Girl had her first babysitting job this weekend. It turned out to be a great experience — for both her and the little girl. They liked one another and had a good time and my kid made darn good money. Hopefully they’ll all go as well as this one…but, pardon me for being a ray of sunshine, I doubt it.
I used to babysit a lot when I was her age. Most of the time it was okay but it’s the babysitting from hell that stands out in one’s mind.
There was the night the wife of one of my regular sitting jobs was taking me home, I must’ve been about 13, and she’d obviously had a few cocktails because as we’re driving along, she says, “I hope he doesn’t try anything when I get home. I’m not in the mood tonight. I’ll tell him I’ve got a headache.” 
Ewww! I’m like, 13, and I don’t want to hear it or think about the two of them piling up in bed. Ack.
Then there was the house where the family poodle left “presents” all over the floor. There must’ve been a dozen turd piles randomly about the house. Dried. It was disgusting! And they had two little boys. And there was no way they didn’t see it cause there were at least three “presents” in the hall. How about pick that sh*t up? I didn’t. My $3/hour didn’t cover picking up dried dog poop that had obviously been there quite a while. :doh:
My last less-than-fond babysitting memory was keeping the spawn of Satan. This kid was worse than a spider monkey all jacked up on Mt. Dew. He was leaping and jumping all over the furniture like a zoo animal. (That wasn’t allowed when I was a kid and I’ve never allowed my kid to jump on furniture — how about respect what you own?) Anyhow, this kid demands a piggy back ride. He’s standing on a recliner and I turn around and tell him to get on. He takes a flying leap and deliberately claws along each side of my neck, laughing maniacally. The little son-of-a-duck drew blood and I had these big, whelps on both sides of my neck. I was forever busy whenever that family called for me to sit.
On the flip side, there was the time my Girl told the sitter that we allowed her to drive the riding lawn mower around the yard. She was about 5. She backed it down the ramps from the storage unit, joy rode around the yard with her 7 year old friend, and put it back up. While the sitter watched. Call me the irresponsible parent, but I never thought I needed to cover with the sitter no playing with knives, fire, or motorized equipment.
So, anyone out there got any tales of babysitting woe they want to share?
I’d like to think that most babysitters would err on the side of caution and just *assume* lawnmowers were a no-no. Guess not. (Adds to list of things for the sitter, even though we don’t have a riding lawn mower.)
Who am I kidding? I’m so paranoid, I don’t leave AC with folks I haven’t known for a minimum of ten years. But I know I’m going to have to break in a sitter sometime soon…I’d like to go to a movie occaisionally.
Comment by Kimberly — August 27, 2007 @ 8:12 am
Thankfully, I always had good experiences babysitting. We were always very careful about who we asked to babysit for us because we moved so much, but I had the babysitter from hell :twisted: who stole from us. Because I couldn’t prove that she’d stolen from us, I couldn’t do anything about it. :fryingpan: She was the daughter of a friend too.
Comment by Kathy — August 27, 2007 @ 8:53 am
:happy2: Too funny. No, I didn’t do a lot of outside babysitting. I did watch my younger brothers & sisters, and they were nuts.
Comment by Ginger — August 27, 2007 @ 8:59 am
That’s the sort of sad part, Kimberly. We so seldom left her with a sitter, I can count it on two hands and be missing a couple of fingers. I think her dad let her younger brother drive the mower at their house so maybe she didn’t think it was a problem. :fryingpan:
Oh, Kathy! That’s bad. She stole from you and was a friend’s daughter. Not cool. My friend had her daughter’s friend pet sit and she stole from them. Bad, bad, bad.
LOL, at your siblings being nuts, Ginger. Bet you have some good stories. :mrgreen:
Comment by Jennifer — August 27, 2007 @ 9:32 am
I had a lot of odd experiences…
- the time the two little girls refused to sleep or stay in bed, so I turned off all the lights and the tv and sat reading a book with a pen light while they cried on the living room floor. They never called again. :twisted:
- the parents that for some reason, watched far too much porn and everytime I’d turn on the tv, it was on the porn channel or there’d be porn in the vcr. (yeah, I was like, 12). The only food they ever had in the house was ramen noodles and peanut butter. They would also drive me home drunk, which was always a great way to cap off the night.
- the one lady who said she was a dealer at a casino, but methinks she was actually a prostitute. She always paid me in silver dollars, which was odd.
- the lady who had me watch her kids on weekends when her national guard husband was away in training so she could “party.” That ended the weekend he came home early and wanted to know WHO I was and where the heck his WIFE was. Not my problem, buddy.
Vegas…what a town!
Comment by Andrea — August 27, 2007 @ 11:02 am
:happy2: :happy2: :happy2: OMG, Andrea! Yes, you did have the crazy experiences. Hey, I’d forgotten all about the porn house. Another couple I used to babysit for had Hustlers and some other raunchy mag stacked up by the toilet in the bathroom. It wasn’t one or two, the stack was higher than the top of the toilet tank. What? Like their kids never looked at them? And I’m not talking semi-tasteful Playboy. I was always glad she was the one that drove me home.
Comment by Jennifer — August 27, 2007 @ 11:20 am