I babysat a lot as a teenager. A lot. My Saturday nights pretty much consisted of a standing date with George Clooney on Sisters and whatever free snacks I could score. (Not so bad, in retrospect.)
There were the good houses to babysit for and the bad houses. The good ones were stocked with Oreos and Hawaiian Punch and Cool Ranch Doritos. They had phones that I was free to use and cable stations that my folks didn’t subscribe to. The parents were laid back and funny and, most importantly, they always rounded up.
The bad houses had barren pantry’s, void of yummy treats and only milk to drink. They had educational magazines, network TV and actual stuff for me to do, once the kids were tucked away in bed. Those houses sucked, and had I not been saving my pennies for the newest Tiffany and Debbie Gibson cassettes, I would have declined those jobs in a heartbeat.
I vowed that when I was old enough to employee sitters I would be the house that sitters enjoyed coming to. I’d be the cool mom who seemed more like a friend than a boss. I’d have the best kids who were just a joy to watch. I’d offer the best snacks and fun magazines and make people yearn to sit on my couch.
Needless to say, I am not. I introduced a new sitter to the kids this week. She is wonderful and trustworthy and everything you want in a babysitter. Things were going along swimmingly until it was time for lunch. I made the kids their fruit and sandwiches and told the sitter to feel free to eat anything, opening the pantry for her. Inside, I found dry pasta, olives and baking staples. And that was it. Instantly, I realized which category my house fit into.
Sickened, I paid her an extra ten bucks to get lunch and sent her on her way– the last thing I want to be known as is that mom in the sitter circuit. I’m heading to the market before she comes back on Friday, and I’ll be leaving with Oreos, Doritos and fruit punch. Just for her.
Previous post: If you can’t beat ‘em…
Next post: Fun in the Clouds
{ 66 comments }
← Previous Comments
I am not a “cool mom” with junk food stocked cabinets. And my son screams a lot when we are not here. And he breaks things frequently. I have really bad luck with sitters. I think I need to buy some Oreos and Fruit Punch.
.-= Amber´s last blog ..Oh, Alice… the Hole goes on. =-.
Ha Ha! At least you realized your mistake before the sitter got away!!
Ah the memories you brought up with this post. I once babysat the most horrible kids (and parents) and it turned me off from a career in babysitting forever. I found a better job at the mall where I got a discount on clothes. What better place for a teenager to work!
Flash forward to today, my children are 10 years apart in age and my oldest took the Red Cross babysitting course while in Girl Scouts so I guess you could say I have the babysitting issue covered these days.
Wishing you a scent-sational Thursday!
Patty
.-= Patty Reiser´s last blog ..{POTD} Creativity =-.
LOL…I remember those days of babysitting well.
I’ve left an award for you on my blog today!
.-= Tiffany @ Paging Doctor Mommy´s last blog ..SIX New Awards! HOLY MOLY! =-.
Oh girl, I so understand. I babysat all my young aduly life too and had awesome people in nice houses and as soon as the kids passed out I was hogging up the Haagen Daaz ice cream and watching channels I never got to. BUT there was this one place that was nasty, I wouldn’t even sit on their couch and the kids were pis just like their parents. They would actually pretend to chew their vitamins but then spit them out behind the couch. I HAD to stay because it was perfect hours at the time for a rough schedule I had.
Ugh, gag. I sat for a nasty family too, but the pay was decent. I was always afraid of what I would catch on the couch.
The house I regularly sat for left one pack of stale graham crackers on the table for me each time I came. The first time, I looked for something else and was asked to please not go through the cupboards, as a snack was left for me. Ugggh. But, the money was good, as was the TV!
.-= LZ´s last blog ..Wordless Wednesday: View from the Top. =-.
HA!!! I remember the “good” and “bad” houses.
Now I know it should be the “healthy” and “fat and lazy and unhealthy” houses.
Mine is the latter.
Sigh.
You had me going. I thought she had eaten everything else.
Doritos? Can I sit for your kids?
Well you have always been my favorite boss. No complaints from your Chattanooga babysitter :) I miss all of you and hope you are doing well!
I am that fun mom and I do have that good house to babysit at and I always round up. I have too. I have triplet 2 year olds!
i would love to be on either list, that would mean my hubby and i were actually going out somewhere alone!!!
have fun shopping for junk food :)
.-= Lizzie´s last blog ..Zoos, Jobs, & Butts, OH MY! =-.
Oh my word. For some reason I have the munchies tonight and that graphic just made it 10x worse. YUM~~crap food!
I think I would be one of the good houses, if I ever used babysitters.
First time on your blog..funny post!
