how to cancel babysitting job for friday?!!? PLEASE HELP!?

Question

how do i tell a mom i dont want to ever watch her kids again.. i do like a couple times a month. i HATE it. they are complete brats and dont listen to a word i say. how do i kindly cancel for this weekend and say im a little busy to babysit your kids? its okay if i cancel.. its just a date w. her and her husband... and also..::

she said "can you babysit friday the 23rd? and i said okay (unhappily) and so 2 days ago she emailed me saying "okay.. on friday come from 2p.m.-11p.m." SHE SAID IT WAS A DINNER DATE. THATS FREAKING 9 HOURS> AND THEY ARE NEVER HOME ON TIME.. frustrating =/

Answer 1

u can simply cancel as long as it isnt last minute and u give them a chance to get another baby sitter
otherwise stick to ur word... bc thats just wrong...

and simply tell her the truth... that u find it difficult to watch her children and that u simply wouldnt like to watch them any more unless they learned how to behave better... and u can also say that you dont appreciate them not coming home on time, and that it makes u feel uncomfortable...

i know truth seems the worst way to go.. but honesty is best policy and if u dont want to be lied to then u shouldnt lie to others

Answer 2

You should have thought about all that before you accepted the Friday afternoon gig and should have told her right then that you don't feel confident minding the 3 y.o. while you wait for the bus. It would have given the mom an additional week or so to find someone else to babysit. At this point, she might not be able to find anyone else and she might have waited months to get in to see her doctor so doesn't want to postponed that appointment. And, yes, flaking on Friday may jeopardize your reputation as a reliable person. How long after school do you have to babysit for? If it's only a short while, maybe you can invite a friend (but only one) to come over and help you which would make waiting for the bus a little less scary. And then once the woman comes home you and your friend can head over to the post-game hang out.

Answer 3

If you do not feel confident enough to tell her that you do not feel like you are the right person to baby-sit her children or if you are worried that it might make it difficult to find babysitting jobs with more suitable children let her know that something unexpected came up. Do you attend school? An assignment that you forgot was due. Or if you are older, a friend who is coming to town that you wrote down the wrong date for and they rang or emailed to say they'll see you on the same date you are meant to be babysitting. Or maybe you can rustle up another babysitting job at the last minute also on that day so you can have a more honest excuse ready. Preferably though, try and find a way to tell her the truth that you find her children beyond your capabilities and that maybe she should find someone else to baby-sit them. Maybe you know someone else who would be willing to baby-sit them. If you don't end the babysitting job, you will have to keep finding excuses and this will become more difficult as time passes.

Answer 4

Well...that's a toughie. I know that whenever I started to babysit a new family, if the kids were old enough I would sit down with them and tell them "the same rules you follow with your parents stand with me. I am the adult in charge and you have to listen to me."

I know that these kids might be a handful....but you really need to talk to the mom about the way her kids behave when they are with you. Maybe she can talk to the kids about their behavior while with you. Also ask if they can try to get home on time since 11 PM is on the late side and since you will be there for such a long time. Try that and see how Friday night goes...if it still doesn't go well after that tell them you are sorry and this arrangement just won't work out anymore. You really should give it one more chance.

Answer 5

From a moms point of view i would want to know my kids are walking all over the babysitter. If they act bad like that a mom NEEDS to know so she can fix it.

My son is 4 years old and i just recently started to go to college. Well i told the babysitter he had a issue or two but i wanted to stay on top of it and asked her to tell me when he had a bad day and what not. 3 weeks later she came to me and told me my son was hitting kicking spitting and all this other crap that made my blood boil, she said he had been acting like that the whole time.

So I took him home and made him rip every toy and spiderman thing out of his room, I told him if he had a good day he would get one thing back at a time.

At anyrate he has been a "normal" 4 year old for her ever sence, pretty much a angel with a rough spot here and there

Moral of the story, if the mom doesnt know their isnt a problem then she can never fix it or teach her child that that behaivior is unexceptable.

Just be honest with her and let her know that they act that way and you dont know how to deal with it and you want to know what she wants you to do when they act that way, Ill put money on it that she has no clue they act like that for you and once she knows they act that way she will move into action to change it.

Good Luck!! :)

Answer 6

Don't delay, Just tell her that sorry but you are not able to sit again for them this weekend and that you wanted to give her notice so that she can find someone else.

Then just be busy every time that she asks in future she will soon get the message. If she is really persistant about why say that you are not able to sit for the length of time she needs because of your own commitments. If she really pushes, say that she just has to know that you really don't enjoy sitting any more as you feel the children don't respond well to you as a sitter as you find their behaviour very difficult. No more explanation and be firm.

Dealing with kids is hard work and you need to keep them occupied properly to sit for them and not get problems. Maybe you should think of doing a course to help you. if you get childcare qualifications then you can charge more.

Answer 7

Go to her house and say, "Mrs. X, I really enjoy working with you but I need to be honest. There are several issues in this home which make me want to stop coming over here regularly. For instance, the children do not listen to me and I feel like I am unable to punish them for their insolence. Also, I would like you to either arrive home on-time, give me a call telling me you're running late, or just say you'll be home later than you plan. Perhaps if we work on these issues I could stay on, I really would like to but if not, or if you have another sitter who works better, I totally understand."

Honesty is hte best policy. She needs to know that she is raising brats that sitters don't want to deal with. She should also be made aware of how her schedule affects your schedule. A face-to-face, adult sit-down is the best bet.

Answer 8

To be honest.. I think you should watch them this last time and let her know that you will not be able to do it again. Tell her that you have decided that babysitting is not the best thing for you at this time and she will need to locate a new sitter after tonight. That way you will not let on a bad note and could remain friends if needed. Good luck.

Answer 9

I think that watching the kids twice a month so your Mom can get a break and be alone with her husband is a good thing. If you can't handle it find someone else to cover for you and pay them.
It sounds just a tad selfish that you to not want to help your Mom out, how old are you 14? you sound like a brat teenager not an adult.

Answer 10

Tell her flat out that you want more money for it or you arent babysitting her kids. Understand that babysitting is a buisness, and you can choose whatever clients and whatever price you want. For a client that has harder to manage kids, you should probably charge more. If she doesnt want to pay more than dont baby sit. Tell her you arent going to be taking the job.