Many parents have rules when it comes to others babysitting their little ones. No posting on social media, excessive screen time, or leaving the kids unsupervised come up a lot. No visitors is also a common one.
But what happens when the “visitor” is a delivery driver from DoorDash, bringing you some food? For one mom, this exact circumstance sent her spiraling.
I got in trouble for ordering food while babysitting
A young woman took to Reddit recently to share an encounter between her and a mom she was babysitting for that left her absolutely baffled and questioning whether or not she was in the wrong.
“I ordered DoorDash while babysitting because I hadn’t eaten since lunch and was getting a headache and they were 2 hours late. The kids were asleep, the food was left on the porch, and I stepped outside for 10 seconds to grab it,” the babysitter explained in the caption.
“The mom told me she was uncomfortable that someone came to the door and that I “left the kids alone.” When I got home I was told they can’t trust me anymore and I was fired,” she added.
Sharing the text exchange online, the babysitter wanted to know if she legitimately did the wrong thing. Especially considering the mom found her on Facebook and did little background checks before hiring her for the evening.
“Was something delivered?”
The exchange began with the babysitter asking for a rough ETA from the mom after she claimed she’d be back at 8 p.m. – two hours prior.
With a new confirmed arrival time of 11:30 p.m., the babysitter decided to order some dinner via DoorDash. As it turns out, it was the wrong thing to do. And an SMS was received shortly after the doorbell rang.
“Hey our Ring just showed someone at the door. Was something delivered?” the mom asked.
“Yes, I didn’t eat dinner so I ordered DoorDash,” the babysitter replied.
And that’s when things spiraled.
“Okay, we’ll talk when we get home, but I’m really concerned that you would do that without asking first. I would never be okay with a stranger coming to the door while my kids are sleeping. I really wish you had asked me before doing that,” the mom shot back – clearly not mincing her words.
“Please check to make sure the storm door is locked and the chain is locked as well since you opened them.”
“I get that you were hungry…”
The babysitter apologized and went on to explain that she didn’t anticipate still being at their home looking after the children after dinner, but due to the time change, she needed to order something.
“I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable. I just hadn’t eaten since lunch and I thought I’d be done by 8 like you mentioned. I started getting a headache and I really needed to eat something. I’ve ordered food before while babysitting and it’s never been a problem, so I didn’t think it would be an issue,” she wrote back, while also offering some reassurance that she did all the right things.
“They left it at the door, and I waited until they were gone before I went out to grab it and locked the doors the way they were when I came back in.”
Unfortunately for the babysitter, the clarification of events still wasn’t enough.
“I get that you were hungry, but it’s more about the fact that someone came to the door without my knowledge and you left them in the house alone while you grabbed it. If something had happened it just makes me really nervous,” the mom replied.
“You could have eaten from the cabinet. This is my home and my kids and I need to be able to fully trust who’s here. We will talk later. Just please double check the doors.”
The exchange ended with another apology from the babysitter.
Babysitters weigh in with their horror stories
The post attracted many babysitters sharing their own horror stories – and this one is pretty tame compared to some.
“One time I babysat for people who found out that I went downstairs after putting their kid to sleep upstairs and they not only fired me, but talked sh** about me to other clients and I lost a couple jobs because of it,” someone commented.
“I’ll be honest, my first instinct is this person is up to something that puts them at real risk. I have babysat for people who were pretty paranoid, but absolutely no one was to this level,” another added.
Another babysitter shared: “Once when I was a teen, I was babysitting regularly for a couple who had a young boy with autism, about 5. One night, they were supposed to be home by 7, but there was massive flooding and they couldn’t get home until the next morning. About 5 a.m. they walked in the door and shook me awake cuz I’d fallen asleep on the couch. They then fired me for sleeping.”
And plenty agreed that this level of concern wasn’t warranted.
“This is ridiculous. Not only is she wildly inconsiderate for staying out 3.5 hours later without even asking you if that was okay…but you had to reach out to her to find out when she was coming home?” someone said.
Others agreed that the mom was “overreacting” and that the babysitter should “drop her” as a client.
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