babysitter nightmare WWYD?

sweetpotato

Wed, Aug 20 2014, 8:55 am

Quote:

This thread has me laughing.

I'll never forget the time I was babysitting for a neighbor. I was like 16, the kids were sleeping, and I got locked into the bathroom! Seems they had just put in new doorknobs (It was a newly built home), and it got stuck.

I sat there for two hours, till they came home. They had to call someone to come and get me out.

Me too! Well, I was about 13 and taking care of a baby. I'd taken him to the backyard to play, and somehow got locked out of the house. I must have not realized the doors lock automatically It was before cell phones, so I had to wait until the old lady next door came into her back yard, called over to her and borrowed her cordless phone and called the mother who told me where to find the spare key hidden in the backyard. I was terrified she was going to fire me, but she actually told me she was proud of me for knowing how to handle the situation.

OP--if I were you, I'd tell the babysitter that you aren't comfortable with her leaving the baby unattended and assuming she's otherwise a good sitter, ask her how you can help her deal with her car while she's watching your baby. A lot of people are telling you they don't see anything objectively dangerous with leaving the baby sleeping inside for a minute (and I agree), but ultimately it's your decision and your comfort level.

Also, set your door (if possible) not to automatically lock. And you probably should have told her the code for the lockbox initially, just in case. Anyone can accidentally get locked out, it doesn't necessarily mean they were being negligent.

MaBelleVie

Wed, Aug 20 2014, 10:55 am

amother wrote:

she just sent a text saying 'don't panic but im locked out baby inside' .. thank gd we have a lock box with a code and the key is inside so I gave her the combo. but what if we didn't??

If your door locks automatically and you didn't have a spare key hidden somewhere you would be pretty irresponsible yourself!

vintagebknyc

Wed, Aug 20 2014, 11:36 am

MaBelleVie wrote:

If your door locks automatically and you didn't have a spare key hidden somewhere you would be pretty irresponsible yourself!

I once got locked out because I set the bottom lock to lock behind me... never again. I lock it, but when it's unlocked it's automatically unlocked. I actually think there are laws about this, in nyc? regardless, I had to climb on a fire escape into my bedroom window--which we'd clearly not secured well.

two lessons, one day.

as for the person who suggested you pay for her tickets, *really* bad idea. while not traffic court or criminal court, I believe they do stay on her record.

self-actualization

Wed, Aug 20 2014, 11:37 am

This happened twice to me, with 2 different babysitters. Baby was in the crib and babysitter went downstairs to bring up the laundry (we were in a 3 family house at the time) and got locked out somehow. The first time, the babysitter called my mother who came over with a key. The second time, the babysitter called her construction worker boyfriend who climbed up the side of the house onto our terrace and came inside to open the door for her. The second incident was disconcerting to me but I forgot about it right away.

In general, I am a big fan of visible (or hidden) nanny cams. What I tell the babysitters is that I won't be watching the cameras every day, but I will just use them to spot check occasionally to reassure myself when I am away from my baby. All of my babysitters agreed to be on camera. Another good idea is to get family or friends to stop by during the day (or at the park) and tell you how it's going. A third excellent idea is to have overlap hours or days where you are home with the babysitter and see how she interacts with the kids. The older I get and the older my kids are, I find this third idea to be very valuable. Plus, I need extra help sometimes even when I am home! It's really nice to have an overlap hour when you get home so that you can make dinner or cook for Shabbos while the babysitter plays with the kids. (I try to do this on Thursday night so that I can put up a few dishes and hear how nicely the babysitter is playing with the kids).