Kim and EM: I know. It’s just unbelievable. I hope something changes soon.

Gold: You sound just like me, when I talk to Friend. “You have got to stand up for yourself! I would be so angry if I were you!” Let’s hope she believes it at some point.

Dennis: And you’ve hit the nail on the head. My friend’s biggest concern is that, if this family sends the kid to this private school, my friend will see them on a regular basis. Parents talk to each other, and who knows how it will look when they say my friend quit, conveniently not mentioning the salary/job tasks/etc. So she wants to just wait out the next few weeks and hope it all goes away.

The mom asked if my friend would clean their house in August and also asked for free after-school care in the fall. “You’ll be at the school, anyway,” she said. UNBELIEVABLE. Here’s hoping Friend believes what we all see: this is horrible!

From and objective point of view, if this person is spending so much time doing that much for such little pay, then she should quit. I even wonder if there are some legal issues with this (hourly pay wage).

Your friend has got to learn to be more assertive and stand up for herself. How can she speak up about it without being upfront?

I would be so angry if I was the one insulted by this family! I wouldn not feel low…

I agree that it’s not your place to speak to this family, but it absolutely is your place to urge your friend to do so. That’s a completely outrageous situation.

It’s hard to see someone you love being taken advantage of and NOT say something, but I think you friend is right; it is her responsibility to say something.

I have a feeling that she will—eventually.

In the meantime, keep encouraging her to see her own value. You’re a good friend. She’s lucky.