No one said babysitting was easy, but I had no idea that it would ever be this hard. Who knew the police would be called on the parents?
But that's how crazy this story is. So buckle up to read up about why this happened and make your decision about who was in the right.
The user is an eighteen-year-old young man, and when he's free on the weekend and he's been doing it since he was young.
So he's obviously experienced.
"Combine that with the fact that there aren't many babysitters and well, news spread (via my mum who wanted me to do this) that I'm a good option."
"I voluntarily do my services for cheap, (I'll use the currency dollars to put it into perspective for most of you) approximately $2-3/hour, sometimes even for free."
"They often offer more but I reject, because I just enjoy working with kids."
"I live alone with a few roommates, so this family I previously served multiple times called me and felt that they owed me a special Thanksgiving dinner because it was the least that they could do."
"My parents called to check on me so I excused myself to leave the room and go on a quick call with them and left."
"They must seen this as an opportunity of some sort, because the next thing you know they left quickly and left a note on the table saying "Sorry! We'll be right back and pay you in full.", and left me with a 4 year old boy and 3 year old girl."
He attempted to call them multiple times but they didn't pick up the phone.
So he ended up dialed the "non-emergency police number" and when the cop showed up, he was honest about what happened.
"They told him they had to attend an emergency community meeting. They were lucky not to get fined, but the officer gave them a strong reprimanding and left."
"I said "you should have let me know and you practically left your kids with me without my consent. That's illegal'."
"I then told them "don't expect me to babysit your kids here on out". They've tried to call me numerous times that they need me and they apologise, but I wasn't having any of it. I told my parents and they thought I was being a little too harsh."
"In the interest of safety, it's never a good idea to leave kids with people who haven't agreed to take care of them. (Not that you would have done anything to put the kids in harm's way, of course, but like...THEY didn't know that.)" one wrote.
"I’d like to offer an alternative reason for you to raise your rates. Clearly this has been fine for you (prior to this incident) but who else watches kids in your town?" one user said.
"If you look at it from a market pressure perspective you are devaluing their time as well. Charge a fair rate. Offer discounts on individual basis if you are worried about the family’s ability to pay."
What do you think about this whole situation? Who do you think was in the right or the wrong?
Let us know down below in the comment section! We would love to hear from you!
