Well huh. I just thought they were playing house in the bedroom while I made lunch; it was only a second!
When this type of thing happens to a parent all is ok, but if it happens to a babysitter all hell breaks loose. On the babysitter’s end they panic! If they don’t get this cleaned up immediately parents will return, and there goes that job! One time while I was babysitting it had nothing to do with the kids; they were in bed. I simply needed to use the restroom, and the toilet clogged; running over! I was horrified…HoRRiFied!!!!! Now, what do I do? I had no idea where rags were located, thank God there was a plunger that I could use next to the toilet, and I knew to turn the water off under the toilet. But, my gosh what was I supposed to do? The toilet water got all over the bath toys, the garbage can (it was a very small bathroom). I also had to make sure that I was quiet because it was an apartment that was small; I didn’t need to wake up the kids.
I worked quickly, quietly, and like a ninja with a plunger! I could only find paper towels to mop up everything. I basically used an entire roll which I felt guilty over but hey, what could I do? I then used sanitizing wipes to clean bath toys, toilet, garbage can, etc. I admit, when mom got home I made no mention of the incident, and I was torn to tell or not to tell; I decided “what she doesn’t know won’t hurt her”. Am I still conflicted; yes.
Anyway the standard babysitter is held to is a lot different standard than a parent; sometimes it is an even higher standard. When parents get home and there have been some mishaps it is normally attributed to the babysitter not doing their job. I mean, how could the bathroom be such a mess if they were watching the kids? Not like that has ever happened to a parent.
On the other hand some parents are too lenient with their babysitters. They put up with tardiness, a lot of no shows, absenteeism, and the house ALWAYS being a mess. Simply because their kids love the babysitter. That isn’t cool either. You pay a lot for childcare now days, and putting up with mediocre babysitting isn’t okay, no matter how much your kids love them; you can find a babysitter they will love just as much, and who does more than simply play with the kids.
There is a balance between expecting too much, and not expecting enough from your babysitters. Mistakes will be made, and some will be more serious than others. I actually used foot fungal cream on a rash instead of cortisone cream, and to this day the parents laugh and joke about me finding a new cure for body rashes. In my defense the cortisone cream was generic and not well labeled; so was the foot fungal cream.
If you need help on what to pay your babysitter? For a mere $10 you can get our pricing guide for babysitting and what to expect from your babysitter. Trust me the guide will help narrow down all those questions. Get guidance for what to pay your babysitter
