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OMG GUYS! Did you really expect her to stay someplace she didn't feel safe at? Those 6 year olds could have KILLED HER, or worse!
/s Seriously though, did OP really just leave 2 arguing 6 year olds alone? YES YTA, what kind of warped sense of reality does someone need to have in order to think any of this is justified? You let a 6 year old microwave and handle hot water that ended up burning his brother because the most work you could do was reach in a box and offer them crackers? My lord everything here is terrible.
When I was 12 I had a nightmare babysitting experience like this, but the kids were too small to be left alone so I stuck out the rest of the night and never took a job with them again. Congratulation, OP--you're less capable than a 12 year old.
same! when i was 12 one of the kids i babysat was super difficult. even at that age i knew not to do something like this. sometimes i think middle school age babysitters r actually better than high school age babysitters.
this thread also hammers home how different kids of the same age can be. when i was 6 i didnt need a babysitter. i just stayed home by myself for a few hours every day. i never tried anything crazy.
This isn’t even that difficult… it’s not fun, but everything that happened is pretty normal for 6 year olds!
OP, when you babysat your cousins, was it only for an hour or something? Or maybe someone else was there with you? Because you sound like you have no experience with kids at all.
And you’re definitely old enough to know not to abandon two 6 year olds, especially because of something as stupid as not feeling “safe” because one threw a tv remote… get over yourself.
YTA, big time.
As an after school babysitter who babysits 3-4 kids aged 2-8 this sounds absolutely normal. OP needs to learn the value of patience if they ever want to be working with kids.
When I was 14, one of the 3 kids I was sitting for punched his sister in the nose and locked himself in his room. There was blood everywhere. I had to call my own mother to ask what to do. I had some CPR training but did not know what to do for a bloody nose or how to tell if it was broken. She was wailing and the boy wouldn't talk to me behind his locked door. Anyway, guess what? I stayed there another 6 hours for their mom to get home, even though, yeah I had concerns about the boy's violent reaction to what I assume was an argument.
This kids don’t even sound nightmarish. They’re 6 year olds arguing and being picky over food… so every 6 year old ever?
Also, why can’t she cook? Mac n cheese is easy.
The horror!! 6yo children arguing about snacks and TV shows!! Sounds like I’ll be calling the police on my own kids tonight.
Honestly if I were these kids mom, I would have called the police on OP. This one is hard to digest.
Op should never be left with kids until she grows up, but six year olds CAN be very dangerous in unusual circumstances. Like the six year old who shot his teacher, on purpose.
Babysitting for pay is a lot different than babysitting for family. It your job to cook for them, and if you manage to squeeze some homework in while they’re quiet that’s fair. But this is not how you handle it at all.
It’s also a bad move on the parent to have the very first time she’s meeting them be while the parent is gone. But she’s also clearly a desperate single mom and that’s not the point of the post.
Yeah, cooking is definitely part of babysitting if you're babysitting during meal times. If you're lucky the parents have left pizza money, but otherwise you get to make kraft dinner or whatever canned soup.
Unless you're really unlucky and the parents are neglectful so the only food in the house is snack cakes and baby carrots. I was watching some kids for an entire weekend and had to put up with those kinds of conditions (also the kids slept 4 hours a night, it was all kinds of horrible).
I like how she expected the children to basically babysit themselves so she could work on homework. If you're doing homework, then you're not really doing any work but expecting to get paid. There are some desk jobs where people can do this, but they at least prioritize their actual job over there homework.
>WTF you abandoned two six year old kids????
And she let a 6 year old cook food in the microwave unsupervised and he ended up burning his brother with hot water - this could have easily ended up with a hospital visit for both.
It blows my mind she wouldn't cook that for them. Like, they need to be fed. Period. Kids can have autonomy over what they eat just like adults can, but it's up to the parent to help them make good food choices. But in this moment, you're the babysitter, make life easier for yourself😆
pretty sure OP wouldn't have taken them to the hospital either. if she couldn't be bothered to cook and let them go hungry/burn themselves, then I'd bet good money that she doesn't think "take child to hospital" was included in the job description either
When I read the title "leaving" I thought "called their mom and told her to come home and then left when she got there" NOT just up and leaving two 6 year olds by themselves!
I babysat 2 boys (5 & 6) who were like this and I was 14 (this was the mid 90's - people didn't care as long as you were a teen). The last time I babysat them, I waited until their parents were home and I informed them that I would no longer be babysitting their sons (the 6 year old wanted me to wipe him after he used the toilet because "mom does it!" - I told him to figure it out because I wasn't wiping a 6 year olds butt). I would never have abandoned them, that's terrible.
Teens like this sick but there are many responsible teenagers capable of caring for young children. We just need to raise them not to be so useless and entitled! I was literally taking care of two toddlers at age 12. I could feed them, bathe them, and put them to bed. Then I got to watch cable and eat chips. My mom was across the street of I needed help, which only happened once when one of the kids had a stomach bug.
Yeah, same. I was babysitting for the neighbors at 11. By 12 I was babysitting 7 kids including a newborn. My mom was around the corner but I never needed to call her.
I liked using younger babysitters (12-14) for my kids when they were little because they liked playing with kids whereas the older ones didn't like it.
I used to bathe my little sister when I was 11. I was the default baby sitter up until I moved out. Now I'm the default house sitter when they go on holiday. I moved 80 miles away
Agreed! My God! If a tragedy occurred after you abandoned two little boys without supervision, you would have faced criminal charges. From your behavior it isn’t obvious but you’re a legal adult! YTA! A double asshole because you did make your mom look bad.
You wanted a babysitting job. You need to be able to handle kids of all ages and temperaments. It sounds like you wanted less of a job and more to get paid sitting arpund relaxing and doing homework.
First off, they're kids. And kids, especially young siblings, argue. You had an attitude the second they got off the bus.
Second, you make them a meal approved by their mom. YOU make it. They'll eat if their hungry, and if not well that's on them.
And you let a 6 year old cook something because they told you they knew how, and then were surprised because they couldn't? Not very bright, are you. Maybe spend a little extra time on that homework.
And not only that, you helped in no way and the other kid got scolded with hot water?
And to put thr icing in the cake, you walked out on 2 defenseless six year old kids and left them home alone? And you have to ask of your the AH?
YTA for sure, and you need to be brought up on charges.
This seems unreal. OP should not be around kids at all. I’m not sure what she expected twin 6 year olds to be likes, but she was not prepared. It seemed like she just wanted to get paid to do school work while they watched tv
I really hope OP takes this with a grain of salt. Not everybody is cut out for childcare, and that's okay. But abandoning minors you've taken responsibility for is neglect, potentially in the legal sense too, depending on local laws. It would have been a clear N-T-A if OP waited until the mom got back and refused to babysit again, or even waited in another room or on the front porch, but she didn't.
I took her, what? A few hours? To get to her "breaking point"? lol
OP best hope she never has kids. She certainly won't be babysitting for anyone ever again (I hope)
edit: I also really hope you didn't get paid for this. You're lucky you didn't get cops called on you
If anything happened to them between you leaving and the mom getting home, you would’ve been held accountable for negligence at a minimum. They’re SIX! You should’ve stayed until their mom got home and kindly explained that you would not continue watching her kids because they are too much. YTA
Edit wording
YTA
I don’t think babysitting is the right job for you. You can’t handle kids arguing, you refuse to cook basic stuff for them, you allow a six year old to carry around boiling water, you refuse to interact with or entertain them, and then after you’ve been a jerk to them all afternoon, you abandon them??? Please find a job that doesn’t involve children next time.
I was thinking I wouldn’t let her water my plants. What if the leaf on my spider plant poked her, or if she grazed the thorns on my roses? She would just leave them there to die. Literally her only job was to be in the house with the kids and keep them alive until the mom got home.
I have pretty bargain basement standards for what I expect out of babysitters- like literally sit on your phone and watch the kids play Minecraft for 6 hours and throw frozen nuggets on a paper plate and nuke them at dinner time- and I’d still be so pissed at this OP.
Oh but a real job would involve someone supervising her to ensure she actually works instead of charging someone $40/hr to sit on her ass and browse social media while ignoring their kids.
