Late babysitting hours

[Karel]

OK, it's just about 1 AM and my 12 year old daughter is still out babysitting for a couple who went to a Halloween party. Not only is it long past her bedtime but I have to stay up until she comes in.

I'm really rather peeved at the other parents.

How late do you stay out when you have babysitter? She said they didn't give a time when they would be home.

Lesson learned for us, I guess. Let them know an appropriate time for her to be home.

Yawn. I'm exhausted. She's going to fall asleep and they won't be able to wake her up. This should be amusing.

1:14 Am - yeah, she's home! She called me to walk around and get her - I'm not clear if that was her idea or theirs. The mother seemed surprised that I was waiting up for her. DUH!

Good Night!

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

We always have a time as it is common courtesy for the person sitting (we have tweens and adults who babysit for us).

If we are going to be late--we call and ask if it is okay to stay past curfew and give the new expected time. Usually this is only an additional half hour to an hour. The tweens have to double check with their mom that this is okay.

This works for us--stinks to be held to a curfew, but that is how we treat ourselves.

If I needed a late night sitter--I would arrange for the sitter to sleep over.

I had one last year while training for Disney that would come to my house between 4 and 5 in the morning...she set herself up on the couch and she could sleep until the girls woke up. This was good though b/c she was a 17yo who could drive herself and all was coordinated with her mom who filled in when her DD was unavailable. I never missed a training session as a result on my long run days. I maintained proper full disclosure as she was my only option and had I been the irresponsible parent...I quite likely could have lost my only sitter available for this extraordinary sitting request.

 

[Katy Belle]

I started babysitting when I was 10. I had stayed with the kids a few times in December to get us all ready for me to sit New Years Eve. On New years Eve the mom came home at 3a.m. and her friend drove me home because the guys were still at the party! I was soooo tired. I deliberately stayed awake.

We have a 14year old boy who babysits for us now. He is a sound sleeper! The first time he sat for us we had to literally shake him awake We turned on all the lights, the tv, talked loudly, said his name a million times, etc. It was pretty funny. Actually considered leaving him on the couch until morning, but thought he would be embarrassed.

Hope she gets home soon.
Katy

 

[hidmickey:myantidrug]

The best are the parents who stay out that late and then get mad when you fall asleep.

When I was younger my mom was going to school for her master's degree and working at a daycare centre and my dad was starting his own company so we were really short on money. Myy mom babysat for a load of people for the extra money and she would always take me with her. Once it was a Wed. and I was about 7 or 8 and had school the next day so when the parents called and asked if we could watch their daughter so they could go on a wine party held on their private yacht (ohh la la...crummy house, fancy boat...). My mom said that it was fine but they would need to be back by 10 (which was already 2 hours after my bed time) because I had school the next day. It was 3 am by the time they got home. Lets just say that my mom was po-ed. She and the mother got in a fight because of their rudeness (there was no emergency that made them late, they just decided to stay later) and said that she was very tempted to wake up their daughter and force her to sleep in a rocking chair but said that she had more class than to do that. We never babysat for them again...

I hope all goes well for your daughter in the future and that she arrives home soon with lots of money in her pocket!

 

[brasswillow]

I babysat through high school and the first half of college. When someone called me to set up a time I always asked when they needed me there and roughly when they'd be home. Then when I get to the house I would say something to the effect of "and you'll be home around blah blah blah. If you're going to be any later give me a call." I only ever once had a mom who stayed out a lot later than she promised. I hope people learn to respect your daughter if they like her as a babysitter. Treating her like that is a good way to burn out a babysitter.

 

[aprilgail2]

I don't think I got times when they would return from most of them. I was 13 and one couple used to stay out till 3am! I just used to go to sleep on the couch after a while. The thing I hated was that they always wanted to drive me home- I only lived about 10 houses down and it was just creepy being in the car with the father-even for that short ride. I always wished the mother would drive me home!

