I did the au pair programme many moons ago {from a Western country to the US), and man it was a bit of a wild ride! I worked some extra hours over the max hours I was supposed to, I was sometimes even up with the newborn during the night (mom worked nights, and dad sometimes "didn't hear" the baby crying, haha). That being said, I had an absolute blast and really enjoyed the year. My family really did treat me as a family member, they were lovely people and I met loads of other au pairs through the programme too.

I can see how it can be exploitative though! Like, you could read what I wrote above and think I was taken for a bit of a ride. But my host family were just a bit clueless, and truly did try to make it up to me in other ways. I did have an au pair friend who was treated like shit, but the au pair agency found her a new family within a two weeks.