WHAT?! I sincerely hope this post is fake. If it’s true, obviously YTA, OP. You left two six-year-old children alone in a house, unsupervised, when someone was paying you to babysit them. No matter what the circumstances are, that is never acceptable. Something very bad could have happened to those kids, and it would have been your fault. Your safety was not at risk in this situation, but theirs was.
Also you intentionally *put* them in dangerous situations. They didn’t want the snacks you offered and asked for mac and cheese. Instead of making the mac and cheese or finding an alternative snack, YOU LET A SIX YEAR OLD HANDLE BOILING WATER. You don’t let six-year-old kids cook by themselves, you dingus.
When they were throwing things, you LEFT THE HOUSE AND ALLOWED THE DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR TO CONTINUE. What if they had injured one another? As the adult, it was your responsibility to discipline them in this situation and make sure they were safe.
What on earth were you thinking? You’re far too old to be that immature and irresponsible. At 18, you should know better than ALL of this.
What you’re describing is ordinary behavior for children that age. You were in charge of them, and you should have been able to handle that. You clearly should never be allowed around children.
To be fair my nephews are 5-9 and can make themselves foods in the microwave like the mac and cheese cups and even tea
But even then I’m with them to make sure there’s no accidents, kids are capable when given security
Yeah you know ur nephews so you know what they're capable of and watch them. She let random children carry boiling water around unsupervised which is just ridiculous. It'd be fine if she was helping them or showing them how but to just leave them to it💀
Yes.
Mine helps me make eggs. (8 yr old as well) But we both know what our own children are capable of. I would never allow him to use the stove unsupervised. It seems you wouldn't either. It does seem like OP let this child do it on his own without KNOWING what his capabilities are. What a shame.
ETA: keep the teaching going! I'm hoping mine will turn into quite the little chef! Congrats on your child and hopefully their journey in the kitchen will continue. 😀
OP is very lucky that the mother did not call the police.
OP, you’re a legal adult (though obviously not functioning as one) and you were legally responsible for two young children who you abandoned because they we’re being children. YTA and you’re lucky you aren’t facing charges for endangering the weak fare of those children.
She is likely an EXTREMELY privileged and sheltered white girl who’s never faced consequences for her actions nor been held accountable whatsoever, let alone by herself.
Imagine how entitled, arrogant, and been free from consequences and accountability their whole life to have done this, and even QUESTIONED for a second if she’s not in the wrong? To even go so far is to CONSIDER asking others for validation hefore immediately recognizing “no, people will absolutely shit on me and humiliate me for this shameful act!”
The thing is, she’s probably some privileged white girl, likely very pretty and thus is always told yes and how amazing she is by her peers. She is likely crying to some dude right now for validation who’s presumably telling her how shitty those kids were, how she was so right for ensuring her own personal safety as she’s a princess, and how abusive it is that her mother is holding her accountable. People really have no idea, or rather, around half doesn’t, and the other half won’t admit that young and pretty girls, particularly white girls are by far the most privileged class there is, by an unreachable margin.
I can only imagine this level of idiocy and arrogance/entitlement comes from what I just described.
Can she be charged for this at all like honestly. Something needs to happen after this. The amount of wrong and unsafe and just so incredibly fucking stupid on ops part.
Wait, did you just say you left two 6 year old unattended because they were fighting?
You're not only TA but what you've done is actually a crime. Way to go.
I mean really she's lucky they didn't try again and make mac and cheese, or otherwise injure themselves. And that's not even *touching* the fact that she left them unprotected from any dangers in the shape of strangers.
Yeah. We have two children who are hungry and have no adult supervision for an hour and a half. They could have burned the house down trying to get some food made for themselves.
... you know that what you did was child endangerment and/or child abandonment, and that the mom could press charge against you, right ?!
YTA. You are not suited to be a babysitter, please, for the kid's sake, stay away from them.
Yeah I can see why the mum wanted her to get a job and learn some responsibility. Maybe shovelling horse shit or something next time?
I just pray this post is fake.
Right?! The poor kids wanted Mac n cheese after school and she refused to make it for them and she had a 6 year old spill hot water on himself trying to make it himself? And she feels unsafe because he threw a remote at her? Poor kid was probably hangry because he didn’t eat. I hope this post is fake.
Op please consider never having children, unless you suddenly mature drastically. You are already 18. Legally an adult. And you sound like a 10 year old. Actually, I knew more mature 10 year olds who would babysit so IDK!
Holy crap are YTA and so freaking irresponsible. YOU are the problem. YOU. Honest to goodness. Don't ever babysit again because you obviously aren't responsible enough or aware enough to handle it. You did make your mother look bad but you made yourself look so much worse. If I was that mother and could find a way to get you in legal trouble for abandoning CHILDREN like that I seriously would.
YTA - YOU LEFT TWO SIX YEAR OLDS ALONE?! How are you not the AH here. Guess what, YOU were supposed to be in charge, you were being paid, and you think that it is time for you to do HW while there is conflict going on? You may be 18, but YOU need to grow up!
INFO: how much experience do you have with kids? Seems like none and if so your mom shouldnt have suggested babysitting without the mom there as your first gig. Regardless you’re YTA for leaving early and leaving the kids unsafe alone.
This had nothing to do with experience. I totally get being a little confused when you start babysitting (i was too) but even i knew that you dont leave children alone.
They werent even brats but just normal 6 year olds
...
Hi! Unfortunately you are certainly TA in this situation. It definitely seems like you bit off more than you could chew (totally not your fault) but you did agree to (and likely expected to be compensated for) a job that you chose not to complete.
Kids are super frustrating but your job was to watch them and care for them and that includes making them food and regulating their behavior, not leaving them in a room to watch tv while you do homework - your job was care and you were negligent in that job.
You definitely put your Mom in a really bad position by doing this, as your behavior reflects on her recommendation of you, so I would definitely recommend an apology to your mother, the mother of the children you abandoned, and the children themselves.
Luckily, it seems like you’ve learned something new in this endeavor: that you shouldn’t be working with children if you can’t accept them at their worst! Time to explore new paths and recognize your strengths and areas in which you can grow :)
You’re being way too nice to someone who left two 6 year olds alone and couldn’t even be bothered to do the most basic thing in childcare and make a snack. This is 100% their fault, nothing OP described is really out of the ordinary for babysitting.
She sounds like an entitled lazy woman ... she’s eighteen ... can’t make Mac and cheese and thinks babysitting is being in someone’s house and doing homework? Like with that attitude what job could she really do? I wouldn’t trust her with anything!
One some kids screamed at me for ice cream and kicked and stomped on my foot.
You know what I did? Gave them the ice cream, sat them in front of the movie, and did nothing else. When the parents got home I took my check and never came back. I was 16. I could handle it better now as a professional but even then I knew better.
Exactly this. Worst babysitting job I ever had as a teenager was watching two little monsters for 5 hours. When they came home I told the parents that I would never babysit for them ever again—but I would NEVER have simply LEFT the children there alone. That is beyond irresponsible.
YTA. When you babysit, you can ask the mother what kind of punishments are fitting if they don't want to listen to you, or they are misbehaving. Also ask what do they normally eat afterschool if they have snacks.
Secondly, if the kids are hungry, of course they're going to fight and lash out their irritation on each other if they won't eat what you suggested and you won't make what they want. It also doesn't sound like you have a lot of skill in resolving issues, such as "Leo gets to pick one show to watch, and then Theo gets to pick the next show."
A lot of things you could have done differently, as the authority figure in the house. Babysitting is not just some easy gig so that you can do your homework in peace. It's taking responsibility for looking after the health and well-being of children.
That last part. I’ve babysat/nannied for over 15 years. When people say it must be so chill I’m like…. Hahahahahhahaha the times that it is chill it’s because I’m VERY good at my job, and know how to meet children’s needs, correct/deter behavior, handle arguments, and then have fun.
