Not getting paid for good, honest toil can be such a bummer. You put in the hours, did your duty, and had no complaints, so why does your employer think they can stiff you? Sadly, especially when you’re a teen, you don’t always get the respect you deserve.
One babysitter finally had enough after a couple who still owed her almost $200 in back pay asked her to babysit for them once again. Frustrated, she went over there with a few of her siblings and told the parents she wouldn’t be babysitting another minute.
More info: Reddit
Sometimes babysitters get a raw deal, but this one was determined to fight back and get what she was owed
Image credits: Agung Pratama / Pexels (not the actual photo)
After complaining to her siblings that one couple owed her hundreds in back pay, they hatched a cunning plan
Image credits: Gustavo Fring / Pexels (not the actual photo)
After school on a Friday afternoon, they went round to visit the couple, who were expecting her to babysit for them again
Image credits: cottonbro studio / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The teen confronted the couple, though, demanding her back pay before she would babysit another minute
Image credits: Lukas / Pexels (not the actual photo)
While the couple scrambled for cash, the babysitter and her siblings enjoyed some shakes at a place in town
Image credits: Not_musical
By the time they got back, the couple had the back pay plus that night's payment upfront
Sometimes, all it takes is a few underpaid siblings and a Bible verse to get justice. OP recalled a satisfying tale of babysitting revenge, starring their little sister, a family that loved “forgetting” to pay, and a showdown that happened just before an award ceremony. Karma came fast, and in cash.
OP’s sister, a teen babysitter in a small town, had been watching the “Smith” kids after school for weeks. Instead of being paid properly, however, she kept getting shorted. Since the Smiths were well-liked churchgoers, she let it slide; until the total hit almost $200, that is. Her siblings, recently stiffed themselves, hatched a plan to help her out.
The next time she was scheduled to babysit, her siblings drove her over instead of letting her wait on a ride. She walked up to the house, diary in hand, and told the couple she wouldn’t be sitting that night unless she was paid in full. The Smiths were shocked. But her brothers were waiting in the car and quoting scripture about paying debts.
After trying guilt and manipulation, the Smiths finally caved. They paid what they owed, plus that night’s rate upfront. Their flustered dash to Mr. Smith’s big award ceremony was almost cartoonish. OP’s sister got her money, her family got milkshakes, and local sitters soon learned never to work for the Smiths without clear terms.
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
OP had every right to withhold her services from the careless couple. Babysitting isn’t just "watching kids." It often involves cleaning, meal prep, tutoring, and managing tantrums. Yet, it’s rarely treated with the respect or pay it deserves. Could that be at the heart of the babysitting shortage? We went looking for answers.
In her article for Mamamia, Virginia Tapscott writes that the practice of hiring teen babysitters is dying out. Parents don't seem able to put their trust in teens while adolescence seems more serious and pressured than ever.
According to Tapscott, qualified nannies or early childhood educators now dominate the babysitting space, but they don't call it babysitting. Childcare is now formalized to the point that one-year-olds are getting report cards and toddlers are learning Spanish.
If you’re still interested in hiring a more traditional babysitter, though, it might cost you more than you were expecting. After all, teens value their free time more highly than ever. In their article for Parents, Dina Roth Port and Hiranmayi Srinivasan write that babysitters typically work part-time or on demand and are paid according to certain shifts.
According to UrbanSitter, the national average hourly rate for a babysitter in 2024 was $23.61 for one child and $26.57 for two kids. A 2024 cost of care report by Care.com found that people who used babysitters for eight hours a week spent nearly $200 every week on that care.
Fortunately for OP’s sister, she got what she was owed, and the entitled Smiths learned a swift lesson in economics - teen labor doesn’t come free and promises aren’t worth a penny.
What would you have done if you’d been in the babysitter’s shoes? Do you think the Smiths will ever try to stiff a sitter again? Let us know your opinion in the comments!
In the comments, readers celebrated the narrator for posting the story and expressed their joy at the sister’s revenge
