Parents Stiff Babysitter Out Of Pay, Get A Reality Check After She Gains Confidence Online

Fair pay for fair work—it sounds like a simple, straightforward, and easy-to-understand concept, right? The sad reality is that there will always be some clients or organizations that try to weasel out of paying you what you’re owed. In those cases, you need to stand your ground and protect your interests.

Internet user u/SecretiveGurl went viral after turning to the AmITheJerk online community for advice. She revealed how a family that she usually babysits for suddenly tried to pay her less for her services because their baby slept through most of the evening when she was over. Naturally, this frustrated both the babysitter and a huge chunk of the internet. Scroll down for the full story. Meanwhile, Bored Panda has reached out to the author for comment, and we’ll update this article as soon as we hear back from her.

Babysitters ought to be paid for the time they work. Unfortunately, some parents have different ideas

Baby falls asleep in crib with teddy bear while family member works on laptop in the background during babysitting.

Image credits:  AnnaStills/Envato (not the actual photo)

A teenager asked for advice after sharing how one family tried to trick her to avoid paying the full amount of money she was owed

Text excerpt about babysitting a baby who falls asleep while the family tries to avoid full payment to the babysitter.

Text excerpt describing babysitting a toddler from 6-10 PM while parents dine out, relating to baby falls asleep and payment issue.

Text excerpt describing a baby falling asleep quickly after a bottle and cuddle, relevant to babysitter payment dispute.

Family checking baby monitor while baby falls asleep during babysitting, debating payment for babysitter's full amount.

Text excerpt showing a husband joking about paying less after babysitting when the baby falls asleep.

Woman in a denim shirt gesturing with hands, illustrating babysitter frustration in a home setting with plants and books.

Image credits:  valeriygoncharukphoto/Envato (not the actual photo)

Text excerpt discussing babysitting duties when a baby falls asleep and family attempts to avoid full payment.

Text excerpt about a family trying to weasel out of paying their babysitter after their baby falls asleep.

Text on a white background discussing a babysitter expecting full pay despite the baby being asleep most of the time.

Image credits: SecretiveGurl

It’s unfair to babysitters if their clients suddenly start changing their mind at the last minute

Babysitter playing with two children on floor with wooden train set as baby falls asleep in family home setting.

Image credits: Andrej Lišakov/Unsplash (not the actual photo)

To be clear, whether or not someone’s child was asleep or awake has no impact on the amount of money you owe your babysitter. You’re hiring them for a service—looking after your child for a specific period of time. As long as they’re doing their job, they should get paid for every hour they’re there.

If your child has unique needs or you want to be very transparent about your expectations, then, as a parent, you should consider hiring a professional babysitter or drafting a contract with everything listed. Having a contract to fall back on might be good for the sitter, too, as it’s a clear indication of what they’re owed for their time.

Babysitters of Boulder encourages parents to change their perspective and not to think about a babysitter’s job as something that’s ‘easy.’ The parents often approach their interactions with the babysitters from a position of power and safety, and they should be more mindful of how difficult it can be for the people they hire to interact with them in some cases.

It is very important that everyone’s on the same page when it comes to money and expectations

Person counting dollar bills, highlighting babysitter payment disputes after baby falls asleep during care session

Image credits: Alexander Grey/Unsplash (not the actual photo)

“Most of us tend to believe that we are easier to work with than we truly are. We tend to think that we communicate more clearly than we actually do. Your sitter or nanny may misinterpret your instructions, or do something that irks you in a sincere attempt to be helpful,” the organization points out.

According to Babysitters of Boulder, when it comes to money, parents should:

• Pay their babysitters when they book and then cancel their services;
• Pay more when they have their babysitters supervise playdates or carpools;
• Not ask to pay later;
• Not forget to pay.

The name of the game is transparency and good communication. If you keep springing surprises on your babysitter, not only are you making things more difficult for them, but you’re also harming your interests. Soon, you might develop a reputation as a difficult family to work with and fewer people will want to babysit for you.