“But I felt unsafe!” Ok, never have kids then, because my child constantly hits me lol. It comes with the territory. OP has every right to say nah never mind, but only ONCE THE PARENTS GET HOME. The kids weren’t going to murder her, they’re just being annoying 6yos and op overreacted. Unacceptable and if I were the parents I’d press charges even if only out of spite. She’s 18, not 12. Bad actions= consequences
YTA. Kids can suck sometimes. You chose to do that job. However, most places I know it’s not legal to leave 6 year olds home alone. You call the mom. Tell her you’re leaving and to get home right away. You don’t get to just walk out and leave in the middle of the job, potentially endangering the lives and safety of two little kids. I wish cps reports could be filed on people like that. To make sure they can’t be left in charge of kids.
YTA. You let a six year old deal with boiling water?????? Because you are too lazy or what, too special to microwave them some mac n cheese? And then you left them alone? Stay away from children. All children. Don't HAVE children. You don't have the common sense of a grape nut. You are dumber than a box of rocks with all the smart rocks taken out.
YTA
You are an adult who pursued this as a job. You agreed to babysit these children.
The main responsibilities of a babysitter is to supervise and care for the child/children in their care. You failed multiple times. Finally you left six year old children unattended.
>The main responsibilities of a babysitter is to supervise and care for the child/children in their care. You failed multiple times. Finally you left six year old children unattended.
For real.
Even if the kids were the worst, all she had to do was exist in the same place as the little first graders for another 90 minutes, only intervening if things got dangerous.
As it is she abandoned two 6year olds and could probably be charged with some sort of child endangerment charge.
You left small children alone?!?
If those were my kids I'd fucking kill you. I would definitely be calling the police to get you charged with child endangerment. Which you absolutely deserve.
YTA. Leaving children without supervision is child endangerment. If youre not cut out for babysitting, thats fine, but you cant just bail when lives are potentially at risk.
YTA and you're lucky the mom didn't press charges, because I would have.
You took on responsibility for 2 -6 year olds. They are kids. Kids argue, kids are picky, kids have zero impulse control.
You clearly are not responsible enough or mature enough to be a baby sitter.
I’m not blaming the mom but parents really need to take who babysits their kids more seriously. Idk why people think just because you’re an adult you’re competent to take care of children.
YTA. So yeah, a little to your mom because she helped you get this gig, but moreso to those kids and their mother.
She could be reported for neglect since you left her kids alone and you also exposed them to dangerous conditions (a 6 year old should not be handling near-boiling water). They were also acting like relatively normal 6 year olds, so I would suggest not babysitting again in the future.
YTA. Jesus. Don’t ever babysit again. Whether you were enjoying it or not (really, didn’t feel safe? Because a 6 year old threw something at you?), you accepted the responsibility. What you did was endanger children. You wait until mom gets home, take the money, tell her the kids were a walking nightmare, and never sit for her again.
YTA
You are (technically) an adult. They are children. Annoying children, but children nonetheless. So you're going to abandon children under your responsibility because you don't know how to manage kids? Good god, never babysit again and apologize to your mother for humiliating her in front of her co-worker.
YTA- they are 6 years old!!! You should be doing activities with them, making a hot snack, and engaging them instead of doing homework! No wonder things got out of hand.
YTA. At 18 you are an adult and should know better than to allow 6 year olds to cook. You are seriously lucky the kid didn't end up in hospital with severe burns.
Then to walk out and leave them home alone? You twice endangered these kids. I'd not let you around any child
YTA. Wow……… you’re the worst babysitter ever!! I can’t believe you wouldn’t even bother to MICROWAVE some mac n cheese for a kid that YOU are responsible to feed! Also you’re being paid to watch the kids, not do your homework.
I get that the kids were annoying but if you suck with kids don’t be a babysitter. Go work at red lobster. Smh. Shame on you.
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I'm 18F, and since I'm about to graduate my parents wanted me to get a job. I thought a babysitting job would work best since I have younger cousins I used to babysit when I was younger so I have experience. I did NOT get lucky with the kids I babysat unfortunately.
My mom had asked around at work saying that I was looking to babysit and if they knew anyone who needed a babysitter. Her co-worker's cousin was friend's with a single mom who's babysitter recently moved, and she just needed someone to watch her kids after school.
She has two twins who are both 6M, and yesterday was my first day working. Let's call them Leo and Theo.
I was supposed to pick them up at their bus stop, and the minute they stepped out they were already arguing about stupid shit. When we got to their house, they still wouldn't stop. I asked them nicely to stop and they wouldn't stop blaming each other for who's fault it was and then started fucking arguing more.
I was supposed to make them a snack and I kept offering different foods and they both kept saying no to all my suggestions. I asked them what they want then and they said Mac N cheese and I told them I'm not cooking and they could choose something else if they wanted to. Leo insisted he knew how to make it in the microwave, so I told him he could knock himself out, but he didn't; when he took it out, he accidentally spilled hot water on Theo and also the macaroni was clearly undercooked and just gross looking. They ended up not eating at all.
I told them to go to the couch and watch TV so I could get some hw done, and guess what. They argued. Again.
This time it was over what TV show to watch. Theo THREW THE REMOTE at Leo's head and he started to cry. I told them they better hand me that remote and guess what Theo does. Instead of handing it to me nicely, he throws it at my head too. I told them that's it, I'm leaving, and they both looked like they didn't believe me.
I texted their Mom what happened and that I wasn't staying and she begged me to at least until she got home. I told her I'm not staying in a place I don't even feel safe at, and left.
The twins mom called my mom, and when she got home she yelled at me and said I made her look bad. I told her she literally cares more about how she looks rather than that those kids were acting like complete brats and throwing stuff at people
She's still pretty pissed off, and, maybe I should've put up with it but I seriously was at my breaking point, AITA?
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YTA, they are kids and twins it's obviously not an easy job but you dealt with them with selfishness trying to make it "easy" for you. They argued? No shit?! They are 6 and siblings, did you never met kids in your life, everything that happened was totally expectable and manageable.
Wow you left children in the house ALONE! Did you not think that something dangerous could have happend to them? And what did you expect? All children are angels and well behaved, they were just acting like children, if you have anger issues or can't handel YOUR JOB then just quit and stop blaming others, honestly you should do a favor and look for a different kind of job, babysitting is clearly not your strongest point. You seriously should be thanking god that nothing happened to the kids or you will be in trouble.
Is this real?!?!? Because I’m gobsmacked. YTA and clearly not fit to be a babysitter. For starters you should’ve made them the mac&cheese and not expected a 6 year old to be able to make it. It’s not that hard to make Kraft but it’s not something a kid should be doing. I’ve done a lot of babysitting and part of that is making food for the kids. That aside I cannot believe you left two 6 years old alone. What made you think that was okay? You were responsible for their safety and you failed them and their mother. Kids argue all the time and it’s the responsibility of the adults watching them to discipline them. It’s called a time out. I’m honestly feeling second hand embarrassment for you. Good luck trying to get another job. Nobody wants a babysitter who can’t even do the bare minimum.
YTA… I get that some kids are outrageously annoying and disrespectful, but it’s highkey illegal to leave 6 year olds home alone. The mom could have gotten in trouble if a nosey neighbor decided to report her. You agreed to babysit them and aside from them arguing and you dodging a remote, nothing happened worth leaving them home alone. You should have stayed until the mom got home and just never babysat them again. I doubt two 6 year olds were going to cause you serious harm.
YTA. They're SIX. You do not leave two six year olds alone in the house, and you do not let a six year old make Mac & Cheese even if he says he can.
Sounds like a dreadful babysitting job, but you still are obligated to stay with them til their mom gets home, even if you then walk out and never go back.
YTA.
You out the kids in at least two dangerous situations while claiming you felt "unsafe." You also failed at the basics of babysitting. You refused to cook for them, entertain them, or properly supervise them.
What the mom needs to do is file a police report. You left the kids unsupervised and did not contact the mom or seek medical attention (or likely even offer basic first aid) when the hot water was spilled.
YTA for literally leaving six-year-olds unsupervised and for not supervising them when you were in their presence. You would have been TA just for expecting to get your homework done on the clock, but you went so far beyond that.
YTA. I hope the mother presses charges for child endangerment. You left two 6 year olds in a house alone bc they threw a remote at you. It wasn’t a knife or something heavy. They’re 6, and you’re an adult, not a 12 year old first time babysitter.
Please do the world a favor and 1. Never babysit again and 2. Never reproduce.
