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Paid childcare

Discuss everything related to paid childcare here, including childminders, nannies, nurseries and au pairs.

Advice for an au pair.

114 replies

Lucyinthesky14 · 09/06/2012 13:55

Hi mumsnet, i've been on so many websites seeking advice but alot of it isn't very useful and some can be quite mean. someone recommended this site to me before and i hope i can get some help. I am not a mum, but i am au pair living abroad and i would be so greatful for your help. I have been here for almost 2 months, when i came here everything was perfect but now things are starting to go a bit downhill and it doesn't seem so peachy. i dont know what to do or whether im overreacting.

The thing is i feel very uncomfortable around the dad. When his wife goes out he often asks me round to keep him company, to drink wine or to watch a movie. I went once and he was a bit strange with me, asking how things were with my boyfriend etc. and i have made a point of not going there alone since. He asks if i will go on a solo trip alone with him to Berlin, Which strangely enough his wife supports him with! When i got here i agreed to it, as i had said how much iwanted to go to berlin, and first thought that he was being friendly but now i wonder if there is an ulterior motive. His wife knows about this trip and him asking me round. i said i will be happy going to berlin alone, as i quite a confident, independant person, but he insists on going with me as he knows where to go etc....i dont know if his wife knows about all his invitations. He often sends me emails or skypes me when he goes away, asking questions sometimes to do with the children but sometimes just general chat. i try not to give him much cut, but as i said before sometimes you dont want to come across as unfriendly. The other day i had lotion on my shoulder and he was like, oh here let me get it for you, and rubbed it in! He gets emails when i update my facebook with anything and puts little things on his fb in english now, when he doesn't speak that language and neither do any of his friends. He also insisted on walking me back to my flat one evening i'd been out, and just stood at the door staring at me. i literally live a second away from their flat and wouldn't have needed to be accompanied back. he never does this when his wife is there. I generally feel uncomfortable and feel like he always wants to talk to me and be near me. He looks at me alot, and i dont know if his wife is oblivious to this or aware of it, either way she doesn't say or do anything, or doesn't see it as a problem. And the other day he told me i was being 'bitchy' and acted wrongly after he and his wife tried to persuade me to let a 17 year old boy stay in my flat who is going to be working with them. I don't think this is very acceptable as i wouldn't stay with a stranger back home, so i wouldn't do it here. I also thought it was rude the way he talked to me saying that. They had mentioned this man staying to me three times, even though i told them blatantly that i did not agree with it the first time. I felt a bit pressurised the third time they asked and he said that because i got upset, that i reacted badly and was 'bitching'. I am in my early twenties, and he is only 5 years older than me. I just want to go home now, but i dont know if im possibly over reacting or what? is this normal behaviour? Is he just being overley friendly? I wanted advice on this site as i know you will be honest with me. If it isn't right, how should i leave. should i give notice, or just go? please help!

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lechatnoir · 09/06/2012 14:02

I'm not an au pair but know enough au pairs and families with au pairs to know something isn't right here. I really don't think there is any point in trying to 'address the situation' with the family - if the wife has noticed she is clearly happy to turn a blind eye and if she isn't aware I doubt very much she'd back new au pair over her husband & thefather of children (even if deep down she knew it was true).

In your situation I would firstly block the husband from your facebook account then fabricate some story about an emergency& be on the next flight home and once you're safely back I would call the wife and explain that you won't be coming back as you just don't feel comfortable with her husband.

Good luck.

savoycabbage · 09/06/2012 14:06

Yes, leave! Go home. You will find another job. This is not a good situation for a young girl to be in. You should not have to feel uncomfortable in your workplace. It's not normal!

blueshoes · 09/06/2012 14:19

Just leave. Make your excuses if you think you have to but you don't owe themanything. As letchat says, the host mother will not side you over her husband. So no point getting stuck into that dynamic and explain that to her.

The host father's behaviour is not normal and seriously creepy. If I thought my husband was up to anything like that, I would beat him to a bloody pulp (in his sleep).

Lucyinthesky14 · 09/06/2012 14:35

Thanks ladies, i just don't know if he's being like this because i'm quite a friendly, chatty person, and whether he is just trying to be friendly in return. but i think its going beyond the bounderies of being just friendly considering i feel so uncomfortable.

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SoldeInvierno · 09/06/2012 14:37

Leave as soon as you can. I have to leave my first aupair family (back in 1988) for similar reasons. The last few weeks until I found a new family were hell. The situation won't improve and it will just leave you with a very bad first aupair experience. Leave them, go home and find a normal family to come back to.

savoycabbage · 09/06/2012 14:39

It doesn't matter why really. It's not OK. You shouldn't have to be even thinking about not being alone with him.

Lucyinthesky14 · 09/06/2012 14:43

So how do i leave? do i just get up and go? or do i give them a weeks notice, like it says in my contract?? btw my contract says i shouldn't work more than 20 hours, but im working double that, so i suppose its been breached already. Im scared to say i'm leaving incase it has reprocussions. Maybe i should do what you said lechatnoir and say i have an emergency back home, and then not come back...

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Lucyinthesky14 · 09/06/2012 14:45

Also if i leave i would feel awful for the wife leaving her without childcare.

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savoycabbage · 09/06/2012 14:50

If...

Who was going to look after the children when you were in Berlin with the husband?

They will be OK. And so will you. Give the weeks notice if you want but look after yourself first.

Sarcalogos · 09/06/2012 14:51

Leave. Your contract and their need for child care are both secondary to your safety.

I would fabricate a family emergency and go. I would say nothing to the family about leaving until I had the taxi to the airport booked. If I was really scared I might not even tell them then and I would just go- only you can judge how scary the situation is.

