Babysitters Are Sharing The Dark Secrets That Came From Seemingly ‘Normal’ Parents
As a parent, if you hire a babysitter it's usually going to be someone who you trust not to go snooping through your home while they're taking care of your children. Sometimes though, babysitters might stumble across something they shouldn't have or outright be told something they wish they hadn't been.
One Ask Reddit thread has babysitters spilling all those secrets when answering the question: Babysitters of Reddit, what seemingly normal parents had dark secrets?
Kissin' Cousins
"I was a nanny for a young boy with additional needs. Let's call the parents John and Lisa. John worked for Lisa's parents as they owned a painting company. This company had the family surname as its name. I noticed John was home from work early in the painting van but it had his surname as the company name on the van, not Lisa's parent's surname.
"I thought it was a funny coincidence that he and Lisa had the same surname and so I pointed this out. He froze up and looked a little awkward and said, 'Oh... That's because Lisa and I are first cousins.'" —Reddit
Leading A Double Life
"Nannied for this very rich family with three kids from the west coast who would come to south Florida for summer vacation every year. The mother was in her thirties, clearly had her kids when she was young, and was very stereotypically hot.
"Dad would help the kids and mom settle in at the house and then fly back to Cali for work. I babysat 3-5 times a week, 6:30 p.m. until 2 a.m. Mom would get all dolled up, leave her wedding ring on the kitchen counter, and come home very late, clearly drunk, and sometimes brought men home with her that she introduced as her 'friends'." —damnitmelanie / Reddit
The Spirits Must Have Encouraged Him To Pay Well
"I babysat for the local policeman when I was teenager—he always came home very drunk and in a weird mood and one time brought out a homemade Ouija board and persuaded me to take part with his buddies.
"Always paid me really well..." —Lil_toad_mode / Reddit
Who Wants To Live In A Magazine?
"One family—I still dunno what was up with them. It's like they were squatting in a model home or something. It was a fully furnished house that looked to be straight out of Better Homes & Gardens magazine, but there was nothing in the drawers, fridge, or cabinets.
"No toiletries in the bathroom except for toilet paper, no food or silverware in the kitchen, no clothes in the closets or in the kids' drawers, and no toys! The lady just told me to order food for the kids and they watched tv. It was weird!" —HanginWithLucretia / Reddit
Don't Ask Questions As Long As You're Getting Paid
"I babysat a lot when I was 13-15. At the time I lived in a small town. I was a very popular babysitter as I also worked at the daycare center. Often I would have kids from two or three different families at once. I didn't care I got triple the pay for having three different groups of kids.
"I was recently told why I always had groups of kids like that. Turns out the small town had a swingers club and I was the go-to babysitter for their different groups." —MissPiggyK / Reddit
"I Made Out With $400"
"I used to babysit for my next-door neighbor who had an 8-year-old girl and a 5-year-old boy. One day, we had a half-day at school, and I think the mom forgot because when we walked into the apartment, I heard one of the doors shut. At the time, we thought it was an intruder, so I grabbed the 5-year-old's baseball bat, told them to stay in the room, and I'd do some investigating.
"I opened the bathroom door, and there was the mom, half-naked, with a guy that wasn't her husband. She gave me all the money in her wallet and her business card (she was a photographer) and told me to never speak of it again." —throwawayyyyyyyyy126 / Reddit
Leave Mommy And Daddy's Plants Alone
"I was babysitting once and the kids were wrestling in the living room. All of a sudden the smell of dank filled the room. I hear the kids stop and say, 'What is that?'
"One of them had knocked over a big tin can on a shelf and the parents' weed stash spilled everywhere. I sent the kids away and cleaned it all up for them and put it back." —Neopetwashout / Reddit
Just Your Classic Night Out With Your Husband
"I was babysitting for my neighbors, and they were super nice people, two kids, very Pottery Barn people. They would always come home late, with no cash to pay me, but they'd come by my house literally the next day with the cash, so I never minded.
"Once before they left, when they were in the other room saying goodbye to the kids, I went to move the wife’s purse and saw a really big roll of singles. I brushed it off, but then another time their daughter had an allergic reaction and I texted them an SOS. When I got a call back, I picked up and heard club music. It was a couple sittings after that, when I left through the back door and saw the husband in the garage, shaking glitter off their clothes, that I realized they were probably going to a strip club." —aintnogreatloss / Reddit
Whoops, Wrong Number!
"I was babysitting for a local family who owned car dealerships. I answered the phone 'hello' as one does and it was the father who didn't know his wife had hired a babysitter so she could go to an appointment.
"He started in with the stupidest sexy voice until he realized it wasn’t his wife, and he hung up. Later he was caught cheating." —NANDINIA5 / Reddit
What Were They Hiding?
"I was babysitting a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old (both male). The kids were fine but the parents acted suspicious whenever I entered their room.