LOL! I also loved the houses that had full pantries. :)
.-= Kelly Deneen´s last blog ..Why this summer is better… =-.
Sisters. Oh man I loved that show.
i was a nanny for the most rockin house ever when i was 17. she would toss me the keys to a brand new volvo hand me $100.00 & tell me to go *entertain the kids. we had SO much fun. lol.
now, we have 6 kids & when a babysitter hears that they just go runnin ;)
My favorite house to sit for… the dad worked for McKee Foods. Their pantry was always stocked with Little Debbies… mmmmmmmm!
.-= Shannon´s last blog ..I don’t wanna hear no horror stories… =-.
Sassy is a kick ass sitter- but she likes Triscuts, swiss cheese and RANCH Dressing with PLENTY of hot sauce. She’s studying to be an anorexic. as am i. It’s not going so well.
The fact that you are even conscious of it makes you a kick ass babysitter. Most people wouldn’t care!! Get some chips and dips and lots of CHOCOLATE. Oh and ice cream and sugary cereal. These were the things I loved as a skinny, babysitting teenager!
.-= Jodi´s last blog ..Honey Do’s Workshop =-.
Dilemma is the word. I had a lot of experience babysitting too but I would never raid the pantry and they would never have offered. Times change I guess, for instance what did you charge, the going rate was .50 cents an hour in 1968.
.-= passions and soapboxes´s last blog ..Music Legend Michael Jackson Dies At 50… =-.
Oh my word. I had such a love for George Clooney on Sisters. Oh, and Debbie Gibson and Tiffany. And I’m with you on the treats. Oh yes, the treats.
My own mother always bought everyone treats when she went out. The only time I got pop and chips was when the babysitter was over. It meant I loved having babysitters. It probably also compensated the babysitter for the fact that the other food in our house was mostly bean sprouts and organic soy milk, if you get my drift. Not. Good.
.-= Amber´s last blog ..Raspberries =-.
That is the very reason I hated babysitting for my nephew! Help yourself to the…uh….saltines….or the catfood.
.-= Lizz B´s last blog ..Justin Timberlake Loves Me More and I Can Prove It =-.
I never babysat when I was growing up – not for money, at least. It isn’t that common in Italy (or at least, it wasn’t at the time) for a teen to be working, in any way. Sucks, because I woulnd’t have minded some additional pocket money at all!
I always have fresh bread, fruit, cheese, chips, cereal bars and nuts at my house, but I also usually leave $20 for the sitter to get dinner with. I don’t hire her that often, once every couple of months, so I figure a pizza or some Chinese takeout is ok for the girls. And the sitter sure didn’t seem to mind ;-)
.-= Elisa´s last blog ..I’m floored (or I will be) =-.
So funny! I always pay super good. We barely ever need to use babysitters though. I need more children just so I can get one and be a cool mom to babysit for. I am sure that will go over wonderfully with my husband : )
.-= Life with Kaishon´s last blog ..Withdrawl =-.
I felt the same way about stocking my future refrigerator. And I completely forgot that GC was on Sisters!
.-= Kate Coveny Hood´s last blog ..Very Tacky Sale for Very Lovely Bags =-.
I just couldn’t justify the poor, poor pay I got for good snacks, I was a lifeguard instead…
because obviously you wanted to trust your children in the water with me :)
Hilarious post, thanks for visiting me.
.-= anti-supermom´s last blog ..last one standing sitting =-.
Okay, so is it really possible that we really both had posts with the same title in the same week (mine was June 18), and I didn’t discover your blog until today? It’s almost creepy. Hope you’ll check out my adventures in babysitting – mine was a little different angle, but I totally know where you’re coming from. I totally want to be the mom with a full selection of carbonated sugary beverages (for the sitter, not my son) in the fridge and chocolatey/salty treats in the pantry.
.-= Laura (aka Mom2Peach)´s last blog ..in memoriam =-.
My husband (who was the boyfriend at the time) and I made a list YEARS ago of what we were going to do for our sitters whenever kids come along. Things like have a stocked pantry, print up directions for the TV, actually have coke in the house, ROUND UP, etc. I still have the list! And I plan on sticking to it! I still babysit quite often and still have the same pet peeves!
I don’t know…I guess I’m torn. I know that teens love junk food…but I’m on this kick about saving lives. There has to be better ways to satisfy cravings without giving into the stuff that will eventually ruin their lives…and the lives of our kids. I’m into healthier choices….like amazing chocolate pudding that’s actually great for you, gives you energy without the sugar crash or the added inches to the waiste line. I think my nanny would like that better in the long run. Oh, and so do my kids.
← Previous Comments
Comments on this entry are closed.