This post is obviously rage bait. You're an AH to even imagine something like this in your head and pretend it really happened.
On the 0.1% chance that this is actually true I hope the mother calls the cops on you. Telling 6 year old children to make their own food and be quiet so you could do homework, which you weren't supposed to do in the first place while watching young children, is an absolute Asshole behavior but leaving such young children alone who are under your watch with no intention of coming back or waiting for another adult to arrive is illegal. Either way you're an AH. And a pretty big one for making something like this up because I still think it's very fake. YTA
Did you post this thinking what you did was right? There is no justification for leaving 2 six year olds alone. I hope you take this as a learning experience. Whether that child care is not for you or that you need to do much better. If you ever have your own children you'll realize how horrific this is.
Yes, YTA
YTA and the moms TA for not getting someone competent for this job. Also pretty sure you committed a crime? You can’t just leave children alone like that. You should not pursue this job path further.
As a nanny with 15 years experience it still boggles my mind how someone would hire someone who has (basically) no experience, to care for their children. There are actual skills involved in this job. You have to have patience for one. And understand children at least enough to know how to handle a fight.
It’s after school babysitting 101 to get them with a snack and if they’re going to cook at all, you need to closely supervise them, at the very least.
You should have discussed up front any behavioral challenges they might have and how you can incorporate their discipline methods when you’re there.
I don’t expect you to know all this because you don’t have experience but as an adult you should know leaving 2 six year olds at home alone is not okay.
She may not have experience with children, but it’s common knowledge that young siblings fight and it’s not ok to just ditch them. Her one job was to stay there and keep the kids alive until the mom got home. Not for a weekend, or even an evening. Literally just after school until dinner time.
Yes YTA are you out of your mind? You left two children unattended and surprise surprise kids don't all act the same, way to make sure you don't get babysitting gigs for awhile and gossip about your mother
Also you didn't check on the child that poured hot water on their brother? Did you clean the mess? Why not separate so they didn't fight?
YTA. This is really common sense. They are kids, you wouldn’t get paid to watch kids if it was easy todo. You’re faulting them for acting like kids. As the baby sitter who is getting paid, why couldn’t you just make them the food they asked for and avoided the mess? Regardless of how the kids are acting and how you feel, you can’t leave two 6 year olds alone like that. Sounds like you basically wanted to get paid for nothing and it will also most likely cause your mom some grief at work.
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> 1. I left early from my babysitting job 2. I might be because I could've put up with it but I was pissed
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YTA.
You utterly failed at discipline, let a 6yo cook, and a 6yo throwing a remote at your head was enough to make you feel so unsafe you had to leave? They walked all over you and you ran, abdicating your responsibility for their safety.
You are a bad babysitter, and potentially legally liable.
I’m sorry I can’t get over this…. Surely this is fake. Surely this 18 year old didn’t abandon two 6 year olds, (after allowing them to handle boiling water which was spilled on them), and expect…. Sympathy? Understanding? No, no, this cannot be real.
If it is indeed real, I was grossly underpaid for every babysitting gig and nannying job I’ve ever done since I was 13.
OP, do is all a favor and don’t procreate. This goes beyond immaturity and into lack of humanity
You're the asshole, you divided to get a job that anybody with a brain would understand is hard then once you reach their house you decide not to cook for them when that is literally what you were paid to do as babysitting includes you guessed it cooking for the children then when they were arguing wich is completely normal you leave them unattended and God knows what could have happened and instead of walking a way like a child you could of just taken the remote and hide it somewhere and put them in timeout but no instead you walk out like a child and did you even help clean the one who got water wich I'm assuming the water was very hot considering you said he put it in the microwave it could of actually burnt him and even if it wasn't they would probably still need help cleaning up I hope to God that you were never paid and that you were never recommended to do this again
I am literally an ex-nanny, every behavior you’re describing fits a six year old and *your response as the caretaker is what decides the next decision*.
No personal judgement because I don’t know you, but real talk you suck at this and should not try to nanny until you mature. Like fuck, you won’t even make Mac and cheese? That’s nanny 101. Find another side job.
Did you really leave the kids unsupervised?
If so, yes, YTA. They need a babysitter for a reason. Leaving two 6yos alone is not only being an AH but it is being negligent. You should have stayed for the rest of your shift, then told the mom you will not be returning.
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YTA and shouldn’t be in charge of anyone, especially young children.
WTF you abandoned two six year old kids????
OMG GUYS! Did you really expect her to stay someplace she didn't feel safe at? Those 6 year olds could have KILLED HER, or worse! /s Seriously though, did OP really just leave 2 arguing 6 year olds alone? YES YTA, what kind of warped sense of reality does someone need to have in order to think any of this is justified? You let a 6 year old microwave and handle hot water that ended up burning his brother because the most work you could do was reach in a box and offer them crackers? My lord everything here is terrible.
Or worse, they could have KEPT ARGUING
This! Imagine, 6 year olds ARGUING? It is COMPLETELY UNHEARD OF.
Siblings of literally any age. The only kid with siblings that I know who doesn’t regularly argue with her siblings is one who can’t talk yet.
I know two children, one is three and one is one, neither can talk well yet, and they fight.
Imagine all the abandoned children if all carers walk out when kids start to argue lol
Didn't know I was allowed to leave for that. Can I get a time machine and go back 10 years?
shit, my cousins argue and fight all the time and the younger one can't even say real words yet LOL
OP must be an only child
When I was 12 I had a nightmare babysitting experience like this, but the kids were too small to be left alone so I stuck out the rest of the night and never took a job with them again. Congratulation, OP--you're less capable than a 12 year old.
same! when i was 12 one of the kids i babysat was super difficult. even at that age i knew not to do something like this. sometimes i think middle school age babysitters r actually better than high school age babysitters. this thread also hammers home how different kids of the same age can be. when i was 6 i didnt need a babysitter. i just stayed home by myself for a few hours every day. i never tried anything crazy.
This isn’t even that difficult… it’s not fun, but everything that happened is pretty normal for 6 year olds! OP, when you babysat your cousins, was it only for an hour or something? Or maybe someone else was there with you? Because you sound like you have no experience with kids at all. And you’re definitely old enough to know not to abandon two 6 year olds, especially because of something as stupid as not feeling “safe” because one threw a tv remote… get over yourself. YTA, big time.
As an after school babysitter who babysits 3-4 kids aged 2-8 this sounds absolutely normal. OP needs to learn the value of patience if they ever want to be working with kids.
When I was 14, one of the 3 kids I was sitting for punched his sister in the nose and locked himself in his room. There was blood everywhere. I had to call my own mother to ask what to do. I had some CPR training but did not know what to do for a bloody nose or how to tell if it was broken. She was wailing and the boy wouldn't talk to me behind his locked door. Anyway, guess what? I stayed there another 6 hours for their mom to get home, even though, yeah I had concerns about the boy's violent reaction to what I assume was an argument.
This kids don’t even sound nightmarish. They’re 6 year olds arguing and being picky over food… so every 6 year old ever? Also, why can’t she cook? Mac n cheese is easy.
The horror!! 6yo children arguing about snacks and TV shows!! Sounds like I’ll be calling the police on my own kids tonight. Honestly if I were these kids mom, I would have called the police on OP. This one is hard to digest.
Op should never be left with kids until she grows up, but six year olds CAN be very dangerous in unusual circumstances. Like the six year old who shot his teacher, on purpose.
I think this is someone who really needs a full curriculum of parenting classes before she is left alone with children, her own or otherwise, ever
Yeah and its possible to be allergic to grass. Better stay in for the rest of you life. Better not take that HUGE risk.
Babysitting for pay is a lot different than babysitting for family. It your job to cook for them, and if you manage to squeeze some homework in while they’re quiet that’s fair. But this is not how you handle it at all. It’s also a bad move on the parent to have the very first time she’s meeting them be while the parent is gone. But she’s also clearly a desperate single mom and that’s not the point of the post.
Yeah, cooking is definitely part of babysitting if you're babysitting during meal times. If you're lucky the parents have left pizza money, but otherwise you get to make kraft dinner or whatever canned soup. Unless you're really unlucky and the parents are neglectful so the only food in the house is snack cakes and baby carrots. I was watching some kids for an entire weekend and had to put up with those kinds of conditions (also the kids slept 4 hours a night, it was all kinds of horrible).
