Beginning to wonder if we are cursed sitter-wise

Pesky · July 2011

We have been adding gradually to our list of babysitters to have more options for fall-backs after a fiasco with a last-minute stand-up by our regular one. So we hired a worker from DC, older with an 8YO girl. Nice lady. Normally we aren't keen on hiring someone who brings her own kid(s) with her after a bad experience with another one but someone we trust at the center vouched for her so we figured we'd let it go. Tried her once when she brought her daughter and things seemed to go well.

We were just going up the street to a neighbor's for a BBQ/GTG type of thing tonight. After an hour or so, DH left to go get something from our house and walks out to see our kids, at the neighbor's house, playing in her water feature out front. DH asked them where the sitter was and DD blithely replied "at home". DH started walking them back when the sitter came out frantic and explained she had gone to get something from her car and must have forgotten to lock the door and the kids escaped. I think this is dubious given the distance but whatever -- for them to be up at the neighbor's and playing already meant it was 2-3 minutes easy, likely a bit more. Certainly enough for them to have gone into the street, hit by a car, snatched by someone, fallen or been injured in the giant storm drain by our house, drowned in the water feature or even gotten into something in the house while she was at her car and left under the "supervision" of an 8YO -- any number of maladies. And if she didn't notice not one but BOTH of her charges suddenly disappearing for at least 2-3 minutes, what exactly does that say about attentiveness? There's a reason we have baby gates for pete's sake.

Needless to say, DH and I are striking her from our available sitter list. Man, good help IS hard to find nowadays...

ETA: forgot to mention this worker we will have to deal with beginning in Sept. through Dec. as DS will be in her class. Which is fine there but now will be awkward with her wondering why we haven't asked if she can babysit. Good times. Sad

leslieb923 · July 2011

Yikes! Glad to hear the kiddies were okay. Strike her off that list fast!

1CINCYGIRL · July 2011

She will know why she wasn't asked to babysit. It may me a little odd at first, but as long as it is kept on the professional level then I wouldn't worry about it. Good Luck! She can always ask to teach another room if she was uncomfortable teaching that class.