No matter how many people are in your family, staying organized quickly becomes a priority once kids are involved. With multiple schedules, changing routines, and shared responsibilities, things can get chaotic fast, even with the aid of an Au Pair.
A shared family calendar helps bring order and structure to your week, giving everyone a sense of what’s happening and when. It also supports communication, strengthens collaboration, and helps your Au Pair feel more prepared and connected to the day-to-day flow of your home.
Here are six practical ways to manage a shared calendar with your Au Pair and how it can help keep plans clear, avoid confusion, and facilitate weekly coordination.
What Is a Shared Family Calendar?
A shared family calendar is an organizational tool that helps everyone stay on the same page. It can be digital, like a Google Calendar synced across devices, or something you hang in the kitchen and update with markers or sticky notes. Some families like to color-code it, while others get the kids involved and let them decorate. The calendar can include as much or as little detail as you want, depending on what works best for your household.
The format doesn’t matter as much as the function. A shared calendar helps make plans visible and avoid last-minute surprises. For Host Families and Au Pairs, it can be a handy way to stay organized and connected throughout the week. Let’s explore how!
1. Help Everyone Stay on the Same Page
With so much happening in a household, it’s easy for details to get lost or plans to change without notice. A shared calendar helps keep everyone informed without needing constant check-ins. This means that instead of relying on memory or scattered notes, the plan for the week is always laid out in one place.
When you share a family calendar with everyone in the house, it becomes a steady reference point. For example, if someone forgets when the next dentist appointment is or isn’t sure who’s handling pickup that day, they don’t have to ask. They can check the calendar. That simple habit reduces back-and-forth and helps everyone feel more confident about what’s coming up.
2. Simplify Family Planning
Have you ever felt that coordinating your family’s schedule takes more time than the activities themselves? Between school drop-offs, after-school plans, and family vacations, trying to keep track of everything without a system can get overwhelming fast.
A family shared calendar can reduce the mental load by giving everyone one place to look when making plans or adjustments. Instead of texting back and forth or repeating the same reminders, you can update the calendar once and move on. Your Au Pair, the kids, and anyone else in the household can refer to it whenever needed, and you won’t have to explain the same things twice.
3. Keep Track of School and Extracurriculars
There are so many benefits to extracurricular activities: kids build confidence, learn new skills, stay active, and connect with peers outside the classroom. But keeping track of all those activities? That’s another story. With different pickup times, locations, gear, and sign-up deadlines, it can quickly feel like a second job just to manage the logistics.
A shared calendar takes some of that weight off your shoulders by turning all those moving parts into something visible and organized. When practice times, school events, and club meetings are all listed in one place, it’s easier for everyone, especially your Au Pair, to know where they’re needed and when.
4. Establish Routines and Responsibilities
A shared family calendar is a great way to teach your children responsibility and independence. When daily routines and tasks are written down, they become part of the plan, so kids can see when it’s their turn to set the table, feed the dog, or finish homework, and start to take ownership without constant reminders.
For your Au Pair, the calendar is a reliable reference, making it easier to support your routines, be clear on their duties, follow through on expectations, and stay in step with how your household operates without needing constant direction.
5. Prepare for the Future
Significant events, like summer vacation, a family trip, or a birthday, can sneak up on us. One day it’s only a vague plan for the distant future – then suddenly it’s around the corner and nothing’s ready. It happens all the time when plans live in your head or on random scraps of paper. A shared calendar helps you get ahead by giving those long-term plans a place to exist where everyone can see them and plan accordingly.
Plus, adding events months in advance gives your Au Pair time to coordinate personal travel, request time off, or simply prepare for changes in routine.
6. Encourage Open Communication
When Host Families ask us what the secret to a successful Au Pair relationship is, the answer almost always comes down to communication. Honest, consistent, and open dialogue makes everything easier, from handling schedule changes to resolving small misunderstandings before they become resentment.
A shared calendar supports that communication by giving everyone a common point of reference. It creates space to check in, discuss updates, and ensure that plans still work for everyone involved. It can also help take the pressure out of starting a conversation when both the Au Pair and the Host Family are still finding their footing.
How Do I Create a Shared Calendar for My Family?
There’s no one way to create a shared calendar for your family. The key is choosing a format that works for everyone and getting in the habit of using it. If you’re wondering how to share a family calendar that your Au Pair and kids will actually use, the tips below can help you get started.
- Choose your format: Go digital with a shared family calendar app like Google Calendar or Cozi, or keep it simple with a wall calendar in a central spot. Pick something easy for everyone to access and update.
- Color code for clarity: Assign each family member a color. This helps everyone quickly spot what applies to them and keeps the calendar visually organized.
- Include the essentials: Add working hours, school events, extracurriculars, appointments, family routines, and any time off.
- Set a day to review: Pick a day each week, like Sunday evening, to review the upcoming schedule together. This keeps everyone aligned and allows your Au Pair to ask questions or flag conflicts.
- Keep it visible: Make sure the calendar is easy to find and use, whether it’s on the fridge or in your phone.
- Include a weekly task schedule for your Au Pair: Add specific responsibilities like school pickups, snack prep, playtime blocks, and light household tasks to the calendar to help your Au Pair know exactly what’s expected each day. Learn how to create a detailed duties schedule in our article [How to Create a Weekly Au Pair Talk Schedule.]
Keep it simple and stay consistent. Remember, a shared calendar only works if it becomes part of your routine!
What Are the Best Shared Calendars for Families?
While there’s no one-size-fits-all solution, here are some of the most popular shared calendar options for Host Families and Au Pairs:
- Google Calendar: Free, easy to share across devices, and great for syncing events, setting reminders, and color-coding schedules by person or task.
- Cozi Family Organizer: Designed specifically for families. It includes a shared calendar, to-do lists, grocery lists, and more.
- Apple Calendar: Built into Apple devices, it’s a convenient option for iPhone or iPad users. Events can be shared with family members and synced across Apple accounts.
- TimeTree: A user-friendly app that allows multiple users to collaborate on one calendar. Great for organizing schedules and leaving notes or comments on specific events.
- Paper Wall Calendar: Low-tech but effective. Easy to personalize, decorate, and use as a visual anchor in a shared space like the kitchen.
Whatever option you choose, the best calendar is the one your whole household will actually use, so keep it practical and easy to manage. There is no need to overcomplicate it!
Get Organized With Your Au Pair!
Say goodbye to the endless texts, sticky notes, and forgotten pickups. A shared family calendar can be one of the most useful tools in a busy household to support routines and help everyone, including parents, kids, and your Au Pair, stay on track.
Looking for an Au Pair who can become part of your family’s routine? Register as a Host Family and browse hundreds of vetted Au Pair profiles today.
