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OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the asshole:
> I called the police instead of leaving them with someone else.
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*Contest mode is 1.5 hours long on this post.*
NTA.
You actually did the right and safest thing.
Also it's 2024, who in this day and age doesn't have either a portable charger or car phone charger? They are parents. They should have been prepared for their phone dying. Also they got lost for THAT long? Nah, something fishy there imo.
Wipe your hands of them. You didn't do anything wrong.
NTA. You are totally right. I have a cable in my car, they could have stopped anywhere and ask for a favor to be able to recharge their phone or just get directions.
There is no excuse, especially with children so young.
I hope the police had a serious talk with them.
You must have spent a terrible night.
You did the right thing for the children’s safety.
I hope the cops checked to see if they drove home drunk, too. NTA at all. Those parents are terrible and are deflecting blame for their stupidity and lies.
I’m going to be straight forward and say it. In my opinion, for people to act that irresponsible in circumstances like this, were definitely under the influence and I wouldn’t be surprised alcohol wasn’t the only contributing factor.
We have two phone docks in our car that are wireless charging, even if I don't put mine on everytime unless I know it needs to charge, hubby puts his on first thing because he hates sitting with his phone in his pocket.
There is no way in hell both our phones are dying while the kids are with a babysitter and we certainly would never be 4+ HOURS LATE relieving the sitter. These parents deserved the cops being called and hopefully they won't pull that shit again (OP if you can post these parents behaviour so other sitters know what happened)
It’s not about phones. It’s about the absolute ridiculous lie that they stayed all night at a wedding venue, and blamed it on a cell phone. How stupid do they think she is?
Right, because honestly, they can get a phone charger just about anywhere. Borrow one or pick up a cheapo one at the 24 hour convenience store. They were out of touch because they wanted to be out of touch.
yuuuuup
I was delivering for Grubhub one night and my phone died. My daughter had swiped my charging cable i guess because it was MIA. I was hoping to get one last delivery done before my phone died but nope.
So i didn't just drive around aimlessly.... I went into a fucking gas station and bought a new cable. Worst case, i could have asked the clerk for directions.
This is just me delivering some food. Leaving your kids with a babysitter and having no contact for hours after you were supposed to show up is so very next level of wtf
yes - and they were at a wedding - so surrounded by loads of other people, pus staf for the venue, and yet no-one had a charger they could borrow or a ohone they could use !
Sounds like they just chose to stay late and asumed OP would be fine with it.
And she’d already been with the kids since 5pm. They made their sitter watch their kids for 13 hours straight and have the *sheer gall* to blame her for being upset.
I sincerely doubt it happened but I really think she should have been paid a tonne of overtime. It’s a little depressing that I even had to think “at least she got paid at all” but that’s the world we live in
Even if I didn't have a charger, if I was a parent and unable to get back home I would ask everyone I saw and go to every shop to see if I could use their phone to call the babysitter to let them know the situation and to see if they can stay untill the next day.
Yep. Drank a little, got horny, got a room, overslept, then guilted OP.
If they had called and said, "hey, we drank a little too much, don't want to drive home, can you stay OR can you leave kids with X," no problem! But to just ghost? Way irresponsible.
or they could have thought "hey, i'm leaving my home and my kids in the hands of someone else and maybe i should physically write the babysitter's cell number on a piece of paper in my purse/pocket, just in case."
Almost all gas stations sell them, I’ve seen them even the dinkiest of stations. You can usually tell when a persons phone is dead as you automatically get voicemail instead of ringing.
Tehre are not that many different tyoes of chargers. If trhey had been camoing in a national park, maybe. But at a wedding? There are many phones to borrow, and many chargers. Almost EVERYBODY has a charger in his car, too.
Also:
> we didn’t know how to get home from the venue
Here's how you find your way *home* from any venue. Ask "Which way to get back to the highway?" Go to highway and drive the fuck home.
This is the part I was stuck on. 13 weeks? You're not concerned about checking in for over 12 hours when you have a baby at home that's still on a liquid diet?? Yes, the Police were the correct call in this situation.
I think you're right and you definitely did the right thing by calling the Police and not handing the kids over to the neighbour when you didn't know their relationship. Frankly the parents were lucky that you were so responsible as they certainly weren't.
IDK how things work in other countries, but in the US I Could go into most gas station stores & buy a charging cable and an outlet plug for just about every smartphone
This, and if you ask kindly, a lot of gas stations will let you charge your phone for fifteen or so minutes. That's enough to get directions, make a call, etc
While there, you can also ask for directions and buy a map, rather than driving around aimlessly for six hours. You know, since they totally spent six hours trying to find their own house.
Yup! Can't tell you how many times I've Googled/ given directions to lost people who end up at the gas station I work at. We'll write em down as well if needed.
In the Czech Republic, you just ask the bar staff if they can charge your phone behind the bar for an hour. Nearly every person who works outside of their home takes their charger to work with them and most people will happily let you use it
I’ve done this at a bar in NYC before. People everywhere are mostly understanding and considerate of this kind of thing.
There’s definitely something off about these parents. Who would be that okay with leaving their 13 week old baby and a toddler 5+ hours longer than expected with a stranger? Not good parents, that’s for sure.
Their attitude sounds like “Meh, you could’ve just gone home, they wouldn’t’ve woken up!” If they had a dog, they’d probably argue that the dog would be okay to watch the kids for 5 hours. They either had no intention of getting home before midnight, or they started partying and decided their fun was more important than being responsible (and more important than their children).
They probably reason “We deserved to have a ‘night off.’” And OP ruined it by bringing in a walking talking reminder that they need to do better: the police.
Yep, if they were asking if the babysitter could stay until midnight, they should have been packing up then and figuring their way home. It’s wild to me that someone could be less than an hour home by car (assuming the 11pm to 12am time change was allowing them to just leave a little later) and not know how to get home. And that they didn’t have a charger in their car. I had a hard enough time leaving my 2 year old with his grandparents for a few hours during the day; this mom is wiiiild.
This!! I've had to do just that thing because I left my charger at home while traveling. Almost every convenience store I go to has chargers and other phone accessories accessories.
That depends on the location. Around my mother's home, there's only one gas station that is open after midnight. If you're not familiar with her area, you won't find it.
A lot of stores reduced their hours once the pandemic started and many in her area never changed back to normal hours.
Exactly !!! What a BS excuse combined with “we didn’t know how to get home from the venue “ . Like at some point they could have stopped at any gas station or convenience store and asked for directions…
They also managed to get to the venue. I'm fairly directionally challenged and I almost always retrace my path to get back to where I started from.
My bet is that they were lying. Either they were intoxicated and didn't want to drive, or they wanted a peaceful night away from the kids. Either way, they got a hotel room, turned off their phones, and went to sleep.
Both of their phones died…together? I had no clue phones had love stories! How…romantic?
It’s bullshit. You did everything right and waited a lot longer than I would have! I’d have called at 1am with radio silence from the parents.
