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Most babysitting jobs go smoothly — but some mistakes will guarantee you never get called back. This Babysitter Boss episode breaks down the biggest babysitting fails, from being glued to your phone to badmouthing the family, so you know exactly what to avoid.
Hey babysitters! I talk a lot about how to be a good babysitter, but sometimes you just gotta call out the babysitting fails.
Forgetting to ask about the kid’s bedtime routines …
What time do you go to bed? Midnight
FAIL
Wearing long dangling earrings to a babysitting job …
Painful FAIL
Not telling people upfront how much you charge …
You didn’t mention how much you charge, so here’s two dollars.
Epic FAIL
Lexi? Two dollars …
Maybe in 1988! That’s bad, but it can get a whole lot worse!
Meet the World’s Worst Babysitter.
Uh, can you believe I have to babysit? I hate this family. They’re so lame and their kids are so spoiled.
Guess what else is lame? Trashing your employer and their kids. This is one situation where if you can’t say anything nice, you shouldn’t say anything at all. Not to mention word will get back to the family that you badmouth them, and you can kiss that job goodbye. And by the way, watch what you say in front of the children too.
Mommy, Cate said you dress like a [bleep].
The World’s Worst Babysitter also invites friends over without getting permission from the family. Uh huh. Your babysitting job is not an excuse to have your best friend or your boyfriend over. If a friend is helping you babysit because you’re watching several children, make sure you’ve discussed this with the employer and gotten their permission in advance.
And the worst of the worst is someone who pays more attention to her phone than the kids. When you’re babysitting, you’re being paid to take care of the kids and you can’t do that when you’re watching TikTok videos. If you’re not watching them, the kids could be getting into something dangerous. They could also be hurting themselves, others, or damage things in the house.
Stay off your phone when you’re babysitting. That also means that you shouldn’t share information about the family or your babysitting job on social media. For one thing, privacy. And for another, nobody else thinks that diaper blowout is funny. Just you!
I hope you had fun learning what not to do when you’re babysitting. To learn more, check out babysitterboss.com.