 

[barkley]

i've known sitters (and their parents) who handle this by charging an outrageous rate after a certain hour-be it after x number of hours sitting OR after a predesignated time. i had one friend who was a family home daycare provider and did babysitting for some of her clients when her daycare hours were not in session (evenings and weekends)-she could'nt believe how the parents that were so great at getting their kids right on time for daycare would flake out and come back to pick them up hours late when she was babysitting. she finaly realized it was because her daycare contract mandated $5 for every 5 minutes they were late picking up-but if they were late when she babysat it might only cost them $15 for 3 hours! she ended up instituting financial penalties for her babysitting as well. she would only sit for a minimum/maximum number of hours (if you did'nt use the minimum you still payed the minimum cost)-and unless you called and got her o.k. to be late/extend the time after a certain hour-she charged much more.

my babysitter is an adult-and i don't show up on time for her to go home i know i won't be able to use her again. sometimes-if it's a late event we're going to-we end up paying her to spend the night even though we'll be home, neither she nor we like the idea of her driving home alone at one or two in the morning.

 

[golfgal]

We didn't usually stay out all that late, midnight mostly. We always let the sitter know when we would be home. Now that DS14 is babysitting, we set our alarm clock for 1/2 hour past the time he is supposed to be home. When he gets home he is supposed to come in and turn it off. If it goes off, we can get up and see if he either forgot to turn off the alarm or isn't home yet. It works well for us.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Had the parents given an approximate time that they'd get home? I try to get my kids to ask so I will know what to expect. I'm not sure why your DD had you walk to meet her. Seems something that one of the parents should have done unless it was a single parent situation. If it wasn't, I would nip that in the bud and have them get her home.

One thing that I've done when my kids were going to be out late (either out with friends since they're older or babysitting) is that I leave an upstairs hall light on. Their instructions are to come in, lock the front door, and after they brush their teeth, etc, they are to turn the hall light off. That way I can go to bed and if I happen to really go to sleep (I don't usually when they are young and I hear them come in, but do when they get older), I will easily know if they are home. That of course only works if I have one of my kids out of the house for the evening.

Usually my kids have early morning babysitting jobs, and I trust that they get up and going. This morning my 16yo was at the neighbors house at 6AM (which wasn't too hard with the time change). They are runners and often want one of my kids early on a weekend morning.

 

[powellrj]

OK, it's just about 1 AM and my 12 year old daughter is still out babysitting for a couple who went to a Halloween party. Not only is it long past her bedtime but I have to stay up until she comes in.

I'm really rather peeved at the other parents.

How late do you stay out when you have babysitter? She said they didn't give a time when they would be home.

Lesson learned for us, I guess. Let them know an appropriate time for her to be home.

Yawn. I'm exhausted. She's going to fall asleep and they won't be able to wake her up. This should be amusing.

1:14 Am - yeah, she's home! She called me to walk around and get her - I'm not clear if that was her idea or theirs. The mother seemed surprised that I was waiting up for her. DUH!

Good Night!

DH and I are early risers so we never kept a babysitter out that late, but when I was a kid I would sometimes babysit until 3am. I would just crawl up on the sofa and sleep.

The thing that would upset me is the fact they were having her walk home alone. There is no way I would ever have let any sitter walk home alone after dark. The fact that she then had to call you is even worse. They should at the very least have walked her home, but they really should have driven her home. I was always the one who drove the sitter because I remember how uncomfortable I felt riding home with the dads.

 

[mom2rb]

We try to go out early so we are home early. If we know we will be out late we arrange a sleep over for the boys. I always take the sitter home.

 

[shortbun]

We never stay out past 12M when we have a sitter and we ALWAYS make sure they get home safely. I even walk the girl who lives across the street to her porch and wait for her to get in their house. I also have ALWAYS discussed time with the sitter and their parents. I pay well and I make sure there are snacks for the sitter too.

 

[Stacerita]

The times I was out sitting late we had it worked out at home so my parents would know when we were home without them waiting up. This also worked to keep my in line for my curfew. They would leave the hall light on to the stairs, and when I would come home, I would just shut it off. So that way if they woke up, they could just see the hall dark and know I am in bed. It worked for us.

I baby sat late a few times. I would just fall asleep on the couch. If they knew they were going to be really really late or that they would have been out drinking, I would get asked to just stay over.

 

[clh2]

OK, it's just about 1 AM and my 12 year old daughter is still out babysitting for a couple who went to a Halloween party. Not only is it long past her bedtime but I have to stay up until she comes in.

I'm really rather peeved at the other parents.

How late do you stay out when you have babysitter? She said they didn't give a time when they would be home.