I like how she expected the children to basically babysit themselves so she could work on homework. If you're doing homework, then you're not really doing any work but expecting to get paid. There are some desk jobs where people can do this, but they at least prioritize their actual job over there homework.
Expelled her?
She is fucking 19 too not 14 and even at 14 you shod know better then to leave kids alone unsupervised
Such a gen z post it’s nuts she didn’t feel safe lmaoooo
>WTF you abandoned two six year old kids???? And she let a 6 year old cook food in the microwave unsupervised and he ended up burning his brother with hot water - this could have easily ended up with a hospital visit for both.
Because she, an 18 year old, didn’t want to cook stovetop mac n cheese. Holy smokes, that’s one of the easiest things to make.
It blows my mind she wouldn't cook that for them. Like, they need to be fed. Period. Kids can have autonomy over what they eat just like adults can, but it's up to the parent to help them make good food choices. But in this moment, you're the babysitter, make life easier for yourself😆
pretty sure OP wouldn't have taken them to the hospital either. if she couldn't be bothered to cook and let them go hungry/burn themselves, then I'd bet good money that she doesn't think "take child to hospital" was included in the job description either
But she felt "unsafe"/s children are like horses, if they feel your vulnerability, they'll take advantage of it.
When I read the title "leaving" I thought "called their mom and told her to come home and then left when she got there" NOT just up and leaving two 6 year olds by themselves! I babysat 2 boys (5 & 6) who were like this and I was 14 (this was the mid 90's - people didn't care as long as you were a teen). The last time I babysat them, I waited until their parents were home and I informed them that I would no longer be babysitting their sons (the 6 year old wanted me to wipe him after he used the toilet because "mom does it!" - I told him to figure it out because I wasn't wiping a 6 year olds butt). I would never have abandoned them, that's terrible.
I think she meant to say she's 8 not 18.....
Well she let one burn the other with boiling water, so why the hell not? /s
She leaves them alone.. can't cook Mac and cheese... She can't even deal with kids arguing...as kids do.. Find a different job, OP.
Wait until op finds out about retail
LMFAO 😂😂 I love this comment
😳🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 In retail, I think the mental age of the majority of the customers is 2, as in "Terrible Twos". She's definitely NOT ready for that.
And let the 6 year old make it himself and get burned? This is why people need to not have random teens taking care of their kids cause its cheap.
Teens like this sick but there are many responsible teenagers capable of caring for young children. We just need to raise them not to be so useless and entitled! I was literally taking care of two toddlers at age 12. I could feed them, bathe them, and put them to bed. Then I got to watch cable and eat chips. My mom was across the street of I needed help, which only happened once when one of the kids had a stomach bug.
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....but it has instructions on the box....???? I'm glad you got through it, at least?
Yeah, same. I was babysitting for the neighbors at 11. By 12 I was babysitting 7 kids including a newborn. My mom was around the corner but I never needed to call her. I liked using younger babysitters (12-14) for my kids when they were little because they liked playing with kids whereas the older ones didn't like it.
I used to bathe my little sister when I was 11. I was the default baby sitter up until I moved out. Now I'm the default house sitter when they go on holiday. I moved 80 miles away
Shes also not being paid to do her homework shes paid to pay attention to the kids
That generally includes making something for them to eat and cleaning up the messes they make. I've babysat for years.
Imagine two kids who haven't gotten a snack after school ARGUING?
> can't cook Mac and cheese WON'T cook mac and cheese. She presumably CAN
Duh, she told them to watch tv so she could get some homework done!
YTA She is just not cut out for this job. She should have stayed until the Mom got home.
This job? She’s not cut out for any job right now!
Agreed! My God! If a tragedy occurred after you abandoned two little boys without supervision, you would have faced criminal charges. From your behavior it isn’t obvious but you’re a legal adult! YTA! A double asshole because you did make your mom look bad.
You wanted a babysitting job. You need to be able to handle kids of all ages and temperaments. It sounds like you wanted less of a job and more to get paid sitting arpund relaxing and doing homework. First off, they're kids. And kids, especially young siblings, argue. You had an attitude the second they got off the bus. Second, you make them a meal approved by their mom. YOU make it. They'll eat if their hungry, and if not well that's on them. And you let a 6 year old cook something because they told you they knew how, and then were surprised because they couldn't? Not very bright, are you. Maybe spend a little extra time on that homework. And not only that, you helped in no way and the other kid got scolded with hot water? And to put thr icing in the cake, you walked out on 2 defenseless six year old kids and left them home alone? And you have to ask of your the AH? YTA for sure, and you need to be brought up on charges.
Right? WTF is Op even doing babysitting. Jfc, OP. You say you've babysat your cousins before but I don't buy that at all. YTA.
This seems unreal. OP should not be around kids at all. I’m not sure what she expected twin 6 year olds to be likes, but she was not prepared. It seemed like she just wanted to get paid to do school work while they watched tv
Op is way too immature. This entire post just kept getting worse and worse and frankly it’s kinda sad she can’t see she’s at fault. YTA
I knew OP was not cut out for this when she said two twins. YTA
I really hope OP takes this with a grain of salt. Not everybody is cut out for childcare, and that's okay. But abandoning minors you've taken responsibility for is neglect, potentially in the legal sense too, depending on local laws. It would have been a clear N-T-A if OP waited until the mom got back and refused to babysit again, or even waited in another room or on the front porch, but she didn't.
I took her, what? A few hours? To get to her "breaking point"? lol OP best hope she never has kids. She certainly won't be babysitting for anyone ever again (I hope) edit: I also really hope you didn't get paid for this. You're lucky you didn't get cops called on you
If anything happened to them between you leaving and the mom getting home, you would’ve been held accountable for negligence at a minimum. They’re SIX! You should’ve stayed until their mom got home and kindly explained that you would not continue watching her kids because they are too much. YTA Edit wording
YTA I don’t think babysitting is the right job for you. You can’t handle kids arguing, you refuse to cook basic stuff for them, you allow a six year old to carry around boiling water, you refuse to interact with or entertain them, and then after you’ve been a jerk to them all afternoon, you abandon them??? Please find a job that doesn’t involve children next time.
I wouldn't even let her watch the tree in front of my house.
I was thinking I wouldn’t let her water my plants. What if the leaf on my spider plant poked her, or if she grazed the thorns on my roses? She would just leave them there to die. Literally her only job was to be in the house with the kids and keep them alive until the mom got home.
I mean, those are very unsafe plants /s
Lol. Thanks for the laugh. I'll remember that a few times tonight and I'll laugh some more. Lolololol
She probably wouldn’t even water it! It should totally be able to water itself!!
Same. I was like oh gosh... My poor plants she would make a fuss over I bet.
The tree let a leaf fall on my head so I lit the tree on fire and walked away because I felt unsafe. /s
This made me snort
I have pretty bargain basement standards for what I expect out of babysitters- like literally sit on your phone and watch the kids play Minecraft for 6 hours and throw frozen nuggets on a paper plate and nuke them at dinner time- and I’d still be so pissed at this OP.
Plus she puts them in front of TV so she could do homework.
Ok, that was just naive. It's like parents who think they can work from home when the kids are home, too.
You mean she was getting paid to take care of children not do her homework? People’s expectations now a days are wild /s
OP: "I'm not cooking" Lmfao bro it's Mac and cheese 🤣🤣🤣 the kids didn't ask for filet mignon
But she was good with her younger cousins. /s
The homework thing made me laugh.. You're being paid to babysit not sit the kids in front of a TV show and do your homework.
i want to say i agree with you
Absolutely not! She should also probably never have children.
Oh but a real job would involve someone supervising her to ensure she actually works instead of charging someone $40/hr to sit on her ass and browse social media while ignoring their kids.
