likely we would have split the cost 50/50 for the replacement phone.  Not exactly how I would want to spend an evening, but we did have to go that night to the phone store to get the replacement since we wanted our au pair to have a phone while taking care of our kids the next day.  She was very apologetic and promised that it wouldn't happen again and I believe her because if it did, she would be paying for the next cell phone replacement :)

Thoughts from any other host parents out there on cell phone rules?