When you take a step back, the job of being a babysitter actually sounds quite stressful. Not only are you responsible for the children, suddenly you are at the mercy of the parents actually showing up at a normal time because you can’t exactly just leave them there alone.

A babysitter asked the internet for a second opinion after she was called “unprofessional” for calling the police on parents who were six hours late. Netizens were quick to call out the parents for being so downright irresponsible. We got in touch with the babysitter and she gave us some of her thoughts after posting the story.

Babysitters are often at the mercy of the kid’s parents

Image credits: cottonbro studio / pexels (not the actual photo)

But one woman ended up calling the police when the parents were over five hours late

Image credits: DuoNguyen / unsplash (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Andrea Ferrario / unsplash (not the actual photo)

The babysitter clarified some details in an edit

Image credits: yftdddtf

People have needed childcare for most of human history

While childcare, as a concept, goes back as far as humankind, the idea of a babysitter in the modern sense originated in roughly the 1920s. This was partially due to more and more women entering the workforce, which not only prevented them from looking after their kids, but also gave some disposable income.

The word itself first appeared in 1937, while it only became a verb about a decade later. A ”sitter” is a considerably older term for a temporary caregiver for a child, which seems to have originated in the 1800s. Some believe that it comes from the act of hens “sitting” on their clutch of eggs.

Naturally, folks wanted to spend this income on activities that would mean being away from the home after work. So the obvious solution was to hire someone to do it. At the time, babysitting was one of the only jobs a teenage girl might be able to find, making them the backbone of this industry. These days, it’s such a common job that some parents end up being downright nasty when someone doesn’t want to work for them.

At the time, it was still considered questionable to hire some random, underage stranger to look after your kids. A decade later, the great depression broke down any remaining barriers to entry, as more people needed to work. This meant that parents were more willing to let their children find a source of income and stay-at-home parents would find jobs.

Babysitting is now a time-honored profession

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Image credits: Pressmaster / envato (not the actual photo)

Bored Panda got in touch with the babysitter in the story. First we wanted to know if there had been any development’s in the story itself. “No updates as I blocked them after several rude messages,” she shared with us. Naturally, we also were curious to hear her take on why the parents were so irresponsible. ” 100% believe they were under the influence of something and just stayed out all night,” she added.

Most of the internet wholeheartedly sided with her, so we were curious to hear how she felt after being berated by the parents. “I’m happy that people thought I did the right thing by calling the police,” she shared with Bored Panda. Last but not least, we also wanted to know if they actually got paid for the “overtime,” “Yes, I would’ve sued had they not.”

Depending on a family’s financial situation, they might even hire a nanny on a contractual basis. In India and Pakistan, for example, this is quite common, as the nanny might even perform some childcare duties while the parents are around. However, in North America, it’s more common that parents will just find someone for an evening. At least in these cases it’s paid, as so many families simply “employ” a child to take care of the rest.

Normally, one is paid by the hour for this sort of work, with some US estimates approximating the job at $22.68 an hour for one child, $25.37 an hour for two, and $27.70 an hour for three children, according to a babysitting website. While we don’t know this young woman’s rate and if there were any considerations for overtime, it would seem that this “additional” six hours would cost a pretty penny. Some parents try to “entice” babysitters with extra work, but by and large, it’s best not to burn bridges.

As many of the readers noted, she absolutely did the right thing. Being somewhat late is understandable, but the fact that these parents didn’t make any effort to get in touch over multiple hours is suspect. Chargers aren’t a rare commodity and an event like a wedding should have both android and apple users aplenty.

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Additionally, calling her unprofessional after being deeply irresponsible parents is just the cherry on top. The babysitter is entirely right to never interact with them again. At best, they are just irresponsible, at worst, they were willing to try and make a babysitter work overnight overtime for free.

Most people thought she was in the right

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