Babysitter Job Horror Stories That Remind Us to Tip Extra

Babysitter jobs are often a teen's first work experience, but babysitting is harder (and funnier) than it looks.

Babysitting is often a teenager’s first job. If you don’t find that funny, you should. Parents meet a half-grown human being one time, then trust that human with an even smaller, less-grown human. Sometimes, more than one.

If your first job is working at McDonald’s, you can’t mess up more than accidentally clogging the soft-serve machine. As a babysitter, you could burn down a house or have to rush a kid to the ER with a driver’s license you just got last year. Babysitter jobs are no walk in the park, as these horror stories from Reddit can attest.

So, parents? If you have a good sitter, tip them. Big time.

Every Babysitter’s Worst Fear

Story about babysitter getting tied up by the kids

The Yeshiva World

Short of losing a kid at the park or setting the house on fire, getting tied up by the kids is right up there on the list of things babysitters hope will never happen.

At a certain point, the kids are big enough to overpower you. You just have to cross your fingers and hope they have enough respect for your authority not to try it.

It Happens

Babysitting horror story about paint all over the walls

Messes are part of the job, but the thought of parents coming home to a shattered family heirloom or an expensive, unwanted modern art installation on the wall is nothing short of terrifying.

This sitter was lucky the parents had their priorities in order: The kids were fine, and that’s all that really mattered.

Awkward, but Not So Bad

What happens when the babysitter falls asleep

It has always seemed odd to me when parents act horrified that the sitter fell asleep after the kids were already in bed. Do they not ever go to sleep themselves? Do they take shifts watching the kids sleep?

In our book, a short nap is no big deal, as long as the kids are safely in bed. The farting … well, everyone does it, right? The parents probably thought it was funny.

Babysitting Jobs Are Harder Than They Look

Babysitter got a black eye from a toddler

It doesn’t matter if you’re a 300-pound linebacker. Kids are chaos.

Have you ever tried picking up an excited preschooler, only for them to jump at the wrong time and slam their head directly into your chin? It’s brutal. Babysitting isn’t for the faint of heart.

Chaotic Babysitting at Its Finest

Babysitter told a kid that she would go blind if she misbehaved

This seems like an old-school disciplinary strategy, but we love it. We’re not sure it’s “ethical,” and we’re not going to try it ourselves, but it makes for a hilarious story.

The kid can’t be too traumatized, right? Fingers crossed.

Kids Know a Weird Amount About Weirdly Specific Subjects

This isn’t exactly a horror story, but sitters do have to listen to their fair share of neverending stories. Some of them are interesting.

Most of the time, though, you have to pretend to be fascinated while they go into great detail about Roblox, which you have never played.

A Broken Lego Castle: Now Justification for Murder

Sorry, what? OP, are you telling us that you had a knife thrown at you by a child and didn’t immediately quit?

You must be Mary Poppins because we would have resigned the minute the parents got home.

If You Don’t Know What a Night Terror Is, They’re Terrifying

Babysitter didn't know what a night terror was

For those who haven’t encountered this lovely phenomenon, night terrors are like nightmares, only the person having one remains asleep. Night terrors are much more common in children than adults, and witnessing one is a little scary.

During a night terror, a kid can start screaming and flailing like they’re being tortured, only to resume peacefully sleeping moments later. We can understand why a babysitter would be unsure whether to call their parents, a doctor or an exorcist.

This One Could Happen to Any Sitter

If I had a dollar for every time a child I was babysitting did or said something inappropriate, I’d be retired already. To them, it’s not inappropriate. It’s innocent and funny.

One summer, for example, it was unbearably hot. The little boy I was watching had absolutely no interest in keeping his clothes on. He stripped in a public park, then ran around laughing. I feel this babysitter’s pain.

If the Kids Decide to Pull Pranks on You, Just Give Up

Fluther

They can absolutely scare the heck out of you, but you have to act completely unfazed.

Otherwise, they’ll realize how easily they can mess with you and escalate. No, thank you.

Some Babysitting Jobs Are More Chaotic Than Others

Being a babysitter is harder than it seems

Fluther

We’re convinced that 14-year-old eldest siblings were responsible for keeping most of us alive long enough to apologize.

Babysitting is often the first job teenage girls get, and if anyone thinks it’s easier than working retail, they are wrong.

In This Case, the Babysitter Was the Nightmare, Not the Kids

Fluther

She didn’t do anything awful — but two broken microwaves? How did she not figure out her mistake the first time? Sheesh.

Maybe that babysitting money should go toward a cooking class.

Parents, Don’t Do This

Babysitter had no idea what melatonin was

Positize

Some babysitter job nightmare stories originate from parents, not kids. When I was 14, I thought I was going to be hanging out with a couple of siblings not much younger than I was. The goal was just to keep them from killing each other.

Easy enough, right? Wrong. The parents decided to go out with friends, all of whom took advantage of the free sitter. One teenage sitter with six kids between the ages of 18 months and 12 seems like a great idea.

Forget Babysitting Horror Stories

How to get a two year old to be your best friend

Positize

This is a babysitting success story if ever we’ve seen one.

Not for the parents who have to deal with a sugar-crazed toddler after, but for everyone else, it was a good day.

At Least She Gets the Idea of Consent

Positize

She’s supposed to be saying no to drugs and strangers at the park, not bedtime stories. Close enough? Either way, good job, OP. Your young charge may not be literate, but she’s alive and knows how to stick up for herself. That counts for a lot.

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