Lesson learned for us, I guess. Let them know an appropriate time for her to be home.

Yawn. I'm exhausted. She's going to fall asleep and they won't be able to wake her up. This should be amusing.

1:14 Am - yeah, she's home! She called me to walk around and get her - I'm not clear if that was her idea or theirs. The mother seemed surprised that I was waiting up for her. DUH!

Good Night!

Except for the fact that your DD needed to call you to come and get her (WHICH WOULD TICK ME OFF) I don't know why you are upset that they kept your DD up that late. If it was way past her bedtime, that should be a condition of who/when your DD can babysit, and should be discussed prior to accepting the job, not in the evening she is babysitting. If you or your DD did not clarify the approximate time, then you are at least 50% at fault. Again...lesson learned.

Personally, I would never let my DD babysit for someone where they wouldn't have the courtesy to bring her home, I don't care how far the distance was. IMHO, the people employing have the obligation to make sure their babysitter gets home safely. I will add a big exception here - my DD occasionally babysits for someone when 1 parent is out of town. It makes no sense for the mom of 3 small boys to have to wake them up/ get them in car seats to bring my DD home. But, we know this in advance, so then it is not a biggy for me to pick up DD. Usually happens when she has a meeting for church or school.

 

[Disney Ella]

The thing I hated was that they always wanted to drive me home- I only lived about 10 houses down and it was just creepy being in the car with the father-even for that short ride. I always wished the mother would drive me home!

I always hated that too. And it was always the father who did the driving,never the mother.

I would definitely not let her sit for these people again unless they can be back at a reasonable hour. That's way too late for her age.

 

[Hillbeans]

When I used to babysit, I had a woman who sometimes stayed out until 2 am. She would never really give me a time but I knew she'd usually be home somewhere in the 1am - 2 am range. She paid well - I used to get about $27 for a 6 hour babysitting job where the kids were only awake for maybe 2 of those hours.

If you are both concerned about the time she babysits, maybe you could say that 1 am is the latest your daughter would be available to babysit and let them work around your schedule. No offense, but 1 am is late, especially for a 12 year old. I would never expect a teenager to stay at my house later than that to babysit unless it was a special occasion where I had cleared it ahead of time.

 

[emily1982]

I used to babysit for a couple over the road, their youngest child pretty much had to be black mailed into going to bed, and would cry for hours, the parents always stopped out late and i kindof just expected it, usually 2:30-3am. They were more surprised i was still awake when they got there.

 

[disykat]

There's no way I would be out that late for a babysitter - especially a young one. I'm also horrified they didn't walk her home.

The only time I didn't walk a sitter home is when I had a prearrangement with a neighbor because I had an evening meeting when dh was at work that got over after the kids were in bed. She lived down two blocks so I would have her call her Dad before she left (this was at 9:30 at night) then I would stand outside and watch her walk down the sidewalk until she saw him, turn around and wave, I'd go in and she'd walk on down to her dad. If we hadn't had that arrangement I would have gotten the kids out of bed and taken her - there's no way I'd let a sitter walk home alone in the dark or expect parents to come after her at one in the morning!

My sitter thought I was nuts, but I know her parents appreciated that I wanted to make sure she was safe.

 

[Karel]

She made $40, which isn't bad considering she was only watching a 9 year old girl.

We live one house from the corner - they live around the corner at the other end of the block, which in our town means there's only four houses in between.

Apparently, the mom was going to walk her halfway, which I guess meant to our corner but it would have been nice if she had brought her the whole way.

My daughter called me to walk over to get her - she hates the dark.

I thought I had told the father earlier that midnight would have to be late enough but wasn't forceful enough. They called her at 5pm for that night so we were sort of caught offguard.

When I hired babysitters, I always took their age into consideration and we were always back by midnight.

This was her first late night job; everything else has ended by 9 or 10. We'll know better next time to set the guidelines ahead of time. If you're going to call someone at the last minute, you have to accept the babysitter's curfew.

 

[Nanu57v]

Does your municipality have a curfew? If so, then I would put it at that. When I was younger I wouldn't babysit past 11 I think, and was falling asleep on the couch by 10. Of course I was 15, not 12. Now I don't like to leave DD with anyone past 9:30 because I feel its too late for them.