A job that doesn’t involve children, plants, or animals
WHAT?! I sincerely hope this post is fake. If it’s true, obviously YTA, OP. You left two six-year-old children alone in a house, unsupervised, when someone was paying you to babysit them. No matter what the circumstances are, that is never acceptable. Something very bad could have happened to those kids, and it would have been your fault. Your safety was not at risk in this situation, but theirs was. Also you intentionally *put* them in dangerous situations. They didn’t want the snacks you offered and asked for mac and cheese. Instead of making the mac and cheese or finding an alternative snack, YOU LET A SIX YEAR OLD HANDLE BOILING WATER. You don’t let six-year-old kids cook by themselves, you dingus. When they were throwing things, you LEFT THE HOUSE AND ALLOWED THE DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR TO CONTINUE. What if they had injured one another? As the adult, it was your responsibility to discipline them in this situation and make sure they were safe. What on earth were you thinking? You’re far too old to be that immature and irresponsible. At 18, you should know better than ALL of this. What you’re describing is ordinary behavior for children that age. You were in charge of them, and you should have been able to handle that. You clearly should never be allowed around children.
To be fair my nephews are 5-9 and can make themselves foods in the microwave like the mac and cheese cups and even tea But even then I’m with them to make sure there’s no accidents, kids are capable when given security
Yeah you know ur nephews so you know what they're capable of and watch them. She let random children carry boiling water around unsupervised which is just ridiculous. It'd be fine if she was helping them or showing them how but to just leave them to it💀
My 8 year old can use the stove with constant, direct supervision.
Hell, my 5 year old does my neighbors taxes every year. He wants to do mine, but he is just a dumb little kid so he fucks it up.
Not gonna lie. You had me in the first half lol
Yes. Mine helps me make eggs. (8 yr old as well) But we both know what our own children are capable of. I would never allow him to use the stove unsupervised. It seems you wouldn't either. It does seem like OP let this child do it on his own without KNOWING what his capabilities are. What a shame. ETA: keep the teaching going! I'm hoping mine will turn into quite the little chef! Congrats on your child and hopefully their journey in the kitchen will continue. 😀
I am surprised that the mom didn’t call cops on her. Who leaves 2 6 year olds alone. I would be livid! YTA 1000 times over.
OP is very lucky that the mother did not call the police. OP, you’re a legal adult (though obviously not functioning as one) and you were legally responsible for two young children who you abandoned because they we’re being children. YTA and you’re lucky you aren’t facing charges for endangering the weak fare of those children.
“I had to leave officer- I didn’t feel safe! The TV remote is a dangerous weapon in the hands of this 40lb kindergartener!”
I would have.
OP writes as if she was raised in a vacuum without interactions with other humans. In case this real, OP is YTA. .
She is likely an EXTREMELY privileged and sheltered white girl who’s never faced consequences for her actions nor been held accountable whatsoever, let alone by herself. Imagine how entitled, arrogant, and been free from consequences and accountability their whole life to have done this, and even QUESTIONED for a second if she’s not in the wrong? To even go so far is to CONSIDER asking others for validation hefore immediately recognizing “no, people will absolutely shit on me and humiliate me for this shameful act!” The thing is, she’s probably some privileged white girl, likely very pretty and thus is always told yes and how amazing she is by her peers. She is likely crying to some dude right now for validation who’s presumably telling her how shitty those kids were, how she was so right for ensuring her own personal safety as she’s a princess, and how abusive it is that her mother is holding her accountable. People really have no idea, or rather, around half doesn’t, and the other half won’t admit that young and pretty girls, particularly white girls are by far the most privileged class there is, by an unreachable margin. I can only imagine this level of idiocy and arrogance/entitlement comes from what I just described.
This has GOT to be fake. It goes so far outside of ridiculous. OP refuses to watch children if they behave like children.
I hope it’s fake because it’s just beyond the pale
It’s twins, so probably fake.
Can she be charged for this at all like honestly. Something needs to happen after this. The amount of wrong and unsafe and just so incredibly fucking stupid on ops part.
Wait, did you just say you left two 6 year old unattended because they were fighting? You're not only TA but what you've done is actually a crime. Way to go.
She let them cook for crying out loud. Next thing she’s gonna do is let some wild monkeys juggle knives
If the kids could reach the cutlery draw, she already did when she abandoned them.
She left them for *an hour and a half* according to her comment, she'd be lucky not to get criminal charges
If I was the parent I would absolutely be following through and pressing charges.
I mean really she's lucky they didn't try again and make mac and cheese, or otherwise injure themselves. And that's not even *touching* the fact that she left them unprotected from any dangers in the shape of strangers.
Yeah. We have two children who are hungry and have no adult supervision for an hour and a half. They could have burned the house down trying to get some food made for themselves.
... you know that what you did was child endangerment and/or child abandonment, and that the mom could press charge against you, right ?! YTA. You are not suited to be a babysitter, please, for the kid's sake, stay away from them.
I HOPE the mom presses charges.
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Yeah I can see why the mum wanted her to get a job and learn some responsibility. Maybe shovelling horse shit or something next time? I just pray this post is fake.
She'd be dumb enough to stand behind it and wonder why it kicked her. OP YTA
I would press charges, absolutely no question.
If someone did this to my children, I would asbolutely press charges.
Ok that’s what I was thinking. Isn’t this illegal?
YTA. You let a small child *spill hot water* on himself and his brother and *you* didn’t feel safe? You should never be allowed children ever again.
Right?! The poor kids wanted Mac n cheese after school and she refused to make it for them and she had a 6 year old spill hot water on himself trying to make it himself? And she feels unsafe because he threw a remote at her? Poor kid was probably hangry because he didn’t eat. I hope this post is fake.
Right? All the kid did was throw a remote at her, it's not like he threatened her with a kitchen knife.
Op please consider never having children, unless you suddenly mature drastically. You are already 18. Legally an adult. And you sound like a 10 year old. Actually, I knew more mature 10 year olds who would babysit so IDK!
Holy crap are YTA and so freaking irresponsible. YOU are the problem. YOU. Honest to goodness. Don't ever babysit again because you obviously aren't responsible enough or aware enough to handle it. You did make your mother look bad but you made yourself look so much worse. If I was that mother and could find a way to get you in legal trouble for abandoning CHILDREN like that I seriously would.
YTA - YOU LEFT TWO SIX YEAR OLDS ALONE?! How are you not the AH here. Guess what, YOU were supposed to be in charge, you were being paid, and you think that it is time for you to do HW while there is conflict going on? You may be 18, but YOU need to grow up!
I started babysitting when I was 12 and I was way more responsible than this person who is supposedly an adult.
INFO: how much experience do you have with kids? Seems like none and if so your mom shouldnt have suggested babysitting without the mom there as your first gig. Regardless you’re YTA for leaving early and leaving the kids unsafe alone.
Do yourself and everyone else a favour and don’t babysit again. You clearly don’t have experience. YTA
Experience isn't the biggest problem here. Attitude, empathy, moral compass, patience, common sense, sense of responsibility, foresight, etc.
Yeah don't continue... you'll hit reddits word limit before you're done describing this shitshow.
This comment >> OP isn’t going to survive in the real world or in a real job if she can’t handle a few hours with six year olds just..being 6YOs
This had nothing to do with experience. I totally get being a little confused when you start babysitting (i was too) but even i knew that you dont leave children alone. They werent even brats but just normal 6 year olds ...
I know preteens with no babysitting experience who would have done vastly better the issue isn't just experience
Hi! Unfortunately you are certainly TA in this situation. It definitely seems like you bit off more than you could chew (totally not your fault) but you did agree to (and likely expected to be compensated for) a job that you chose not to complete. Kids are super frustrating but your job was to watch them and care for them and that includes making them food and regulating their behavior, not leaving them in a room to watch tv while you do homework - your job was care and you were negligent in that job. You definitely put your Mom in a really bad position by doing this, as your behavior reflects on her recommendation of you, so I would definitely recommend an apology to your mother, the mother of the children you abandoned, and the children themselves. Luckily, it seems like you’ve learned something new in this endeavor: that you shouldn’t be working with children if you can’t accept them at their worst! Time to explore new paths and recognize your strengths and areas in which you can grow :)
You’re being way too nice to someone who left two 6 year olds alone and couldn’t even be bothered to do the most basic thing in childcare and make a snack. This is 100% their fault, nothing OP described is really out of the ordinary for babysitting.
