Many young adults pick up babysitting as a side gig to make some extra money. Families who don’t want to burden their own family members with their children oftentimes like to hire a young babysitter to stay with their kids while they are out and about with their spouse or their friends. It’s definitely not an easy job, however, taking care of someone else’s kids.
While babysitting is good money, it can be rather complicated.
Watching someone else’s kids is a huge responsibility and, sometimes, you see things that you shouldn’t or have to go through things with families that put you in a bad position as a babysitter and a human being.
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One Reddit user recently shared she went through just that.
A Reddit user opened up to the community about a woman she babysits for.
The Reddit user said she babysits often for some extra cash but dislikes babysitting for one mother who always “stays out longer than she tells her” when they agree on timing for babysitting. However, the money is good, so she kept going back.
One weekend, however, the babysitter had way more than enough.
“On Saturday, I got to her house at 6 and she was supposed to be home by 9. I told her she needed to be on time because I had plans to go out with friends.”
“I was even getting ready at their house after I put the kids to be. She promised,” the babysitter said.
When 9:00 pm rolled around, the mother did not come home.
That’s when she decided to take the next big step.
“Of course, 9:00 rolls around and she’s not home.”
“I call her, no response. Text, no response. Another hour. Nothing. Still calling and texting. Finally, it is midnight. By this point, my plans are long ruined but I’m pissed and exhausted,” she continued.
She decided if the mom doesn’t show up soon, she was going to call the police.
“I call her and leave a voicemail saying if she’s not home in the next hour, I’m considering the kids abandoned and calling the cops. I also text her this. I try calling her 30 minutes later and it goes to voicemail on the second ring, I text her again and she leaves me on read,” she continued.
Finally, she called the cops.
“I gave her a grace period of 15 minutes and tried calling again, finally called the cops (non-emergency line). They showed up and I showed our agreement in text from earlier in the week confirming that she’d be home by 9.”
“They try contacting her, didn’t answer.”
“I was dismissed and they took the children to the police station. I go home and go to bed,” she said.
At 3:00 AM, the mom finally called the babysitter.
“I am awoken at 3 AM by a frantic call.”
“It’s her. Where are the kids? Why am I not here? I tell her I followed through on my threat, check the police station. She cursed me out, I hung up and went to bed,” she said.
The following day, the mother said she’s not under investigation.
The following day, the mother “texted the babysitter an essay,” in anger, saying she was now in a DCF investigation with her children’s father and blamed the babysitter for all of it.
Now, the babysitter is unsure if she is “wrong” for calling the cops.
In fact, her friends think that she was the one completely out of line in the situation.
But many people online said she was 100% right.
“30-odd minutes late is excusable. But she told you- in writing- that she’d be out for 3 hours, and ended up staying out for 9.”
“That’s not something that happens by accident. And not being contactable by your babysitter is rank negligence,” said one person.
Others said she “did give warnings.”
“You gave her warning she was well beyond the time she gave you to be home they arent your kids. They are safe regardless. She should have considered the consequences of her actions. I do hope the father is stable though thats my only concern,” said one Reddit user.
A social worker also chimed in.
“As a social worker and therapist myself who has seen this shit go down, she probably has a substance problem. I mean, to tell someone who is caring for your children that you’ll be gone for 3 hours and end up staying out for 9 is a major parental transgression.”
They continued:
“Not to even mention the part where she sent the calls to voicemail and left the texts on read even after OP threatened to call the police and report them abandoned,” they said.
