Should I leave my host family?

Hey everybody,

I am an Au pair for three months now. The first few weeks were really good and the family made me feel really welcome. I am more of a shy person and need my time to open up to people, which was easy with the kids because I was the whole day with them. The dad is also a very chill and funny guy, so getting along with him is easy. But the mum has a very strong personality and is a bit more difficult to get along with.

At the beginning there where no problems, but then a few weeks ago it started that the mum would complain in a not so nice tone to me about stuff like how i am not doing anything with the children, not doing the house work, her having to tell me everything I have to do and some other stuff, but it would be too much to explain everything. Most of the time she does it when she is stressed from the kids or her work. So it seems like she uses me as a punching bag.

I play with the children every day, I do the housework as I am told and try to be helpful as much as I can. Most of the day she is at work so she can't see how i am working with the children, but one week she stayed at home to show me the school routine. And when the mum is at home thats something special for the kids so they are mostly fixated on her and not on me. That was also what I told her when she asked me why I didn't really interact with the children in that time. She just said thats not true.

So I have not tried to talk to her again because I am afraid she will just see everything I say as an excuse.

It is really difficult for me to make this decision because I adore the kids and have found lots of friends here. At the moment I am trying to find a quiet moment with the dad to tell him about my problems and hopefully my situation will change.