Sunday 9 August Entertaining children over the summer holidays is a big enough task for most parents, but this year more families than ever will be adding to their household by taking in foreign exchange students to help pay the bills.

This summer I joined the growing number of first-time hosts, persuaded by a friend - and erratic cash flow. My year-old son and eight-year-old daughter were enthusiastic once they knew I was being temporarily turfed out of my office and not them out of their rooms , the only remaining obstacle was my husband, a notorious misanthrope.

The lure of the extra income swung it.

Anecdotal evidence suggests "hosting", where you are paid to provide a room and meals to overseas students, is becoming more popular in these cash-strapped times. Some guests are foreign students, coming from international language schools such as EF - who arrange short-term stays to study English - while others forge more informal arrangements through sites such as www.

For me, the practical planning was straightforward enough: As Sarah Beeney preaches when you're looking to make some money, you can't afford to be personal: Payment varies on special requirements and facilities offered - three-course meals and en suite put you in the "deluxe" premium paying range.

Apart from the obvious lack of privacy, queuing for the bathroom sadly we don't fall into the "deluxe' category and added cleaning the most restrictive part of the experience has been the logistics of getting an evening meal on the table in advance of various scheduled evening activities.

Ordinarily I palm my children off to eat with friends at least twice a week to release me from the tyranny of cooking; now I have to cook an evening meal regardless, which can be a major bind.

Host a Foreign Exchange Student with EF

That said, it is only a six-week stint. Rebecca Moss, a clinical psychologist and mother of two from Totnes, Devon sees it as a useful way of topping up the family income for short periods of time.

Juliana Ashworth, an alternative therapist from Sussex, also recently started hosting overseas students through a local language school. Because her husband is a teacher - hence has to be at home during the academic year - she decided on letting term-time only; the length of stay ranges up to 12 weeks.

Commonly Asked Questions | Exchange Programs

Despite being a reluctant first-time host I would consider it again. Extra money aside it has been enlightening and fun having teenagers from different countries about the place.

A sentiment echoed by Moss, who, while admitting that the motivating reason is extra income believes the cultural diversity of having overseas students benefits her two children. As her year-old daughter, Madeleine, sums up: International edition switch to the UK edition switch to the US edition switch to the Australia edition. The Guardian - Back to home.

Karen Dugdale decided to host an overseas student to bring in some extra cash - and found the experience enriched her family life as well. This article is 7 years old.

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