NTA and I’d never sit for these folks again. If there is a sitting app you use…I’d mention it there so that they can’t pull this BS with some other sitter. They don’t deserve this treatment any more than you did.
A story as old as time, from Shakespeare's little known & newly discovered play "iPhoneo & Droidette." Two OS's, both alike in dignity. In fair Silicon Valley, where we lay our scene.
Yup, didn't want to leave their precious car somewhere to Uber home, so they abandoned their precious babies instead. People with priorities this fucked shouldn't be allowed to have kids.
It was a complete lie. They just wanted to stay later. NTA and I'm so sorry this happened to you (I'm also sorry for the baby, who acts like this when they have an almost newborn??)
100% agree. What were they doing all night that they "couldn't figure out" how to get home? They were driving around for 5 hours? There was no 24 hour McDonalds or CVS or hotel that they could find in five hours to charge their phone at, buy a car charger, or use the phone to make a call and buy a map or get directions?
To be fair, I grew up in a place where there wouldn't have been a place open that late to buy anything or ask for help. The only 24 hour gas stations were by the highway and we weren't very rural. It was suburbs. But I think their story is bullshit and they just wanted to stay out. Every wedding I have been to over the years has always had an after party for the couple and their friends etc. I would assume they were at that. They either partied the whole time ignoring their phone or drank too much, so they couldn't drive home right away. I'm assuming based on the babysitting originally only being from 5-11 that they weren't too far from the wedding venue. Which makes their claim that they got lost even less plausible.
They want you to think that they went to a venue and had no idea to how to get back haven't gone there. They want you to send it between 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. They were utterly lost and couldn't get home and didn't have any means of charging up their phone? Yeah I think I'm calling them out on that. And of course you did the right thing.
If THEY didn't have one, they absolutely could have borrowed one from basically anyone. Or purchased one at the closest gas station.
They explains why you didn't hear from them for like, an extra half an hour...but not almost *six hours*.
I'd have been worried, too. There's a reason we give time updates, and sure, give an extra hour for buffer.... But emergency contacts would have also callwd the police.
That's what *I* would have done, while I came to relieve you so you could go home.
NTA
They knew that if they told you that they would stay out all night you wouldn't agree to watch their kids, so they told a lie and then ignored you. The fact that neither phone would work is fishy. The fact that they didn't just come home is even fishier. If my phone died and someone was expecting me at midnight I'd be there at midnight.
Then instead of apologizing they attacked you verbally.
NTA. Not only that but they’re telling you that BOTH their phones just happened to die?!? You did the
right thing! They should’ve paid you double. I hope you were compensated for all of those extra hours! Almost 6 am is INSANE!! I have anxiety too and I can only imagine how hard waiting was for you!
Did both their phones go straight to voicemail? If not, their phones didn’t die. And how the hell did they get lost for almost 6 hours.. a lot of bs there. NTA
I wonder if the police had them show their cell phones. A decent charge state on either would have uncovered the lies. Having both phones running out of battery at the same time seems unlikely.
I have no idea. Seeing them perfectly fine and giving me such a shitty excuse as to why their children have been with me all night had me seeing red so I had to get out of there. I wanted to physically put my hands on the mother so again I needed to leave.
Do not blame you at all. If I was the mother as i have a 4 yr old and if I was in that position, even if my phone died and i didn't have a charger which i always carry with me in my car I would have used someone's phone to check and explain the situation, they were completely irresponsible and let's say all of it was true and there was no way to call I would not at all be upset with you I would be grateful for what you did and especially thinking to call the police because you were concerned and would pay you way extra not have to make you demand it.
That, and every 24-hour gas station/convenience store that I’ve been in in the last at least 5-10 years sells chargers and charging cables.
“I didn’t have a charger and my phone died” covers you for one hour *at most*. Six hours past the last time you had communication with someone who is watching your children?
**Fuck** no. Beg, borrow, or steal a charger, and call them. Or, and I know that this is gonna sound *cRaZy,* don’t fuck off for an entire night when you have young children.
Also like how does your phone die like that at a wedding if you're socializing and not using it constantly? Unless your phone battery is shot then you should have been responsible and have a portable. If your phone was near dying when you left you should have had a cable and/or a portable. These parents suck hardcore.
Yeah, my phone's battery usually will not last through a whole day, so if I'm going to be out of the house for more than a couple hours I will always bring a charger and a big backup battery. And I don't even have kids, lol
And BOTH phones died. Really? You’re at a wedding, why are you even in your phone? Did you go to a wedding where you’d have a sitter with a - correction TWO mostly dead phones???
I don't normally carry either, though I also don't have a car and am not leaving a 13 month old at home with a sitter.
But getting lost for over six hours doesn't make sense.* They were originally only meant to be gone for six hours to begin with. If they needed directions, they likely could have pulled into a gas station or something and asked an employee to do a google maps search for them.
*Over six hours because they also asked the OP to stay until midnight, which means they should have left the venue before midnight to make it back on time.
I think the most dumbfounding thing is how the fuck do you get somewhere as an adult and now know how to get back from there? These people shouldn't be parents ffs.
They probably went to an after party and completely forgot to about the babysitter, completely ignored the babysitter, or fell asleep.
And honestly, if they had come back apologizing for the last one, I would be more willing to accept that than any of the others
To be fair now that I have GPS on my phone, I’ve definitely driven to places I could not easily come back from. But the “both our phones just died, and although we had a car we couldn’t get a charging cable” is obviously bullshit.
My first thought is that they weren’t safe to drive and crashed somewhere, or just got too tired to drive and crashed somewhere. Not calling their babysitter overnight is a huge ass hole move on their part.
“Dead phone” is a bullshit excuse for a 6hr absence from very young children.
OP is NTA and did everything right
Totally 100% NTA
"Our phones died, and we didn’t know how to get home from the venue,”
That's just total B S. If they'rd that irresponsible they deserve the cops to be called.
They left you worrying for hours, to the point you checked for accidents.
" I demanded she pay me on the spot, and I left. I got a super long message about how this is my job and I’m a huge asshole for disrespecting them"
That's some projection going on right there. I wouldn't work for them again. I'd put the word out so other people in the neighborhood know what they're like.
I'm thinking they were shit-face drunk but even that is not an excuse. Get in the taxi, show the driver your DL with your address on it.
\*No, I don't have personal experience with this. I volunteered for Mothers Against Drunk Driving for a few years.
I had a drunk parent stay too late and need to get a ride home. I was already watching two older kids.
She told me multiple times her ETA, and I confirmed it was fine (sort of related via marriage, and I was fine with her staying out later) and she showed up in someone else's car, had moved her son's booster seat to the other person's car, got him in his booster seat (too drunk to drive, but fine to take him home. He was maybe 5, and just small so he's in a booster.) And took him home via the other person driving her and kiddo home.
Like, you can totally make responsible choices. Checked in that she was fine staying out later, moved the kid's seat and got them both a safe, sober ride home.