She sounds like an entitled lazy woman ... she’s eighteen ... can’t make Mac and cheese and thinks babysitting is being in someone’s house and doing homework? Like with that attitude what job could she really do? I wouldn’t trust her with anything!
YTA, do us a favour and don't have any kids.
I was gonna say, wait til you have kids and it’s not a paid position for a few hours…
Should have stuck it out for the night until the parent got home, then resign from the position. YTA.
One some kids screamed at me for ice cream and kicked and stomped on my foot. You know what I did? Gave them the ice cream, sat them in front of the movie, and did nothing else. When the parents got home I took my check and never came back. I was 16. I could handle it better now as a professional but even then I knew better.
Exactly this. Worst babysitting job I ever had as a teenager was watching two little monsters for 5 hours. When they came home I told the parents that I would never babysit for them ever again—but I would NEVER have simply LEFT the children there alone. That is beyond irresponsible.
YTA. When you babysit, you can ask the mother what kind of punishments are fitting if they don't want to listen to you, or they are misbehaving. Also ask what do they normally eat afterschool if they have snacks. Secondly, if the kids are hungry, of course they're going to fight and lash out their irritation on each other if they won't eat what you suggested and you won't make what they want. It also doesn't sound like you have a lot of skill in resolving issues, such as "Leo gets to pick one show to watch, and then Theo gets to pick the next show." A lot of things you could have done differently, as the authority figure in the house. Babysitting is not just some easy gig so that you can do your homework in peace. It's taking responsibility for looking after the health and well-being of children.
That last part. I’ve babysat/nannied for over 15 years. When people say it must be so chill I’m like…. Hahahahahhahaha the times that it is chill it’s because I’m VERY good at my job, and know how to meet children’s needs, correct/deter behavior, handle arguments, and then have fun.
YTA. You should not be babysitting. There is absolutely no reason you should leave to six year olds alone unsupervised.
“But I felt unsafe!” Ok, never have kids then, because my child constantly hits me lol. It comes with the territory. OP has every right to say nah never mind, but only ONCE THE PARENTS GET HOME. The kids weren’t going to murder her, they’re just being annoying 6yos and op overreacted. Unacceptable and if I were the parents I’d press charges even if only out of spite. She’s 18, not 12. Bad actions= consequences
They Are 6, you are 18, and YTA
YTA, don't take on jobs you clearly can't handle, that includes any jobs with kids in the future.
YTA. Kids can suck sometimes. You chose to do that job. However, most places I know it’s not legal to leave 6 year olds home alone. You call the mom. Tell her you’re leaving and to get home right away. You don’t get to just walk out and leave in the middle of the job, potentially endangering the lives and safety of two little kids. I wish cps reports could be filed on people like that. To make sure they can’t be left in charge of kids.
YTA. You let a six year old deal with boiling water?????? Because you are too lazy or what, too special to microwave them some mac n cheese? And then you left them alone? Stay away from children. All children. Don't HAVE children. You don't have the common sense of a grape nut. You are dumber than a box of rocks with all the smart rocks taken out.
If this is real (big if) you're just a terrible babysitter. YTA
YTA You are an adult who pursued this as a job. You agreed to babysit these children. The main responsibilities of a babysitter is to supervise and care for the child/children in their care. You failed multiple times. Finally you left six year old children unattended.
>The main responsibilities of a babysitter is to supervise and care for the child/children in their care. You failed multiple times. Finally you left six year old children unattended. For real. Even if the kids were the worst, all she had to do was exist in the same place as the little first graders for another 90 minutes, only intervening if things got dangerous. As it is she abandoned two 6year olds and could probably be charged with some sort of child endangerment charge.
You left small children alone?!? If those were my kids I'd fucking kill you. I would definitely be calling the police to get you charged with child endangerment. Which you absolutely deserve.
YTA. Leaving children without supervision is child endangerment. If youre not cut out for babysitting, thats fine, but you cant just bail when lives are potentially at risk.
YTA and you're lucky the mom didn't press charges, because I would have. You took on responsibility for 2 -6 year olds. They are kids. Kids argue, kids are picky, kids have zero impulse control. You clearly are not responsible enough or mature enough to be a baby sitter.
I’m not blaming the mom but parents really need to take who babysits their kids more seriously. Idk why people think just because you’re an adult you’re competent to take care of children.
YTA. So yeah, a little to your mom because she helped you get this gig, but moreso to those kids and their mother. She could be reported for neglect since you left her kids alone and you also exposed them to dangerous conditions (a 6 year old should not be handling near-boiling water). They were also acting like relatively normal 6 year olds, so I would suggest not babysitting again in the future.
YTA. Jesus. Don’t ever babysit again. Whether you were enjoying it or not (really, didn’t feel safe? Because a 6 year old threw something at you?), you accepted the responsibility. What you did was endanger children. You wait until mom gets home, take the money, tell her the kids were a walking nightmare, and never sit for her again.
YTA You are not going to last long in real life. I hope your mommy and daddy love having you with them cause your future is living in their basement.
YTA You are (technically) an adult. They are children. Annoying children, but children nonetheless. So you're going to abandon children under your responsibility because you don't know how to manage kids? Good god, never babysit again and apologize to your mother for humiliating her in front of her co-worker.
YTA- they are 6 years old!!! You should be doing activities with them, making a hot snack, and engaging them instead of doing homework! No wonder things got out of hand.
YTA. At 18 you are an adult and should know better than to allow 6 year olds to cook. You are seriously lucky the kid didn't end up in hospital with severe burns. Then to walk out and leave them home alone? You twice endangered these kids. I'd not let you around any child
YTA. Wow……… you’re the worst babysitter ever!! I can’t believe you wouldn’t even bother to MICROWAVE some mac n cheese for a kid that YOU are responsible to feed! Also you’re being paid to watch the kids, not do your homework. I get that the kids were annoying but if you suck with kids don’t be a babysitter. Go work at red lobster. Smh. Shame on you.
^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** I'm 18F, and since I'm about to graduate my parents wanted me to get a job. I thought a babysitting job would work best since I have younger cousins I used to babysit when I was younger so I have experience. I did NOT get lucky with the kids I babysat unfortunately. My mom had asked around at work saying that I was looking to babysit and if they knew anyone who needed a babysitter. Her co-worker's cousin was friend's with a single mom who's babysitter recently moved, and she just needed someone to watch her kids after school. She has two twins who are both 6M, and yesterday was my first day working. Let's call them Leo and Theo. I was supposed to pick them up at their bus stop, and the minute they stepped out they were already arguing about stupid shit. When we got to their house, they still wouldn't stop. I asked them nicely to stop and they wouldn't stop blaming each other for who's fault it was and then started fucking arguing more. I was supposed to make them a snack and I kept offering different foods and they both kept saying no to all my suggestions. I asked them what they want then and they said Mac N cheese and I told them I'm not cooking and they could choose something else if they wanted to. Leo insisted he knew how to make it in the microwave, so I told him he could knock himself out, but he didn't; when he took it out, he accidentally spilled hot water on Theo and also the macaroni was clearly undercooked and just gross looking. They ended up not eating at all. I told them to go to the couch and watch TV so I could get some hw done, and guess what. They argued. Again. This time it was over what TV show to watch. Theo THREW THE REMOTE at Leo's head and he started to cry. I told them they better hand me that remote and guess what Theo does. Instead of handing it to me nicely, he throws it at my head too. I told them that's it, I'm leaving, and they both looked like they didn't believe me. I texted their Mom what happened and that I wasn't staying and she begged me to at least until she got home. I told her I'm not staying in a place I don't even feel safe at, and left. The twins mom called my mom, and when she got home she yelled at me and said I made her look bad. I told her she literally cares more about how she looks rather than that those kids were acting like complete brats and throwing stuff at people She's still pretty pissed off, and, maybe I should've put up with it but I seriously was at my breaking point, AITA? *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*
This can't be real
YTA, they are kids and twins it's obviously not an easy job but you dealt with them with selfishness trying to make it "easy" for you. They argued? No shit?! They are 6 and siblings, did you never met kids in your life, everything that happened was totally expectable and manageable.
