Relationships,WorkJUL 7, 2025

"[Am I The Jerk] For Getting A Family Blacklisted By All Their Local Babysitters?"

Babysitting can be fun if the parents are kind and the kids are respectful, but if one of those criteria isn’t present, it can become a problem. Babysitters have to figure out everything on their own, and if an emergency takes place, it’s much scarier.

This is what a young college student faced when she was looking after a toddler. Despite getting into a crisis due to the child’s health, the parents who hired her didn’t pick up her calls. So she informed other babysitters about their behavior and it led to a mass boycott.

More info: Reddit

Some entitled parents think that a babysitter should put up with anything just because they are getting paid

Image credits: Hrant Khachatryan / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

The poster shared that she had started babysitting in order to pick up extra money while studying in college, and that all the kids she looked after were very nice

Image credits: Emma / Pexels (not the actual photo)

Recently, the babysitter looked after a toddler while her parents went out to celebrate their anniversary, but she soon realized that the child was sick

Image credits: Graham Ruttan / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

The poster kept calling the kid’s parents, but they didn’t pick up even once, so she had to take the child to the doctor herself and manage everything else

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She later told the parents about the situation, but they didn’t seem to care at all, which left the poster feeling rattled

Image credits: Murky_Impression226

She decided to tell her babysitter friends about the situation so that they could avoid the house, but they informed other people, which led to a mass boycott

The poster shared that since she was a college student, she had decided to make extra money while babysitting. Her experience had been pleasant so far, and apart from a few difficult moments, she had been having a lot of fun. It’s only when she was looking after a sick toddler whose parents were unreachable that things started to go wrong.

Usually, when a person provides childcare like this, the parents are supposed to be accessible so that they can always get back in case of an emergency. They are supposed to leave hotline numbers for the babysitter to call, but it’s important that they also make haste and get back to care for their child.

The poster was having a difficult time with the toddler because the little one started getting sicker and then had a high temperature. The babysitter had to eventually take the child to the doctor herself, clean up after the kid, and give her medicines. It was a lot of work for the OP to manage on her own.

It’s possible that these folks didn’t know that their child was sick, but some parents trick babysitters into providing childcare despite knowing that their kid is ill. It’s their way of pawning responsibility off onto someone else for a few hours. This is unfair to the babysitter and might also lead to them getting an infection. That’s why parents shouldn’t do such irresponsible things.

Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)

The OP had frantically called the child’s parents several times, but they didn’t answer. She gave them the benefit of the doubt and assumed that they had phone issues. So she took care of the little one, and when they returned, she told them the full story. They didn’t seem to be shocked or surprised and acted very nonchalant about the entire situation.

The babysitter felt very rattled by their behavior, and she decided to warn her friends who were in the same profession about the people. Unfortunately, this cautionary tale spread like wildfire among the local childcare workers, and they all boycotted the family. This made the OP feel bad, and she didn’t know if she had done the right thing by telling people what happened.

Usually, in emergency situations like this, experts advise babysitters to calm themselves so that they can think clearly and plan their next steps. If the parents are not responding, it’s important to get the kid immediate help and protect them from any harm. Once they are safe, the childcare provider can focus on contacting the parents properly.

This is exactly what the OP did, but it’s just that she was put in a difficult situation because of the parents’ negligence and disinterest. Although her words of caution led to a strong reaction from babysitters, she was simply trying to protect her friends from such trouble.

Do you think she did the right thing by speaking about her experience, or do you feel she shouldn’t have done that? Please do share your honest thoughts down below.