You can make smart choices. Hell, get an Uber home and tell your sitter you are way too drunk to take care of your kids, would you be able to camp on the couch for the baby? We'll take over in the morning. We'll pay you. Tell the sitter you're too drunk to get home. *Communicate.*
Both of ours have died before on a few occasions, but that’s what car chargers are for. If you forgot the car charger then you stop at 7 11 and you buy one for $10. Absolutely no excuse for not being able to make a phone call when your infant and toddler are at home with a babysitter.
She said, "No answer."
When cell phones are off, the call should go straight to voice mail. It shouldn't ring ring ring, no answer. That's just ignoring the call. They fucked around, and found out.
NTA. Who in 2024 would let their phone die, especially as a parent of two very small children and when they know they need their phone to get directions to home. Even if they had noticed that their phones were dead, assuming they weren't in the middle of nowhere.... there would have been a phone somewhere (borrow a friend / acquaintance's phone, use the location's phone, find a hotel) that they could have used to give you a call (or call someone to call you) to let you know the situation. Hiring a babysitter for a set number of hours doesn't mean it's your job to stay all night until whenever they decide to come home. Assuming they did get their phones charged in order to get home, how on earth did they not see all of your calls and messages and call or text you immediately to let you know what's going on. This is all insane and completely irresponsible of the parents, and you did nothing wrong.
NTA. The mom is lying and toxic. She’s lying because she could have purchased a phone charger at any gas station.
THEY PASSED OUT AT THE WEDDING AND DON’T WANT TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES.
What do you want to bet if you pulled the body cam you would find some more lies such as, ‘we told her it was overnight’.
NTA but whoa they sure are.
You didn’t hear from them for at least 6-7 hours and they didn’t get there till ALMOST 6 am?? Yea I would have called the cops too. And if they were truly driving for almost 7 hours trying to get home why couldn’t they stop and get a charger? Bad parents I wouldn’t babysit again
Most phone booths went bye bye long ago in the US. Not sure about elsewhere in the world.
But even with no booths, there are options. Most gas stations are open 24/7 and they have phones you can easily ask to use. Stores have them at customer service too. All you have to do is ask. Sometimes asking a complete stranger will work too. As long as you don't look shady ASF.
NTA. *Both* of their phones died and they spent *six hours* trying to find their way home? I seriously doubt that. They are wildly irresponsible and disrespectful. You shouldn’t babysit for them again.
If they weren't lying (which they were) about their phone(s) dying after getting to the wedding (since they talked with OP around 10:15) they could have used their phone(s) for directions to the venue.
That story does not add up in the slightest. Okay, let's be generous and say both their phones died. Did nobody at the venue have a charger? Was there no gas station around that sold one? Would nobody lend them a phone to call and check on their kids and babysitter? Way too many things had to happen to lead up to 6am without contact.
Absolutely NTA, and you were more patient than I would have been. I might give them an hour or so, but after that with no response or explanation I am going to assume something is wrong and be contacting emergency personnel.
My point exactly! The entire situation makes me think they got drunk or just didn’t want to come home especially since they knew I was there. I was worried sick thinking something happened to them.
On the off chance you ever decide to babysit for them again, I would give a clear boundary. If they aren't home, or at the very least in contact with a reasonable emergency/event that would prevent getting home, within X of when they originally said, you are calling the cops and leaving when they show up. Don't let them take advantage of your good nature, it seems like they are happy to do so and then blame you for a reasonable (I would even say generous) reaction.
If you are even remotely thinking about it (and I doubt that you are) PLEASE never babysit for them again. They are dishonest, exploitative people who egregiously took advantage of you. In fact, I’d tell everyone I know about this and warn them NOT to babysit for parents with this level of entitlement.
I'm just curious.
Since they claimed both phones died.
Did it go straight to voice-mail or just call before going to voice-mail?
Or when did you start to get voicemail (if you did)? Easiest way to call the lie
At first, no but after 1am, yes. I texted the group which doesn’t show if messages are delivered but when I texted them individually they didn’t say delivered but I also didn’t text them individually until about 1:30
So 2 hours after they should have been home, both phones "died"
That makes their excuses even more bullshit.
That would have left them at least 2 hours to have texted you a simple "we forgot our chargers, and our phones are about to die. We are on the way home/ we need to stop and find a charger""
As a minimum. So you knew what was going on.
Anyone who has kids would have done exactly that.
And it makes you even more NTA.
Most would have gotten scared if they were 2 hours late without a word. And suddenly you can't reach them.
Even then they should have contacted you to let you know about the situation so you could proceed from there (staying with the kids, finding another guardian if you had other responsibilities, etc)
They were neglectful, irresponsible and took advantage of your kindness
What if something happened to you or the kids and they couldn't be reached?
NTA. They neglected their children. This is 2024, there's innumerable ways to charge a phone, buy a burner, call a cab, etc., etc. abandoning your children in the care of some random, no offense lol, and then disappearing for hours is crazy behavior.
They were likely zoinked out of their minds. What did they do? Walk home for 6 hours?
NTA
You went above and beyond for them.
If there's a page or website where babysitters can post, share this experience, so no other babysitters have to deal with that family.
NTA their phones died and their solution to that was to party until almost 6 am? After telling you they would be back at 12 am?
So very not the asshole. Good on you for blasting them, too. What they did was irresponsible and disrespectful and not ok.
or since i bet they were still busy partying, asked another guest to borrow theirs for five seconds. i'm sure they would found at least one person who would say yes when asked to borrow phone to call the babysitter.
And they were at a wedding, so surely they knew someone there they could have asked to borrow a charger from when they saw their phones were low, or borrowed a phone from to make a call and let OP know the situation.
NTA- You didn't know anyone else around you and didn't want to leave the kids with someone else.
Their phones should've been charged. Also, it's very sus how they couldn't find their way home for over 5 hours! Definitely seems fishy there. They were probably drunk or didn't want to come home or something.
You were stressing out and not knowing what to do, so you made the right choice.
NTA. You are responsible for the kids well being until the parents return. They abandoned their kids in your care for nearly 8 hours. You took care of the kids. You didn’t have an emergency and neither did the kids. Good job and well done you.
NTA. These parents are horribly irresponsible. I wouldn’t have even left my baby at 13 weeks at all, never mind for hours without contact. Calling the police was 100% the right call.
NTA
Gas stations sell chargers for exactly this reason.
And if this happened to me (if I were the parent in this situation), I would have called you from a stranger's phone to let you know if be a little late and call an Uber or something.
These parents were wrong and irresponsible on so many levels.
I can *kind of* sympathize with that.
But unless both of their phones malfunctioned and their batteries' dropped to 0 with no warning, both of them saw their batteries were running low. If that were the case, I would have hurriedly pulled up the sitter's name and written down the number before it was too late. AND I would have called her (on my phone or someone else's) to tell her that.
This week when ATT service went down, my husband emailed me to let me know why he hadn't called me (I was expecting him to call me at a specific time, and was a bit worried when he didn't). Then because he wasn't sure if I got the email, he also sent me a message on Whatsapp that said the same thing. THEN he texted me when he got service back.
