Leaving their little ones with a babysitter can be a godsend for parents. Going grocery shopping or having a nice dinner in a restaurant can seem impossible unless the kiddos are at home, under the care of a trusted adult. But it’s crucial that everyone is on the same page when it comes to hiring a babysitter.

After two parents tried to take advantage of his services, one sitter reached out to Reddit to find out if he was wrong for getting the police involved. Below, you’ll find the full story that the man posted on the “Am I the [Jerk]?” subreddit, as well as some of the replies invested readers shared.   

Finding a great babysitter can be a huge relief for parents

Image credits: Ketut Subiyanto / pexels (not the actual photo)

But when one couple decided to take advantage of their sitter, he refused to let them get away with it

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

Image credits: olga Volkovitskaia / pexels (not the actual photo)

Later, the babysitter clarified some details about the situation and provided an update

Image credits: AITAforgettingmad

Parents typically hire babysitters a couple of times a month

If you’re a parent of young children, there’s a good chance that you’ve recently hired a babysitter. In fact, according to Kidsit, the majority of parents hire someone to watch their little ones once or twice a month. 

But every family is different, and there’s nothing wrong with calling up a babysitter once a week or only a few times a year. Depending on each parent’s work schedule, how social they are, whether or not their family members can babysit and more, each family will decide exactly how often they need to seek out childcare.

Babysitters can be a huge help to parents who simply need a night off to relax, who haven’t been able to have a date night in weeks and who need to run errands or accomplish tasks that are impossible with little ones running around. Shopping for a new car can be incredibly exciting, but you may not want to drag your toddler along if he’s going to have a terrible time.

All parents deserve to hire a babysitter every now and then if they need one. But there are a few important things for moms and dads to know before leaving their kiddos in the care of someone else. After all, making sure that the children are happy, healthy and cared for is primarily the parents’ responsibility. 

To do so, babysitting service Call Emmy recommends that moms and dads provide caregivers with a guide for their child and their household. They should inform the babysitter of the child’s preferences, emergency numbers they might need to know, household rules, information on how to prepare food for the kids and more. It’s also helpful to have the babysitter arrive earlier than the parents need to leave, so they can answer any questions before having to rush out the door.

Image credits: Alex Green / pexels (not the actual photo)

It’s crucial that parents communicate clearly with sitters to keep their kids safe and happy

Smart Babysitters also notes on their site that communication between parents and sitters is key to having a smooth and successful experience. This isn’t only important to make sure that the kids have a great time with their babysitter; it’s also crucial to ensure that they’re safe.

If a little one has an allergy or a health issue, the parents must be clear about how the babysitter should approach that. What if they didn’t know that the household was peanut-free, and they brought a bag of mixed nuts to snack on while watching the kiddos? And if one child needs to have eyes on them at every moment to ensure that they’re not climbing on top of furniture and breaking bones, the parents need to stress that to the babysitter.

On that same note, parents must be very clear with their babysitters about how long they’ll be needed and what time the parents will return home. While childcare may seem casual, as sitters are in their employers’ homes, it is still a job. And we all deserve to know exactly how many hours we’ll be working and to be released at the time that our employer specified. Respect is necessary in the workplace, especially if you want to keep your employees around in the future. 

We would love to hear your thoughts on this situation in the comments below, pandas. Do you think this babysitter was right to get the police involved after being tricked into watching two children? Feel free to share, and then if you’d like to check out another, similar Bored Panda piece, look no further than right here!

Image credits: Lisa Fotios / pexels (not the actual photo)

Many readers agreed that the man had done nothing wrong by calling the police

However, some thought that the situation could have been handled better by all parties

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