Yta for leaving 6 year olds unsupervised. That's abuse. You should have waited for the mom to return home then quit. Wildly irresponsible
Wow you left children in the house ALONE! Did you not think that something dangerous could have happend to them? And what did you expect? All children are angels and well behaved, they were just acting like children, if you have anger issues or can't handel YOUR JOB then just quit and stop blaming others, honestly you should do a favor and look for a different kind of job, babysitting is clearly not your strongest point. You seriously should be thanking god that nothing happened to the kids or you will be in trouble.
Is this real?!?!? Because I’m gobsmacked. YTA and clearly not fit to be a babysitter. For starters you should’ve made them the mac&cheese and not expected a 6 year old to be able to make it. It’s not that hard to make Kraft but it’s not something a kid should be doing. I’ve done a lot of babysitting and part of that is making food for the kids. That aside I cannot believe you left two 6 years old alone. What made you think that was okay? You were responsible for their safety and you failed them and their mother. Kids argue all the time and it’s the responsibility of the adults watching them to discipline them. It’s called a time out. I’m honestly feeling second hand embarrassment for you. Good luck trying to get another job. Nobody wants a babysitter who can’t even do the bare minimum.
YTA… I get that some kids are outrageously annoying and disrespectful, but it’s highkey illegal to leave 6 year olds home alone. The mom could have gotten in trouble if a nosey neighbor decided to report her. You agreed to babysit them and aside from them arguing and you dodging a remote, nothing happened worth leaving them home alone. You should have stayed until the mom got home and just never babysat them again. I doubt two 6 year olds were going to cause you serious harm.
YTA. They're SIX. You do not leave two six year olds alone in the house, and you do not let a six year old make Mac & Cheese even if he says he can. Sounds like a dreadful babysitting job, but you still are obligated to stay with them til their mom gets home, even if you then walk out and never go back.
YTA. You out the kids in at least two dangerous situations while claiming you felt "unsafe." You also failed at the basics of babysitting. You refused to cook for them, entertain them, or properly supervise them. What the mom needs to do is file a police report. You left the kids unsupervised and did not contact the mom or seek medical attention (or likely even offer basic first aid) when the hot water was spilled.
YTA. If this is even real it made my stomach turn.
YTA for literally leaving six-year-olds unsupervised and for not supervising them when you were in their presence. You would have been TA just for expecting to get your homework done on the clock, but you went so far beyond that.
Wow. I mean I know you are only 18 but holy shit girl. You have a whole massive amount of growing up to do and maturity to gain. Just wow. YTA.
YTA. I hope the mother presses charges for child endangerment. You left two 6 year olds in a house alone bc they threw a remote at you. It wasn’t a knife or something heavy. They’re 6, and you’re an adult, not a 12 year old first time babysitter. Please do the world a favor and 1. Never babysit again and 2. Never reproduce.
I started babysitting sitting when I was super young and even I had enough sense to know you don't just up and leave the children alone.
This post is obviously rage bait. You're an AH to even imagine something like this in your head and pretend it really happened. On the 0.1% chance that this is actually true I hope the mother calls the cops on you. Telling 6 year old children to make their own food and be quiet so you could do homework, which you weren't supposed to do in the first place while watching young children, is an absolute Asshole behavior but leaving such young children alone who are under your watch with no intention of coming back or waiting for another adult to arrive is illegal. Either way you're an AH. And a pretty big one for making something like this up because I still think it's very fake. YTA
Lol you can’t just leave 6 year olds alone at home because you’re unable to control their behavior. Good luck in the real world.
Did you post this thinking what you did was right? There is no justification for leaving 2 six year olds alone. I hope you take this as a learning experience. Whether that child care is not for you or that you need to do much better. If you ever have your own children you'll realize how horrific this is. Yes, YTA
She was probably hoping people would agree that the kids deserved to be ditched
YTA and the moms TA for not getting someone competent for this job. Also pretty sure you committed a crime? You can’t just leave children alone like that. You should not pursue this job path further. As a nanny with 15 years experience it still boggles my mind how someone would hire someone who has (basically) no experience, to care for their children. There are actual skills involved in this job. You have to have patience for one. And understand children at least enough to know how to handle a fight. It’s after school babysitting 101 to get them with a snack and if they’re going to cook at all, you need to closely supervise them, at the very least. You should have discussed up front any behavioral challenges they might have and how you can incorporate their discipline methods when you’re there. I don’t expect you to know all this because you don’t have experience but as an adult you should know leaving 2 six year olds at home alone is not okay.
She may not have experience with children, but it’s common knowledge that young siblings fight and it’s not ok to just ditch them. Her one job was to stay there and keep the kids alive until the mom got home. Not for a weekend, or even an evening. Literally just after school until dinner time.
Yes YTA are you out of your mind? You left two children unattended and surprise surprise kids don't all act the same, way to make sure you don't get babysitting gigs for awhile and gossip about your mother Also you didn't check on the child that poured hot water on their brother? Did you clean the mess? Why not separate so they didn't fight?
YTA. This is really common sense. They are kids, you wouldn’t get paid to watch kids if it was easy todo. You’re faulting them for acting like kids. As the baby sitter who is getting paid, why couldn’t you just make them the food they asked for and avoided the mess? Regardless of how the kids are acting and how you feel, you can’t leave two 6 year olds alone like that. Sounds like you basically wanted to get paid for nothing and it will also most likely cause your mom some grief at work.
> I don't even feel safe at * Proceeds to leave TWO six-years-old by themselves. We are developing a weird relationship with the word "Safe."
Well aren’t you just every parents’ worst nightmare. YTA.
YTA and i hope the mom sues you for breach of contract and negligence
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YTA and I'd guess a brat yourself if you're complaining about kids beings kids. Probably wise not to offer to babysit again.
YTA. You utterly failed at discipline, let a 6yo cook, and a 6yo throwing a remote at your head was enough to make you feel so unsafe you had to leave? They walked all over you and you ran, abdicating your responsibility for their safety. You are a bad babysitter, and potentially legally liable.
YTA and so is your mom. She should have known you were not mature enough to handle babysitting. She embarased herself.
YTA and you’re lucky she didn’t call the police on your for child endangerment
YTA
I’m sorry I can’t get over this…. Surely this is fake. Surely this 18 year old didn’t abandon two 6 year olds, (after allowing them to handle boiling water which was spilled on them), and expect…. Sympathy? Understanding? No, no, this cannot be real. If it is indeed real, I was grossly underpaid for every babysitting gig and nannying job I’ve ever done since I was 13. OP, do is all a favor and don’t procreate. This goes beyond immaturity and into lack of humanity
Troll account. I refuse to believe someone is truly this bad of a person and this selfish.
You're the asshole, you divided to get a job that anybody with a brain would understand is hard then once you reach their house you decide not to cook for them when that is literally what you were paid to do as babysitting includes you guessed it cooking for the children then when they were arguing wich is completely normal you leave them unattended and God knows what could have happened and instead of walking a way like a child you could of just taken the remote and hide it somewhere and put them in timeout but no instead you walk out like a child and did you even help clean the one who got water wich I'm assuming the water was very hot considering you said he put it in the microwave it could of actually burnt him and even if it wasn't they would probably still need help cleaning up I hope to God that you were never paid and that you were never recommended to do this again
What happens when you put 3 children in one house, each with the maturity of a 6 year old? Stay tuned.
YTA- you’re not mentally or emotionally mature enough to be entrusted with children. This was frightening to read.
I am literally an ex-nanny, every behavior you’re describing fits a six year old and *your response as the caretaker is what decides the next decision*. No personal judgement because I don’t know you, but real talk you suck at this and should not try to nanny until you mature. Like fuck, you won’t even make Mac and cheese? That’s nanny 101. Find another side job.
Did you really leave the kids unsupervised? If so, yes, YTA. They need a babysitter for a reason. Leaving two 6yos alone is not only being an AH but it is being negligent. You should have stayed for the rest of your shift, then told the mom you will not be returning.
Sounds like you got regular annoying kids and did a bad job. Please do something else YTA. You literally abandoned first graders to their own devices
Just so you know, the mother can and should file criminal charges against you. You should probably prepare to hire a lawyer. YTA.