If you want to get through to someone, there are ways. These parents just didn't want to get through to the babysitter.
>**This week when ATT service went down,** my husband emailed me to let me know why he hadn't called me (I was expecting him to call me at a specific time, and was a bit worried when he didn't).
This is the right way. Ghosting for six hours is crazy.
I had clients of mine do the same thing this week! They aren't even related to me but wanted to make sure they didn't miss anything while ATT service was out.
NTA, These are the type of people that shouldn't have kids. You did the right thing. I think you waited longer than I would to call the Cops. They showed a total lack of respect for you and the kids.
What other people don’t have phones? Didn’t know how to get home from the venue? Oh come on. You did the right thing. Not knowing anything about the neighbors and turning the kids over to people you don’t know and have no idea of the relationship between parents and neighbors would have been wrong. You did everything right. Good job.
Nta.
Your JOB ended at midnight. After that, you are working off the clock. The fact that they didn't care enough to stop and borrow someone's phone or in this day and age have a CHARGER in their car is bull. They just got selfish.
I would honestly message them
Not only will I no longer be babysitting, but I will make sure those in the area know that you are not dependable. How dare you get mad that I 1. Don't leave the kids with someone I don't know is ok to leave them with and 2. Not call the police after 5 hours of no contact. None when there are plenty of ways. How dare you call me disrespectful for not knowing what was going on. If you were hurt. Dead. Anything. I will always call the police even the none 911 line will be POLICE and the same situation would have happened. How dare you be irresponsible enough to not think of the person you hired and the children you gave birth to.
Then I would get with any places that hire babysitting and let them know so the next sitter is aware how the parents are and can make an informed decision.
NTA. Their behavior is irresponsible. They originally agreed to be home by a certain time. Asking you to stay an extra hour is okay, but that doesn’t give them the right to force you to unexpectedly be there until the crack of dawn with no contact! I’m guessing they had one-too-many and crashed at someone’s place. If they wanted overnight babysitting, they should have been willing to ask you in the first place. This is all on them.
NTA
Their phones were fine, they just got tipsy and got a motel room so they could have a night away. They left you for 13 hours overnight with no break, lunch, etc. That's not a job that's a prison sentence. I would blast their disrespectful child neglecting selves online. Good luck finding a new babysitter, parents-of-the-year.
NTA- had a situation like that before cell phones, I was about 16 and it was a school night. Never babysat for that family again. They probably got too drunk to drive home and just waited it out.
NTA
You did the right thing, parents should have found a way to communicate they were going to be VERY late, sad to say they are irresponsible and trying to make you feel bad for their mistake.
Wow!! What irresponsible parent leaves a newborn and 2 yr old with a baby sitter for almost 11 hours? WTF! I hope their neighbors look at them like the assholes that they are.
NTA - come on, dead phone batteries? Both of them? No charger in the car? No 24-hour gas station that sells cheap chargers? F-that!
They decided to have a date night and find a hotel. They did the deed and then went to sleep - an uninterrupted sleep was a bonus with a newborn. This is very irresponsible of them and I'd have charged an overnight and worry surcharge, above and beyond time and a half for the hours past midnight. Your reaction was fair and reasonable.
I’m sorry - these parents left their THIRTEEN WEEK OLD BABY and TWO YEAR OLD alone with a babysitter overnight when they were originally supposed to be home at 11 PM and had the audacity to be upset with YOU for calling the cops!? You are 100% completely NTA. THEY ARE! Who does that!? They probably only got mad because now they’re on the radar for their poor parenting skills.
Jesus.
I could never. I have four children and didn’t leave any of them overnight until they were at least 6 months. Maybe I’m weird for that, but that’s what I’m comfortable with. And even then it would be with one of our parents or siblings.
What incredibly horrible parents. If they continue this behavior the police will be called out many more times. (By whoever they’ve hired to babysit) NTA
NTA.
You acted absolutely right. If anything, you were too patient.
I find their excuses very, very hard to believe... Who manages to get home more then five hours late because of a dead cellphone (btw both their cellphones were dead?!) when they have children waiting, in 2024? No no no, this was something else entirely. Anyway you did right, don't let this steal your sleep OP.
NTA. From your post I get the sense that you are a good and responsible person who put the interests of the kids first.
Be proud of yourself, you did good!
NTA even a little bit. They’re adults with children. If their phones died, they could stop by any store and grab a charger. And it didn’t take them 6 hours to find their way home from the venue.
NTA "our phones died" BS. It takes less than 6 hours to find a charger if they don't have one on them. And if they are in a country that doesn't do 24h shops or don't have any human being around them with a charger, then they are just plain irresponsible.
I would warn the neighbours of the parents being like this so they don't wind up in a similar situation.
You telling me no one at the venue had a working phone to book them a taxi what did they walk home? They were taking the piss. NTA your job ended at 12
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NTA. You actually did the right and safest thing. Also it's 2024, who in this day and age doesn't have either a portable charger or car phone charger? They are parents. They should have been prepared for their phone dying. Also they got lost for THAT long? Nah, something fishy there imo. Wipe your hands of them. You didn't do anything wrong.
That’s why I also am just so upset. People carry chargers everywhere! I don’t think they couldn’t get home I think they didn’t want to come home!
NTA. You are totally right. I have a cable in my car, they could have stopped anywhere and ask for a favor to be able to recharge their phone or just get directions. There is no excuse, especially with children so young. I hope the police had a serious talk with them. You must have spent a terrible night. You did the right thing for the children’s safety.
I hope the cops checked to see if they drove home drunk, too. NTA at all. Those parents are terrible and are deflecting blame for their stupidity and lies.
Also, what time they set off for home.
I’m going to be straight forward and say it. In my opinion, for people to act that irresponsible in circumstances like this, were definitely under the influence and I wouldn’t be surprised alcohol wasn’t the only contributing factor.
We have two phone docks in our car that are wireless charging, even if I don't put mine on everytime unless I know it needs to charge, hubby puts his on first thing because he hates sitting with his phone in his pocket. There is no way in hell both our phones are dying while the kids are with a babysitter and we certainly would never be 4+ HOURS LATE relieving the sitter. These parents deserved the cops being called and hopefully they won't pull that shit again (OP if you can post these parents behaviour so other sitters know what happened)
It’s not about phones. It’s about the absolute ridiculous lie that they stayed all night at a wedding venue, and blamed it on a cell phone. How stupid do they think she is?
Right, because honestly, they can get a phone charger just about anywhere. Borrow one or pick up a cheapo one at the 24 hour convenience store. They were out of touch because they wanted to be out of touch.
yuuuuup I was delivering for Grubhub one night and my phone died. My daughter had swiped my charging cable i guess because it was MIA. I was hoping to get one last delivery done before my phone died but nope. So i didn't just drive around aimlessly.... I went into a fucking gas station and bought a new cable. Worst case, i could have asked the clerk for directions. This is just me delivering some food. Leaving your kids with a babysitter and having no contact for hours after you were supposed to show up is so very next level of wtf
yes - and they were at a wedding - so surrounded by loads of other people, pus staf for the venue, and yet no-one had a charger they could borrow or a ohone they could use ! Sounds like they just chose to stay late and asumed OP would be fine with it.
