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11-07-2007, 3:04 PM hannah53 Joined on 11-07-2007 Be nice - I'm new! What should I do? I babysit a 4 year old boy.  I get along really well with him, and I love babysitting him.  But I also babysit for 2 other families, and his parents don't call me to babysit ahead of time.  They usually call me right when they need me, or a few hours before.  If I have to babysit for another family or if I have plans to do something, I can't.  None of my friends babysit, so I can't offer a replacement babysitter.  I feel really bad when they call me and I can't do it, but I don't think it's my fault.  And when I do babysit for them, they hardly ever give me a time when they're going to be home.  When they do, they usually come home much later than the time they told me; I can understand if they're stuck at work and can't leave, or if they were in traffic, but sometimes they're just going to a party or out to dinner.  What should I do?  I want to keep babysitting for them, but I don't think it's fair to me for them to do these things.       Report

11-07-2007, 4:36 PM babysitterlaura Joined on 08-12-2007 USA Getting to Know Us Re: What should I do? I had the same problem once.  I just came to realize that this famiy did not respect me or the work I did.  They can't expect you to be at their every call 24/7.  Don't cancel your plans so you can babysitt, its their fault for calling you last minute.  When I was faced with this problem, I calmly explained to the parents the dilemma I was faced with, and that I felt I was being disrespected.  They made an effort to change, and did so for a little while.  However, they got back into their old habits.  Like you said, I understood if it was work, or business, or something that they had no control over, but it was often parties and such.  Sometimes I would even say to them before they booked me: "I have an early morning commitment, so I need to be back to my house at 1am" they would agree and then they wouldn't come home until 3am.  Eventually I just stopped babysitting for them when they called last minute.  They cant assume that you sit by your phone and go "Oh i hope someone calls me to babysitt tonight."  They need to understand that you have other things you can do, and that you can't just drop your life to babysitt for them.  Also, ask what time they are going to be home if they dont offer the information, or before you book, do what I did and say "I'm available that night, but only until (insert time here).  So that way maybe they'll at least try to be home on time for you.  I understand that this is a very frustrating dilemma, but this family doesn't seem to respect you; I suggest talking to them about it, and if it gets to be to much, don't babysitt for them anymore. Hope that you can mend the relationship with this family, and continue to babysitt for the little boy.  Good luck!!    Report