Antonia Forest fans

I think it must vary tremendously in practice, depending on how many other staff the family employs, and -- as you say -- whether there's a connection between the au pair and the family. And also things like how privileged the au pair herself is, in various ways. I was a short-term au pair in '06: the family had some other staff who did 98% of the housework, and I was effectively just minding the children a bit and acting as an English tutor. I wasn't exploited because -- owing to language skills/qualifications/the university I was about to go to -- I was in a privileged position, and had lots of time to work on my pre-university reading list, think, wander about, &c. But I don't for a second think that's the universal experience, especially for au pairs from less privileged backgrounds. :(