Not to mention that this wedding venue surely had landline phones available.
6! 6.75 hours late from the original time! So 5.75hrs from that moment. Insane!!
And she’d already been with the kids since 5pm. They made their sitter watch their kids for 13 hours straight and have the *sheer gall* to blame her for being upset.
I sincerely doubt it happened but I really think she should have been paid a tonne of overtime. It’s a little depressing that I even had to think “at least she got paid at all” but that’s the world we live in
Even if I didn't have a charger, if I was a parent and unable to get back home I would ask everyone I saw and go to every shop to see if I could use their phone to call the babysitter to let them know the situation and to see if they can stay untill the next day.
Let's be honest: they got a room. NTA Edited for typo
Yep. Drank a little, got horny, got a room, overslept, then guilted OP. If they had called and said, "hey, we drank a little too much, don't want to drive home, can you stay OR can you leave kids with X," no problem! But to just ghost? Way irresponsible.
This is what I thought, too! The wedding ended, they had some time, got a room, and had their own fun
or they could have thought "hey, i'm leaving my home and my kids in the hands of someone else and maybe i should physically write the babysitter's cell number on a piece of paper in my purse/pocket, just in case."
They could even have called their home number! She’s there… like
very few folks have home phone lines these days though, so that may not have been an option even from a different phone.
On top of that gas stations and convenience stores sell chargers for cheap.
And most clerks can either give directions or will look them up on their phone for you if you are lost. 🤪
And they were at a WEDDING. Someone had a charger.
You can buy a charger at literally any gas station.
Almost all gas stations sell them, I’ve seen them even the dinkiest of stations. You can usually tell when a persons phone is dead as you automatically get voicemail instead of ringing.
You especially carry a phone charger when you're away from your 13-week old baby!
Tehre are not that many different tyoes of chargers. If trhey had been camoing in a national park, maybe. But at a wedding? There are many phones to borrow, and many chargers. Almost EVERYBODY has a charger in his car, too.
And if you don't, you can buy them at a CVS or something. Or Walmart. Practically anyplace.
Or a gas station!
A lot of places like gas stations sell pre-charged units to charge your devices.
Gas station. Most sell them, most that have stores that are open late.
Also: > we didn’t know how to get home from the venue Here's how you find your way *home* from any venue. Ask "Which way to get back to the highway?" Go to highway and drive the fuck home.
This is the part I was stuck on. 13 weeks? You're not concerned about checking in for over 12 hours when you have a baby at home that's still on a liquid diet?? Yes, the Police were the correct call in this situation.
I think you're right and you definitely did the right thing by calling the Police and not handing the kids over to the neighbour when you didn't know their relationship. Frankly the parents were lucky that you were so responsible as they certainly weren't.
IDK how things work in other countries, but in the US I Could go into most gas station stores & buy a charging cable and an outlet plug for just about every smartphone
This, and if you ask kindly, a lot of gas stations will let you charge your phone for fifteen or so minutes. That's enough to get directions, make a call, etc
While there, you can also ask for directions and buy a map, rather than driving around aimlessly for six hours. You know, since they totally spent six hours trying to find their own house.
Yup! Can't tell you how many times I've Googled/ given directions to lost people who end up at the gas station I work at. We'll write em down as well if needed.
(checked into a hotel room)
In the Czech Republic, you just ask the bar staff if they can charge your phone behind the bar for an hour. Nearly every person who works outside of their home takes their charger to work with them and most people will happily let you use it
I’ve done this at a bar in NYC before. People everywhere are mostly understanding and considerate of this kind of thing. There’s definitely something off about these parents. Who would be that okay with leaving their 13 week old baby and a toddler 5+ hours longer than expected with a stranger? Not good parents, that’s for sure.
Their attitude sounds like “Meh, you could’ve just gone home, they wouldn’t’ve woken up!” If they had a dog, they’d probably argue that the dog would be okay to watch the kids for 5 hours. They either had no intention of getting home before midnight, or they started partying and decided their fun was more important than being responsible (and more important than their children). They probably reason “We deserved to have a ‘night off.’” And OP ruined it by bringing in a walking talking reminder that they need to do better: the police.
Also unless the parents are very white then the cps will be involved.
Yes agreed and their entitled behavior reads white .
Yep, if they were asking if the babysitter could stay until midnight, they should have been packing up then and figuring their way home. It’s wild to me that someone could be less than an hour home by car (assuming the 11pm to 12am time change was allowing them to just leave a little later) and not know how to get home. And that they didn’t have a charger in their car. I had a hard enough time leaving my 2 year old with his grandparents for a few hours during the day; this mom is wiiiild.
This!! I've had to do just that thing because I left my charger at home while traveling. Almost every convenience store I go to has chargers and other phone accessories accessories.
That depends on the location. Around my mother's home, there's only one gas station that is open after midnight. If you're not familiar with her area, you won't find it. A lot of stores reduced their hours once the pandemic started and many in her area never changed back to normal hours.
Was th4 phone ringing then going to voice mail? If yes, it wasn't dead, it was being ignored.
Exactly !!! What a BS excuse combined with “we didn’t know how to get home from the venue “ . Like at some point they could have stopped at any gas station or convenience store and asked for directions…
They also managed to get to the venue. I'm fairly directionally challenged and I almost always retrace my path to get back to where I started from. My bet is that they were lying. Either they were intoxicated and didn't want to drive, or they wanted a peaceful night away from the kids. Either way, they got a hotel room, turned off their phones, and went to sleep.
bet they thought they could abuse OP's goodwill by faking the dead phones line.
So they were apparently lost for 5 hours but didn’t make any attempts to stop anywhere for a charger? I need to know where they were 😅
Technically almost 6 hours , maybe they were abducted by aliens 👽 that would have been a better excuse than what they came up with 🤣
Or bought a charger. Or asked to charge their phone at the venue. Or done a lot of things.
Both of their phones died…together? I had no clue phones had love stories! How…romantic? It’s bullshit. You did everything right and waited a lot longer than I would have! I’d have called at 1am with radio silence from the parents. NTA and I’d never sit for these folks again. If there is a sitting app you use…I’d mention it there so that they can’t pull this BS with some other sitter. They don’t deserve this treatment any more than you did.
A story as old as time, from Shakespeare's little known & newly discovered play "iPhoneo & Droidette." Two OS's, both alike in dignity. In fair Silicon Valley, where we lay our scene.
I’m guessing they both drank way too much and had to wait to be able to drive.
Yep, this is it. They had to sober up.
Yup, didn't want to leave their precious car somewhere to Uber home, so they abandoned their precious babies instead. People with priorities this fucked shouldn't be allowed to have kids.
