CHILDREN

If you will be serving as the Faculty-in-Residence (FiR) with children, we are excited to welcome your entire family here!  Children play a special role and bring a great amount of joy and vibrancy to the community. We often find that the lives of students are enriched by the interactions with the FiR children.

A word of caution: the balance between children being a cherished part of the community and an annoyance is often razor-thin and can change in a moment. As with all things in life, too much of a good thing is no longer good. We ask that parents be attentive and err on the side of caution, recognizing that this experience is primarily for university students. It can be useful to consider:

  • How are my children impacting the students' experience?

  • Is there too much interaction time, so the students are not left to their own activities? Am I “disengaging” them so that the time together is appreciated, not resented?

  • Are my children hanging on, climbing on, chasing, etc. students during group activities or at the location sites?

  • Are my children under my surveillance at all times? Are my children being left to "hang-out" with students for extended periods of time, and students begin feeling the burden of "being responsible for them?

  • Are my children in student spaces that are not intended for them, such as residential floors?

Please take note of the below location-specific information:

1. Babysitting: Sometimes, the FiR would like someone to babysit his/her child/children.  Due to the power dynamic inherent in the professor-student relationship, students can sometimes feel pressure to volunteer, to not ask for payment, etc., and are thus unintentionally taken advantage of.  If you choose to ask students, we ask that you match the student worker rate (12 EUR / hour), that you let students know the rate up-front, and that you avoid making requests during busy academic seasons (in particular during midterms and finals).

2. Parks: Numerous parks surround all of ACU’s international properties.

  • Oxford

    • Port Meadow - Unspoilt ancient meadow by the River Thames for walks, wild ponies, bird watching and wildflowers. Great café and pub options in the area.

    • University Parks - 70 acres of riverside parkland with areas for sport, plus a large collection of landscaped flora. Great place to run!

    • Oxford Botanic Garden - Britain's oldest botanic garden, with plants from around the world, both indoors & outdoors.

    • Playground - A small play area just a 7-minute walk away from the ACU house

    • Great Clarendon Street Play Area - a small urban playground within a 20-minute walk from the ACU house

  • Leizpig

    • Johannapark - a large city park left to the city in 1881. Within a short walking distance of the Villa (playground/spielplatz).

    • Clara-Zetkin-Park - a beautiful tree-lined park with an outdoor café. Within a short walking distance of the Villa (playground/spielplatz).

    • Wildpark Leipzig - Animal park & forest with around 25 current & former Central European species from boar to bison (playground/spielplatz).

    • There are also several lakes surrounding Leipzig, accessible by train.

3. Supplies: if you need to purchase supplies for your child, we suggest the following:

  • Oxford

    • Jojo Maman Bébé - Clothing and essentials for mothers and children

    • Flying Tiger - Something for everyone to love. A great place for crafts, gifts, and fun toys

    • Primark - Great sales on kids clothing

    • John Lewis - The classic British department store with home goods and children’s items

  • Leipzig

    • BabyOne: Carries a variety of supplies, equipment, and clothing for babies and children.

    • Milch und Honig: Carries a variety of supplies and toys

    • Amazon: Look into switching your Amazon Account to Germany while living abroad to make buying supplies easily accessible.

4. Daycare and schooling: If your child/children are of the age that they would need to enroll in a daycare program or local German or British school, please speak with the Executive Director and Program Director. Families should write to schools very early to clarify admissions timelines as they vary slightly between schools. And always, admission depends on whether there are places available in a specific year group. The school will likely need letters from ACU to detail their immigration status and duration of stay in Leipzig and Oxford The closest programs are as follows:

FACULTY LINKS