Babysitter Asks If She’s Wrong For Calling The Police On No-Show Mom

Nov 09, 2021 by apost team

Parenting can be incredibly stressful, challenging and tiring at times. Fortunately, most parents have resources available to them to help out when needed. They can rely on friends and family members to watch their children for part of the day, or hire a babysitter or caretaker. However, at the end of the day, the children's responsibility lies with the parents themselves and it's important for parents to be upfront about how long they will be gone for the day or night.

A 28-year-old woman found herself picking up babysitting jobs on the weekends to make some extra money. She sat for one family enough times to know that the mother wasn't super reliable, but it was good money so she continued to babysit. The mom would tell her that she would be back at a certain time, but was always very late and wouldn't even call the babysitter to say that she was running behind.

In October 2021, the babysitter decided to babysit for the mother again, and the mother explained that she would be home by 9:00 p.m. When the time came, the mom was still not home and wasn't even answering her calls or texts. Finally, midnight rolled around and the babysitter needed to leave. Keeping the kids safe, she called the police and they took the kids to the police station until the mother finally showed up.

The mom was furious with the babysitter, which led the sitter to start questioning if she handled the situation right, so she went to Reddit to ask users for their take on the matter.

Dealing With A No-Show Mom

Starting off her Reddit post, the original poster (OP) explained that this was a family she "should've fazed out," but enjoyed watching the kids and making some easy money. However, the mom never came home on time. "She used to not give me return times but finally I started asking as it made it impossible to get anything done on the weekends," OP said. No matter what time the mom said she'd be home by, she never was, and she was usually late by many hours. OP explained, "She wouldn't even call to tell me, she'd just stay out."

One Saturday in October 2021, OP was babysitting from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. She made plans to go out with her friends afterward, and told the mom that she really needed to leave at 9:00 p.m. OP put the kids to bed and even started getting ready to go meet up with her friends as she waited for the mom to come home. When the time rolled around, the mom was nowhere to be found. She wasn't home and she wasn't responding to any phone calls or text messages.

By midnight, OP still hadn't heard anything. "I call her and leave a voicemail saying if she's not home in the next hour, I'm considering the kids abandoned and calling the cops," she said. She also sent a text with the same message, but was left on read. Finally, OP called the non-emergency line. When the police arrived, they tried calling the mom, but she still didn't answer.

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Taking Action

They dismissed the babysitter and took the kids back to the police station. At 3:00 a.m., OP was woken up by a "frantic call" from the mother asking where her kids were. OP simply told her to check the police station. The next day, the mom messaged her to say there was a DCF investigation launched against her. 

OP explained, "She called me every name under the sun but I didn't think I was wrong until I spoke to a friend with kids. She said I should've just waited it out and refuse to ever sit for her again. She asked if her potentially losing her kids was worth me being petty."

Since then, OP has been wondering if she was right or wrong, and asked Redditors for advice. An overwhelming majority agreed that OP was right to call the cops, each giving their own reason why. One user commented, "Her behavior is absolutely irresponsible. She deserves a DCF investigation if she can't be bothered to even respond." 

Another said, "The investigation also probably has to do with her literally ignoring multiple calls and texts. If instead of just the time it had been a serious incident she made herself as that only emergency contact unreachable."

A third user explained, "OP wasn't being petty. She reported a bad mother! This was not the first time this woman did this and she would continue doing (it) to whoever watched her kids because she is selfish and doesn't care. Too bad choices have consequences."

Do you think this babysitter was right to call the police on a no-show mom? Or should she have just waited it out? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to your family members and friends, too.