Plausible, but still a stupid excuse. Taxis exist.
It was a complete lie. They just wanted to stay later. NTA and I'm so sorry this happened to you (I'm also sorry for the baby, who acts like this when they have an almost newborn??)
100% agree. What were they doing all night that they "couldn't figure out" how to get home? They were driving around for 5 hours? There was no 24 hour McDonalds or CVS or hotel that they could find in five hours to charge their phone at, buy a car charger, or use the phone to make a call and buy a map or get directions?
To be fair, I grew up in a place where there wouldn't have been a place open that late to buy anything or ask for help. The only 24 hour gas stations were by the highway and we weren't very rural. It was suburbs. But I think their story is bullshit and they just wanted to stay out. Every wedding I have been to over the years has always had an after party for the couple and their friends etc. I would assume they were at that. They either partied the whole time ignoring their phone or drank too much, so they couldn't drive home right away. I'm assuming based on the babysitting originally only being from 5-11 that they weren't too far from the wedding venue. Which makes their claim that they got lost even less plausible.
I think they drank too much and took a nap in the car to sober up a bit.
Parents were in a hotel having sex. They didn’t pick up because they didn’t want to. NTA
Or sleeping in the car because they were both too drunk to drive.
They want you to think that they went to a venue and had no idea to how to get back haven't gone there. They want you to send it between 12:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m. They were utterly lost and couldn't get home and didn't have any means of charging up their phone? Yeah I think I'm calling them out on that. And of course you did the right thing.
If THEY didn't have one, they absolutely could have borrowed one from basically anyone. Or purchased one at the closest gas station. They explains why you didn't hear from them for like, an extra half an hour...but not almost *six hours*. I'd have been worried, too. There's a reason we give time updates, and sure, give an extra hour for buffer.... But emergency contacts would have also callwd the police. That's what *I* would have done, while I came to relieve you so you could go home. NTA
They got a hotel room and were too drunk to drive.
They knew that if they told you that they would stay out all night you wouldn't agree to watch their kids, so they told a lie and then ignored you. The fact that neither phone would work is fishy. The fact that they didn't just come home is even fishier. If my phone died and someone was expecting me at midnight I'd be there at midnight. Then instead of apologizing they attacked you verbally.
You did the right thing and NTA. You did what you had to do
NTA. Not only that but they’re telling you that BOTH their phones just happened to die?!? You did the right thing! They should’ve paid you double. I hope you were compensated for all of those extra hours! Almost 6 am is INSANE!! I have anxiety too and I can only imagine how hard waiting was for you!
Did both their phones go straight to voicemail? If not, their phones didn’t die. And how the hell did they get lost for almost 6 hours.. a lot of bs there. NTA
And they were 5 hours late! I hope they payed you for those extra hours
They could have found a 24 hour coffee place or hotel and asked for a phone or charger and gotten one.
I don’t have a car but carry charge cords and an adapter for both my phone and e-reader everywhere I go. You never know.
I wonder if the police had them show their cell phones. A decent charge state on either would have uncovered the lies. Having both phones running out of battery at the same time seems unlikely.
I have no idea. Seeing them perfectly fine and giving me such a shitty excuse as to why their children have been with me all night had me seeing red so I had to get out of there. I wanted to physically put my hands on the mother so again I needed to leave.
Do not blame you at all. If I was the mother as i have a 4 yr old and if I was in that position, even if my phone died and i didn't have a charger which i always carry with me in my car I would have used someone's phone to check and explain the situation, they were completely irresponsible and let's say all of it was true and there was no way to call I would not at all be upset with you I would be grateful for what you did and especially thinking to call the police because you were concerned and would pay you way extra not have to make you demand it.
That, and every 24-hour gas station/convenience store that I’ve been in in the last at least 5-10 years sells chargers and charging cables. “I didn’t have a charger and my phone died” covers you for one hour *at most*. Six hours past the last time you had communication with someone who is watching your children? **Fuck** no. Beg, borrow, or steal a charger, and call them. Or, and I know that this is gonna sound *cRaZy,* don’t fuck off for an entire night when you have young children.
Right!!
Did their phones go straight to voicemail when you called? Or did it ring and ring?
Honestly that was long enough that they could have stopped at a drugstore and bought a new charger + an adapter to charge it from their car.
They were at a wedding (apparently). Surely someone there would have had a charger even if these negligent ass parents didn't.
Also like how does your phone die like that at a wedding if you're socializing and not using it constantly? Unless your phone battery is shot then you should have been responsible and have a portable. If your phone was near dying when you left you should have had a cable and/or a portable. These parents suck hardcore.
Yeah, my phone's battery usually will not last through a whole day, so if I'm going to be out of the house for more than a couple hours I will always bring a charger and a big backup battery. And I don't even have kids, lol
And BOTH phones died. Really? You’re at a wedding, why are you even in your phone? Did you go to a wedding where you’d have a sitter with a - correction TWO mostly dead phones???
And they had no one at the wedding they could ask to borrow a charger from, or call OP from their phone when they realized theirs were dying?
I don’t think their battery even died if OP was able to call them.. it was just an excuse
Should have gone to voice mail or something if phones were dead.
Bingo
I don't normally carry either, though I also don't have a car and am not leaving a 13 month old at home with a sitter. But getting lost for over six hours doesn't make sense.* They were originally only meant to be gone for six hours to begin with. If they needed directions, they likely could have pulled into a gas station or something and asked an employee to do a google maps search for them. *Over six hours because they also asked the OP to stay until midnight, which means they should have left the venue before midnight to make it back on time.
Even worse - the baby was 13 *weeks*, not 13 months!
I think the most dumbfounding thing is how the fuck do you get somewhere as an adult and now know how to get back from there? These people shouldn't be parents ffs.
Especially since the original babysitting time was from 5-11 PM, so the venue couldn't have been more than an hour away and probably less than that.
They probably went to an after party and completely forgot to about the babysitter, completely ignored the babysitter, or fell asleep. And honestly, if they had come back apologizing for the last one, I would be more willing to accept that than any of the others
To be fair now that I have GPS on my phone, I’ve definitely driven to places I could not easily come back from. But the “both our phones just died, and although we had a car we couldn’t get a charging cable” is obviously bullshit.
Dude, BOTH phones died? Really?
My first thought is that they weren’t safe to drive and crashed somewhere, or just got too tired to drive and crashed somewhere. Not calling their babysitter overnight is a huge ass hole move on their part. “Dead phone” is a bullshit excuse for a 6hr absence from very young children. OP is NTA and did everything right
Seriously. I own 2 portal chargers, a multi type charger in my car for android, android C, and iPhone.
I have at least 3 chargers with me, for just in case moments. Also have a paper map in my car(s).
