Today I was at a playgroup and a woman came in with a 2 year old boy. We got chatting and she told me she is his au pair and she is from Spain. The parents are both military but only 1 lives in the house as the other lives somewhere else at their posting. The au pair looks after the 2 year old boy from 7am till 9pm every day (apart from weekends but does still help) and has sole charge of the boy when the parent is away (up to 3-4 weeks at a time).
Now to me, this is a live in a nanny, not an au pair as I thought au pairs were limited in the hours they work and children.
The little boy hits her, bites her, is very aggressive to other children. She seems totally exhausted and run down. The little boy repeatedly called her mummy.
There's not much I can do, but wondered if this is standard for au pairs?? This is the first time I've met her but will probably see her again and will make sure I take the time to talk to her. It just worries me that she's unlikely to be being paid appropriately and I don't think she's getting regular time off!