HELP!!!!Should l run away!?
I’ve been an au pair for six months in this European country.My host family decided to quit the au pair program their reason being the kids do not respect me and listen to me and im too sweet and calm to them and that’s not how they want to raise their children.l was really broken and had not even saved money to go back home or anything as this came suddenly.The agency gave me two weeks notice to find new family or to return home.At the last minute l found a family but they were clear to me that the kids are over 10 so they don’t need au pair for kids but instead for house chores simple as tidying kids bedrooms and cleaning their bathrooms as they just moved into a villa .As l was very desperate not to return home yet o AGREED to this.and agreed not to tell agency about it.
I have been with this family for three weeks now.its been hard for me to transit from being treated like an au pair to literally a housekeeper. I’m told to deep clean and clean after they eat on the table or if the mom cooks and leaves kitchen messy she calls me to clean after her..she calls me to grab her socks/shoes upstairs and im not even allowed to sit and eat with them dinner l should go downstairs and eat.They didn’t give me house keys. They don’t even follow the 30 hour per week nor 6 hour per day .But they give me two days free per week.When it’s not those days im supposed to be home all day and l never go out.
When the cleaner who comes twice a week come to work they tell her we should work together with her but her she’s paid hourly and the mother can tell her in front of me that she should stop ironing and leave it to me l should iron to learn.
I asked her if she’ll will increase the money since im working a lot and she said not but only o can ask her for money and she will give it to me but l doubt .l feel like the less money au pair get paid it’s because of the job of just taking care of kids not like housekeeping like this
I want to run away but part of me feel bad too that when l was almost sent home they came through me and paid the agency money to host me.Also feel like that’s why they treat me like this because they think l was too desperate and they saved me.
But I’ve been strongly considering running away from this family .and l cannot find another family again with these 5 months left because in this country host family pay a bunch of money to host an au pair.
Posted Dec 7, 2025, 8:24 PM UTC