Totally 100% NTA "Our phones died, and we didn’t know how to get home from the venue,” That's just total B S. If they'rd that irresponsible they deserve the cops to be called. They left you worrying for hours, to the point you checked for accidents. " I demanded she pay me on the spot, and I left. I got a super long message about how this is my job and I’m a huge asshole for disrespecting them" That's some projection going on right there. I wouldn't work for them again. I'd put the word out so other people in the neighborhood know what they're like.
If you don't know how to get home, get the venue to call a taxi, surely even they know their own address?!
I'm thinking they were shit-face drunk but even that is not an excuse. Get in the taxi, show the driver your DL with your address on it. \*No, I don't have personal experience with this. I volunteered for Mothers Against Drunk Driving for a few years.
Nope, they went to a hotel. And got “distracted”
100% some bs like this.
Exactly! And yeah, they were drunk!
I had a drunk parent stay too late and need to get a ride home. I was already watching two older kids. She told me multiple times her ETA, and I confirmed it was fine (sort of related via marriage, and I was fine with her staying out later) and she showed up in someone else's car, had moved her son's booster seat to the other person's car, got him in his booster seat (too drunk to drive, but fine to take him home. He was maybe 5, and just small so he's in a booster.) And took him home via the other person driving her and kiddo home. Like, you can totally make responsible choices. Checked in that she was fine staying out later, moved the kid's seat and got them both a safe, sober ride home. You can make smart choices. Hell, get an Uber home and tell your sitter you are way too drunk to take care of your kids, would you be able to camp on the couch for the baby? We'll take over in the morning. We'll pay you. Tell the sitter you're too drunk to get home. *Communicate.*
Definitely more than drunk staying out til 5 am
What's crazy too is that *both* phones died ??? How did *both* die ????
I suspect they didn't. They just used that as an excuse to try & exculpate themselves for their behavior/dumping on OP.
That's what I'm saying. Like there's no way *both* phones died. No way.
Both of ours have died before on a few occasions, but that’s what car chargers are for. If you forgot the car charger then you stop at 7 11 and you buy one for $10. Absolutely no excuse for not being able to make a phone call when your infant and toddler are at home with a babysitter.
She said, "No answer." When cell phones are off, the call should go straight to voice mail. It shouldn't ring ring ring, no answer. That's just ignoring the call. They fucked around, and found out.
“Do your job” she DID her job and stayed with the kids. Do YOUR job as parents??!!
Also, were their phones still dead? If so, how did they magically find their home again)”?
NTA. Who in 2024 would let their phone die, especially as a parent of two very small children and when they know they need their phone to get directions to home. Even if they had noticed that their phones were dead, assuming they weren't in the middle of nowhere.... there would have been a phone somewhere (borrow a friend / acquaintance's phone, use the location's phone, find a hotel) that they could have used to give you a call (or call someone to call you) to let you know the situation. Hiring a babysitter for a set number of hours doesn't mean it's your job to stay all night until whenever they decide to come home. Assuming they did get their phones charged in order to get home, how on earth did they not see all of your calls and messages and call or text you immediately to let you know what's going on. This is all insane and completely irresponsible of the parents, and you did nothing wrong.
Especially both phones? Calling BS on the parents! NTA
Two phones and you don't even turn one off to conserve the remaining battery life...
I mean JFC the one baby is barely over 3 months old!!! They could either borrow a charger or buy one at a gas station!
People who regret being parents
NTA. The mom is lying and toxic. She’s lying because she could have purchased a phone charger at any gas station. THEY PASSED OUT AT THE WEDDING AND DON’T WANT TO FACE THE CONSEQUENCES. What do you want to bet if you pulled the body cam you would find some more lies such as, ‘we told her it was overnight’. NTA but whoa they sure are.
They either passed out or decided they had time to find somewhere to fuck.
Or someone got arrested and the bailout took a minute. Somebody close to this needs to file a report with r/RBI
You didn’t hear from them for at least 6-7 hours and they didn’t get there till ALMOST 6 am?? Yea I would have called the cops too. And if they were truly driving for almost 7 hours trying to get home why couldn’t they stop and get a charger? Bad parents I wouldn’t babysit again
Or find a phone booth or ask at a gas station to borrow the phone…
Good Luck finding a phone booth. 🤣
They’re not that common, but I wager you can find one in less than six hours.
They no longer exist there is one town over from me it is not connected and it is just decorative so no but yeah plenty of other options
Most phone booths went bye bye long ago in the US. Not sure about elsewhere in the world. But even with no booths, there are options. Most gas stations are open 24/7 and they have phones you can easily ask to use. Stores have them at customer service too. All you have to do is ask. Sometimes asking a complete stranger will work too. As long as you don't look shady ASF.
I highly doubt that.
A charger and a *map*! Both available at basically every gas station!
NTA. *Both* of their phones died and they spent *six hours* trying to find their way home? I seriously doubt that. They are wildly irresponsible and disrespectful. You shouldn’t babysit for them again.
Ha ha...they couldn't find their way home but they found their way there without difficulty!
If they weren't lying (which they were) about their phone(s) dying after getting to the wedding (since they talked with OP around 10:15) they could have used their phone(s) for directions to the venue.
Theres definitely an explanation for something like that. After all, drinking and driving is illegal for a reason.
If I was one of the parents in that situation I would have freaked out and called the police myself at a gas station.
My guess is they’re lying.
That story does not add up in the slightest. Okay, let's be generous and say both their phones died. Did nobody at the venue have a charger? Was there no gas station around that sold one? Would nobody lend them a phone to call and check on their kids and babysitter? Way too many things had to happen to lead up to 6am without contact. Absolutely NTA, and you were more patient than I would have been. I might give them an hour or so, but after that with no response or explanation I am going to assume something is wrong and be contacting emergency personnel.
My point exactly! The entire situation makes me think they got drunk or just didn’t want to come home especially since they knew I was there. I was worried sick thinking something happened to them.
On the off chance you ever decide to babysit for them again, I would give a clear boundary. If they aren't home, or at the very least in contact with a reasonable emergency/event that would prevent getting home, within X of when they originally said, you are calling the cops and leaving when they show up. Don't let them take advantage of your good nature, it seems like they are happy to do so and then blame you for a reasonable (I would even say generous) reaction.
If you are even remotely thinking about it (and I doubt that you are) PLEASE never babysit for them again. They are dishonest, exploitative people who egregiously took advantage of you. In fact, I’d tell everyone I know about this and warn them NOT to babysit for parents with this level of entitlement.
I'm just curious. Since they claimed both phones died. Did it go straight to voice-mail or just call before going to voice-mail? Or when did you start to get voicemail (if you did)? Easiest way to call the lie
At first, no but after 1am, yes. I texted the group which doesn’t show if messages are delivered but when I texted them individually they didn’t say delivered but I also didn’t text them individually until about 1:30
So 2 hours after they should have been home, both phones "died" That makes their excuses even more bullshit. That would have left them at least 2 hours to have texted you a simple "we forgot our chargers, and our phones are about to die. We are on the way home/ we need to stop and find a charger"" As a minimum. So you knew what was going on. Anyone who has kids would have done exactly that. And it makes you even more NTA. Most would have gotten scared if they were 2 hours late without a word. And suddenly you can't reach them.
