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“Looked At Me Puzzled”: Parents Aghast After Babysitter Confesses To Having A Few Slices Of Pizza
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“Looked At Me Puzzled”: Parents Aghast After Babysitter Confesses To Having A Few Slices Of Pizza

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When you’re a babysitter, you have to be very adaptable. That is because you are often entering someone else’s space with its own rules that you have to obey. You are also looking after someone else’s children and need to tailor your approach to cater to the specific parenting style.

However, no matter how adaptable you are, issues are bound to arise here and there. Miscommunications and misunderstandings are sometimes simply unavoidable.

In this situation, the miscommunication was about food. Scroll down to read why the babysitter thought she might have been in the wrong, and if the Am I the [Jerk] community agreed.

The key to success for any babysitter is their ability to communicate well with both the kids and the parents

Image credits: sofiiashunkina (not the actual image)

However, no matter how good you are at your job, miscommunications are bound to occur from time to time. This is exactly what happened in the following story

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Image credits: LightFieldStudios (not the actual image)

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Image credits: u/Wrong_Net_5989

There should have been clearer communication between the parents and the babysitter

It is completely reasonable for the parents to not want their babysitters rummaging through their fridge or pantry. If they feel like their food is off limits, it is their own personal boundary to draw.

However, in this situation, the parents should have communicated that. After all, they knew the babysitter was staying at their place for more than a couple hours, so it was fair to believe she was going get hungry eventually.

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On the other hand, assuming you could eat the food can also come off as rude. So, if they didn’t clarify the rules, the next thing the sitter needs to do is to check in with the parents about their preferences.

Communicating your expectations and being kind is always the way to go

If the family food is not to be touched, parents might want to provide some babysitter-only food. That could be snacks, pre-made meals they can heat up, or extra cash to order something in. They can also ask the sitter to bring their own food—that is not an uncommon ask, and there’s nothing wrong with it.

Whatever the preference, just like with any other rule of the house, communicate it and follow it. And if there is something that’s unclear, do not assume what might be the way to go. It is always better to ask instead.

Many showed support for the babysitter’s actions

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Others thought she had crossed the line

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Agne Steponaityte

Agne Steponaityte

Writer, Community member

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Agne Steponaityte is a writer at Bored Panda. After getting a BA Film Production degree in England, Agne moved around Europe living and writing in Lithuania, Belgium, and Portugal. Now, together with her partner and daughter, she is residing in Munich, Germany. Her favourite book is East of Eden, favourite movie – There Will Be Blood, favourite show – Succession.

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Agne Steponaityte

Agne Steponaityte

Writer, Community member

Agne Steponaityte is a writer at Bored Panda. After getting a BA Film Production degree in England, Agne moved around Europe living and writing in Lithuania, Belgium, and Portugal. Now, together with her partner and daughter, she is residing in Munich, Germany. Her favourite book is East of Eden, favourite movie – There Will Be Blood, favourite show – Succession.

Dominyka

Dominyka

Author, BoredPanda staff

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I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, crafting captivating visual content to enhance every reader's experience. Sometimes my mornings are spent diving into juicy dramas, while afternoons are all about adding extra laughs to the world by editing the funniest memes around. My favorite part of the job? Choosing the perfect images to illustrate articles. It's like imagining a story as a movie in my mind and selecting the key shots to tell the story visually.

Read less »

Dominyka

Dominyka

Author, BoredPanda staff

I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda, crafting captivating visual content to enhance every reader's experience. Sometimes my mornings are spent diving into juicy dramas, while afternoons are all about adding extra laughs to the world by editing the funniest memes around. My favorite part of the job? Choosing the perfect images to illustrate articles. It's like imagining a story as a movie in my mind and selecting the key shots to tell the story visually.

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LonelyLittleLeafSheep
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those saying OP is TA have obviously never babysat in their lives. If the babysitter is expected to feed the children then she should be eating too. And the parents should always provide food or snacks for the babysitter. Soon enough they won't have anyone watching their crotch goblins if they keep up the entitled c**p.

Elio
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For real. I babysat a little bit and the parents were like, "here's the leftovers, here's the pantry, here's the fresh fruit, and here's all the microwavable frozen food." These parents are unreasonable and cheap and so are all the people who are going on about OP being an employee. Guess what a******s, employees are legally entitled to breaks and lunch/dinner.

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Ghostsauce
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People cannot seriously be equating babysitting to a 9 to 5 job. Employee theft?

Breadcrumb.
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She's taking care of there children for a evening show some gratitude mom and dad..it's two slices of pizza. Petty people, I wouldn't work for them again. Do they count toilet paper squares too?

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LonelyLittleLeafSheep
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those saying OP is TA have obviously never babysat in their lives. If the babysitter is expected to feed the children then she should be eating too. And the parents should always provide food or snacks for the babysitter. Soon enough they won't have anyone watching their crotch goblins if they keep up the entitled c**p.

Elio
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

For real. I babysat a little bit and the parents were like, "here's the leftovers, here's the pantry, here's the fresh fruit, and here's all the microwavable frozen food." These parents are unreasonable and cheap and so are all the people who are going on about OP being an employee. Guess what a******s, employees are legally entitled to breaks and lunch/dinner.

Load More Replies...
Ghostsauce
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People cannot seriously be equating babysitting to a 9 to 5 job. Employee theft?

Breadcrumb.
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

She's taking care of there children for a evening show some gratitude mom and dad..it's two slices of pizza. Petty people, I wouldn't work for them again. Do they count toilet paper squares too?

Load More Comments
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