If you don't feel threatened just a little uncomfortable I would give a weeks notice, but I would not to this if I felt in danger in any way.

duchesse · 09/06/2012 15:00

I echo what everyone else has said so far. You do not owe them anything and you do not feel safe. There are very good reasons for you not to stay, so don't. Give them as much notice as you can, that's only fair, but above all stay safe.

Frakiosaurus · 09/06/2012 15:43

Leave. Dud you come through an agency? If so talk to them right away.

Are you in a country where you do speak the language? Are you near a major city or do you have friends you could stay with?

If you can move out of that flat, turn up for the 20hours but work not a moment more and get a friend to meet you from work.

Tell someone you trust back home what's going in.

Lucyinthesky14 · 09/06/2012 15:54

I've spoken to a few of my friends about it so they are all aware what's going on. I don't speak the language fluently but i can speak it basically. I'm about an hour away from a main city. I would probably either have to stay in a hotel or get an instant flight home. I arranged this all on my own yep, so no agency :(

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longjane · 09/06/2012 16:17

Yes go and go now

been there and got the t shirt get out and get out now

Lucyinthesky14 · 09/06/2012 16:48

Have you been in a similar situation longjane?? Did you just leave right away? i'm thinking about it doing it in the next coming days. His wife is usually really quite nice to me, so i feel so bad leaving her with no childcare option, but i can't live here for another 4 months like this.

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SoldeInvierno · 09/06/2012 17:08

i have been in a similar situation and I didn't give them any warning. I found somewhere to go and when everything was ready, I got in a taxi and left. You owe them nothing, so just think of you safety and leave as soon as you can. Even if you plan to leave in a few days, I wouldn't give them any warning. They could turn nasty when they know your plans.

Have you got enough money to buy a ticket now? if not, can your parents help you? Imagine what your parents would feel like if they knew what's going on!

longjane · 09/06/2012 17:14

Yes I have and Yes i got out as soon as I can .
the wifes are always nice if they are not they know the au pair would be sleeping with her hubby as soon she turn her back .

dont worry about the kids that the parents job if dad was any kind of father he would do this to you.

just go please
this will not end well if the wife found out they would just kick you out
so go now
pretend you have family emergency and go.
that way you can keep them on your cv

Lucyinthesky14 · 09/06/2012 17:18

Yeah i've got plenty money to get a ticket, or else my boyfriend said he would pay for it if i needed help. My mum knows but she is playing it down a bit i think, so as to not worry me too much. She thinks i should leave it a few days and see how it goes, as she thinks he is maybe just a really friendly person??? The first while everything was perfect and i was so happy but its just felt horrible this last week now that i've considered everything that's happened. i don't feel comfortable at all. I knew his behaviour wasn't right at all, with how he treated me, but now i'm starting to think he might try something more. I felt that maybe even if he did have a thing for me, it could be kept at bay if i just didn't lead it on. But when he called me bitchy and said he wasn't happy with my reaction, it felt like he wanted to have some sort of control over me and issue authority that went outwith an employment relationship. Now everything feels weird and i don't want to be in the same room as him at all. Did the family try to get in touch with you afterwards SoldeInvierno?? Did you tell them why you'd left?

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Lucyinthesky14 · 09/06/2012 17:20

Thank you all so much for your advice btw

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SoldeInvierno · 09/06/2012 17:26

Lucy, the man got in touch with me. He was nasty, but he only had my phone number. He didn't know where I lived, so he only called once and then stopped. I couldn't get myself to telling the truth to the wife. She was awfully nice and I felt very sorry for her. She was 29 years old, had a little baby and was married to that horrible man. I told her I had found a job as a PA in London and I had to leave straightaway. She probably didn't believe me, but...

SoldeInvierno · 09/06/2012 17:29

If the wife knew the truth, she would probably try to blame it on you and would get rid of you straightaway, anyway. In many of these situations, the wife finds it difficult to blame the husband, even if posibly years later she realises it was his fault all along.

Lucyinthesky14 · 09/06/2012 17:32

It's so refreshing at reassuring to talk to people who have had similar experiences, makes me not feel so alone! They have my house address, which is a concern but i doubt they'd come all the way to my house to track me down. Did you have a good friendship with them initially? or did the inappropriate behaviour start straight away?

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QuintessentialShadows · 09/06/2012 17:34

Dont feel bad, just get out of there.

The two of them have created a situation where you dont feel safe. Their childcare issues should be the least of your concerns.

When I was 20 a friend of mine was raped by the father in her host family, she was an au pair in the US. He was also very friendly, let her borrow his car, gave her wine. And then one day....

SoldeInvierno · 09/06/2012 17:43

At first they looked like a normal family with a small baby. She worked days and he worked nights, so he was at home for many hours just with me. The inappropiate behaviour started within a week in my case, but I was not sure what was going on for a few day, as I found it so confusing. I really din't think it was posible this was happening to me on my first aupair position. I was 18 years old and quite naive.

I left 3 weeks later and by then it had got really bad and tried to grab me whether we were alone or not. I was scared of going upstairs if I know he was there, even if the lady was in the living room. I confided in a friend who also said "he's probably just been friendly", but I knew my gut feeling was right. "Friendly people" don't make me feel scare and he did.

Lucyinthesky14 · 09/06/2012 17:45

Wow, that sounds awful....I think it is the same as what you say, it's my gut feeling that's telling me something isn't right. I think if i say i'm leaving and give warning he will get angry and something might happen. I'm not saying that it would definately happen but there is always that possibility.

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