Meanwhile, trying to go back on your agreement with a teenage babysitter after they’ve already done what you asked is just plain unethical.

As the woman’s post went more and more viral, people rushed to share their opinions and advice

Comments discussing payment disputes with a babysitter after the baby falls asleep during the sitting.

Comment text emphasizing full payment for babysitting after babysitter cared for a baby for several hours.

Screenshot of a forum comment discussing babysitter payment issues related to a baby falling asleep during the job.

Comment text from a user warning about babysitting, mentioning a red flag and advising to stand your ground.

Comment discussing frustration over families not paying babysitters fully when the baby falls asleep during their shift.

Comment discussing the unfair treatment of a babysitter after a baby falls asleep during a family visit.

Comment advising babysitter should be paid in full despite baby falling asleep during the job, emphasizing fairness in babysitter payment.

Comment about family trying to avoid paying babysitter fully after baby falls asleep during sitting.

Comment discussing what to do if a baby falls asleep and the family tries to avoid paying the full babysitter fee.

Comment discussing a babysitter's experience with a family refusing to pay the full amount after the baby falls asleep.

Babysitter advising on payment dispute after baby falls asleep while family tries to avoid paying full amount.

Text comment about babysitter payment dispute, discussing baby falling asleep and family avoiding full payment.

Comment on a forum post with user advice related to a babysitter payment dispute involving a baby who falls asleep.

Babysitter explaining why families should pay full amount even if baby falls asleep during childcare.

Comment on social platform showing someone asking if they can leave once the baby falls asleep, related to babysitter payment dispute.

Comment reading NTJ you’re entitled to full pay in a discussion about babysitter payment and baby falls asleep

Comment expressing frustration about a family trying to avoid paying their babysitter the full amount after a baby falls asleep.

Comment discussing babysitters and families trying to avoid paying full amount when baby falls asleep during care.

Text comment about a babysitter refusing to stay unpaid while the baby falls asleep, addressing babysitter payment issues.

Comment advising that babysitters should be paid regardless if the baby falls asleep during babysitting.

Comment about family trying to avoid full payment after baby falls asleep during babysitting session.

Comment about babysitter unpaid for hours as baby falls asleep, advising to inform others and decline future babysitting requests.

Comment text discussing babysitter's role in preventing child endangerment and defending against unfair payment disputes.

Screenshot of a comment discussing payment issues after a baby falls asleep during babysitting.

Comment expressing dissatisfaction with a family over paying their babysitter after the baby falls asleep.

Comment on babysitting experience, warning others about family refusing to pay full amount after baby falls asleep.

Comment highlighting a babysitter dispute, mentioning family trying to avoid paying full amount after baby falls asleep.

Comment advising babysitter to demand full payment and not let family take advantage when baby falls asleep.

Young woman holding a baby outdoors, capturing a moment related to babysitter and baby falling asleep.

Image credits: Wesley Tingey/Unsplash (not the actual photo)

After reading through many people’s advice, the babysitter decided to stand up for herself. Here’s her update

Text excerpt from a babysitter explaining how a family tried to avoid paying the full amount after their baby fell asleep.

Luckily, after confiding in the AITJ online community and getting some genuinely useful advice, the babysitter decided to confront her clients and actually got what was owed her.

“I went back to their place and firmly asked for the full payment. You gave me the push I needed. I got what I was owed and won’t be babysitting for that family again,” u/SecretiveGurl wrote in a small update.

The author’s post went massively viral, and it just goes to show that many people can’t stand workers being taken advantage of. At the time of writing, the author’s post had 28k upvotes and also garnered a whopping 9.2k comments.

What are your thoughts about the entire situation, dear Pandas? Have you ever worked as a babysitter? If so, what are some of the worst clients that you’ve ever had the ‘pleasure’ of babysitting for? Has a client or organization ever tried to trick you out of paying you what they owed you for your job, no matter the industry? We’d love to hear from you! You can share your thoughts in the comments below.

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