"They had cameras everywhere and sh*t" —useless_anonymous / Reddit
He Should Have Had Money To Spare On The Babysitter
"I was babysitting two boys and the older one always told me how rich his dad was. Dad worked in government security and mom was an accountant in hospital so they were upper-middle class I guess, with a big flat, cool cars, expensive travels and stuff.
"Once the boy told me, 'You wanna know where my dad got all the money? From a casino.' I thought his dad might just joke about it, but turned out he was the owner of an illegal poker club. I felt underpaid" —ssingularityy / Reddit
Maybe Dad Thought It Was Apple Juice?
"I [never] babysat. But my friend did, and the kids were asking to have beer. When she said no they were like, 'But dad gives it to us.' She was confused, so she called the mom.
"The mom was confused, and she asked the dad. I think the dad confessed, and I don't know what's happened after that, but they probably filed for divorce" —mangodog_gaming / Reddit
How Considerate Of Her To Warn You!
"I never really babysat for anyone besides family, but I did dog-sit for a woman and her husband for a while. She gave me a tour of the house the first time I went over there and there was a room in the back of the house that was filled with sex toys.
"She sold them as a side hustle and wanted me to know they were there in case I was uncomfortable. They paid me well and left a great review on the site I was using" —bowserisapleb / Reddit
Did The Baby Even Exist?
"A family member of mine was a babysitter in the 70s. A couple who lived nearby asked her to babysit their baby a few times. Every time she’d go they said the baby was sleeping and not to disturb the baby by checking on it. The baby never cried. The parents would come home and relieve her. She never saw or heard a baby.
"At the time I don’t think my family member thought much of it, but has told me this story several times because it keeps nagging at her. How could a baby be asleep for the entire time she was there, every time. No noises. Nothing. Today, she thinks there must not have been a baby but has no idea why they’d hire her." —Reddit
Preparing For The Worst
"I babysat for this one family only a couple of times when I was 16. But on the first night they just casually talked about how I needed to call the police if the kids bio-dad turned up at the house.
"I was then told I would need to barricade us all in their master bathroom and I should call them and their lawyer. Custody battles suck." —louise1jc / Reddit
Absolutely Do Not Enter The Study
"I nannied for a wealthy couple, and the husband had a study in the house that the wife joked about never being allowed in. I was curious about why you wouldn't let someone in a study, especially since it looked like a fairly normal room: big desk, walls covered in bookshelves, books of architecture everywhere. So one day I just roamed around in there.
"I didn't really find anything, and I was kinda disappointed, but then I grabbed a book off one of the shelves. The thing had money pressed between its pages—about $500, if I had to guess. Picked up another book, found the same thing. I think I checked like 10 different books, and every single one had money hidden in it." — Reddit
Babysitter Job Postings That Are Out Of Touch With Reality
This mother is offering to pay someone 65 cents per hour to look after her daughter, and then she says that she's picky about babysitters.
Sorry lady, beggars can't be choosers.
Get Paid In Cabin Time
This person isn't even offering to pay the babysitter.
They think that someone should want to babysit their kids in exchange for time at a cabin by a lake.
$6 Per Hour
This woman is offering to watch a kid for $6 per hour in her own home.
No, she doesn't need to lower her price. This commenter needs to lower her expectations.
Background Check Required
Imagine actually applying for this position. You only get paid $10 per hour to watch five children, and you have to pay $30 to get your own background check done.
No thank you, ma'am.
A Tutor And A Babysitter
This person is looking for someone to tutor and babysit her kid for $5 per hour.
Yeah, sorry lady, I don't think that's going to happen for you. Nice try though.
That's Crazy Low
Imagine working full time for $125 per week. That comes out to $1.25 per hour per kid.
Let's just hope that nobody was desperate enough to actually take this job.
You Pay Us
This person is looking for a live-in nanny, but they're framing the ad as though the person who rents this room won't have to pay full price in exchange for babysitting.
So basically you pay them to babysit their kids.
So Many Requirements
This person sure has a lot of requirements for someone who is only offering to pay $100 for 57 hours of babysitting, for two kids under the age of four.
Also, the kids will be at your house.
A PR Person And A Babysitter
This person is looking for someone who can help her develop her Youtube channel and watch her kids at the same time.
Lady, maybe you should actually get a job.v
A Facebook Rant
This person took to Facebook to rant about how much it costs to hire a babysitter nowadays.
Look, if you want someone qualified to look after your kids, you're going to have to pay them.
A Whole Argument
I will never understand how people are okay with just anybody looking after their children.
If someone is willing to work for $4 per hour, you probably don't want them watching your kids.
Asking For A Friend
I certainly hope that she's asking for a friend and not actually asking someone to work for $2.78 per hour.
Maybe she should have a talk with her friend about fair wages for workers.
Free Babysitting
This person actually posted an ad online looking for a babysitter who would babysit her kids for free.
Why would anybody do this? Just out of the goodness of their heart?
Maybe $3, If You're Lucky
This person is offering to pay two, maybe three dollars per hour for someone to babysit her daughter.
If the kid is 11 years old and doesn't need help, then why hire a babysitter?
