My neighbours reneged on a deal, so I got them banned by all other babysitters

“Don't screw around with good sitters. They have loads of contacts, friends that babysit, and trust with other parents…”

Alexandra Feiam

3 min read

February 22, 2024 - 12:18PM

Mum checks nanny cam and sees babysitter asleep

Family Life

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Jordie’s holidays got a little brighter when her neighbours invited her to go on a holiday with them to the Caribbean.

She’d be staying in an all-inclusive resort for ten days, so she instantly jumped at the chance.

The only stipulation? She had to be their kids’ nanny.

As she was only 17 years old, she asked her parents for permission to go.

Jordie was told off for taking a day off, like the babysitting job details had agreed. Source: iStock

“I don’t know why they made plans on one of my free days”

“The deal was pretty simple,” she said on Reddit, explaining she would take care of the kids for seven days and nights, would stay in an adjoining room with the children, be paid $500 and get three days to herself.

At first, her parents “weren’t thrilled’ by the idea but ultimately decided Jordie would “work two days and take one off, over and over.”

“My parents insisted I get everything in writing so there were no mistakes,” Jordie added.

As soon as her parents gave the green light, she began planning what she could do for her days off. On the top of her list was scuba diving, which she scheduled to do on her towards the end of the trip.

During her stay at the resort, she spent the majority of the time with the kids she was watching.

Each morning, she would let the kids into their parents’ room to say good morning. The family would have breakfast together, meeting with Jordie afterward for a day of activities.

“Then I would take the kids around to do stuff at the resort or I would join them on an excursion,” she said.

At the end of the day, the family would eat dinner together before Jordie watched them for a few more hours before bedtime.

Before she knew it, it was her third day off, meaning she was finally able to go scuba diving.

She woke early to get ready for the excursion, letting the kids into their parents’ room like usual before slipping away for her day off.

But when she came back, the parents were furious and accused her of leaving “without warning.”

She reminded them of their deal, but the parents weren’t having any of it.

“They said that they had met another couple there and were going golfing and that I screwed up their plans,” Jordie wrote. “I don’t know why they made plans on one of my free days.”

After Jordie and her neighbours came home from the trip, the family shared a post about their experience online, complaining about “how irresponsible [Jordie] was.”

Another family saw the post online and reached out to Jordie for her side of the story; she sent over a picture of the family’s agreement, proving she was following what was agreed in the deal.

Then it blew up online. Other families started chiming in, babysitters were adding their two cents, the neighbours hit back, and even Jordie’s parents got involved.

It was a tizzy, to say the least.

“So now it's a big deal and everyone knows that they tried to change our deal without talking to me,” Jordie said, defeated.

To top things off, other babysitters in the area declared they “won't babysit for my neighbours any more.”

“I just feel bad because I know my flight and hotel room was expensive,” she said. “And now they are having trouble getting a sitter.”

“They’re just mad they got caught out on lies”

Others on Reddit told Jordie to shake off her feelings of guilt because she wasn’t in the wrong.

“If they had a problem with your babysitting services they should have talked to you about this privately not start the conversation publicly,” someone wrote.

“Don't feel guilty,” added another. “There are too many deserving parents/kids needing babysitters for these people to get any good, hard-working babysitters.”

“They started the public venting; you did nothing but respond to questions,” responded another. “They’re just mad they got caught out on lies”

Others were dumbfounded by the neighbours’ attitude. “What were they thinking?” someone asked.

“My guess is that they thought that they could take advantage of a younger person and then when they didn't get their way, they tried to shame her on soshul mediuh and it backfired in their faces!” a person responded.

Finally, someone shared vital advice to other parents: “Don't screw around with good sitters. They have loads of contacts, friends that babysit, and trust with other parents.”

*Names have been changed