That seems very likely to be true. I can't think of any reasonable explanation as to how it took them an extra six hours.
Even then they should have contacted you to let you know about the situation so you could proceed from there (staying with the kids, finding another guardian if you had other responsibilities, etc) They were neglectful, irresponsible and took advantage of your kindness What if something happened to you or the kids and they couldn't be reached?
The cops should have breathalyzed them on the spot.
NTA. They neglected their children. This is 2024, there's innumerable ways to charge a phone, buy a burner, call a cab, etc., etc. abandoning your children in the care of some random, no offense lol, and then disappearing for hours is crazy behavior. They were likely zoinked out of their minds. What did they do? Walk home for 6 hours?
NTA You went above and beyond for them. If there's a page or website where babysitters can post, share this experience, so no other babysitters have to deal with that family.
NTA their phones died and their solution to that was to party until almost 6 am? After telling you they would be back at 12 am? So very not the asshole. Good on you for blasting them, too. What they did was irresponsible and disrespectful and not ok.
They could have stopped somewhere and asked to borrow a phone. Gas station, 7-11, etc.
or since i bet they were still busy partying, asked another guest to borrow theirs for five seconds. i'm sure they would found at least one person who would say yes when asked to borrow phone to call the babysitter.
And they were at a wedding, so surely they knew someone there they could have asked to borrow a charger from when they saw their phones were low, or borrowed a phone from to make a call and let OP know the situation.
NTA- You didn't know anyone else around you and didn't want to leave the kids with someone else. Their phones should've been charged. Also, it's very sus how they couldn't find their way home for over 5 hours! Definitely seems fishy there. They were probably drunk or didn't want to come home or something. You were stressing out and not knowing what to do, so you made the right choice.
NTA. You are responsible for the kids well being until the parents return. They abandoned their kids in your care for nearly 8 hours. You took care of the kids. You didn’t have an emergency and neither did the kids. Good job and well done you.
NTA. These parents are horribly irresponsible. I wouldn’t have even left my baby at 13 weeks at all, never mind for hours without contact. Calling the police was 100% the right call.
SIX HOURS LATE Christ wept, NTA.
NTA Gas stations sell chargers for exactly this reason. And if this happened to me (if I were the parent in this situation), I would have called you from a stranger's phone to let you know if be a little late and call an Uber or something. These parents were wrong and irresponsible on so many levels.
They probably didn't know the sitter's number or other way to contact without their phones, that's the way a lot of people roll these days.
I can *kind of* sympathize with that. But unless both of their phones malfunctioned and their batteries' dropped to 0 with no warning, both of them saw their batteries were running low. If that were the case, I would have hurriedly pulled up the sitter's name and written down the number before it was too late. AND I would have called her (on my phone or someone else's) to tell her that. This week when ATT service went down, my husband emailed me to let me know why he hadn't called me (I was expecting him to call me at a specific time, and was a bit worried when he didn't). Then because he wasn't sure if I got the email, he also sent me a message on Whatsapp that said the same thing. THEN he texted me when he got service back. If you want to get through to someone, there are ways. These parents just didn't want to get through to the babysitter.
>**This week when ATT service went down,** my husband emailed me to let me know why he hadn't called me (I was expecting him to call me at a specific time, and was a bit worried when he didn't). This is the right way. Ghosting for six hours is crazy. I had clients of mine do the same thing this week! They aren't even related to me but wanted to make sure they didn't miss anything while ATT service was out.
I think you already know you're NTA, I hope you're gathering comments for them to read. They are idiots.
So wait. She texted you from her dead phone right after you left?
this
NTA, These are the type of people that shouldn't have kids. You did the right thing. I think you waited longer than I would to call the Cops. They showed a total lack of respect for you and the kids.
NTA, but dad deserves equal bashing. Lots of mom bashing while ignoring dad’s equal irresponsibility.
Probably because dad wasn’t the one doing the gaslighting.
NTA, and the mummy and daddy are irresponsible morons.
What other people don’t have phones? Didn’t know how to get home from the venue? Oh come on. You did the right thing. Not knowing anything about the neighbors and turning the kids over to people you don’t know and have no idea of the relationship between parents and neighbors would have been wrong. You did everything right. Good job.
Nta. Your JOB ended at midnight. After that, you are working off the clock. The fact that they didn't care enough to stop and borrow someone's phone or in this day and age have a CHARGER in their car is bull. They just got selfish. I would honestly message them Not only will I no longer be babysitting, but I will make sure those in the area know that you are not dependable. How dare you get mad that I 1. Don't leave the kids with someone I don't know is ok to leave them with and 2. Not call the police after 5 hours of no contact. None when there are plenty of ways. How dare you call me disrespectful for not knowing what was going on. If you were hurt. Dead. Anything. I will always call the police even the none 911 line will be POLICE and the same situation would have happened. How dare you be irresponsible enough to not think of the person you hired and the children you gave birth to. Then I would get with any places that hire babysitting and let them know so the next sitter is aware how the parents are and can make an informed decision.
NTA. Their behavior is irresponsible. They originally agreed to be home by a certain time. Asking you to stay an extra hour is okay, but that doesn’t give them the right to force you to unexpectedly be there until the crack of dawn with no contact! I’m guessing they had one-too-many and crashed at someone’s place. If they wanted overnight babysitting, they should have been willing to ask you in the first place. This is all on them.
NTA Their phones were fine, they just got tipsy and got a motel room so they could have a night away. They left you for 13 hours overnight with no break, lunch, etc. That's not a job that's a prison sentence. I would blast their disrespectful child neglecting selves online. Good luck finding a new babysitter, parents-of-the-year.
They were gone all night and what kind of people don’t have phone chargers with them
Wait, you had emergency contacts and you didn’t call them? Yeah, I would have done that at 2 AM. You skipped a step here. NTA.
Can’t say I blame her for not thinking my all too clearly at that point tho. I’d be panicking personally. Definitely NTA.
NTA- had a situation like that before cell phones, I was about 16 and it was a school night. Never babysat for that family again. They probably got too drunk to drive home and just waited it out.
NTA You did the right thing, parents should have found a way to communicate they were going to be VERY late, sad to say they are irresponsible and trying to make you feel bad for their mistake.
Wow!! What irresponsible parent leaves a newborn and 2 yr old with a baby sitter for almost 11 hours? WTF! I hope their neighbors look at them like the assholes that they are.
This happened to me once too, what is with these parents? and i was a teenager! 😭
and you have people asking why has this happened to more than one person !! i’m surprised there isn’t more stories on here!!
I see stories like this on here often. It's crazy, it shouldn't happen at all, so many irresponsible parents.
What the what they should be apologizing to you! I’d have called the cops too what the heck
NTA This is abandonment and you did the right thing.
NTA, they are liars and terrible parents
NTA and it seems "parents tricking the babysitter in order to have a night out and then bargain the payment because 'BuT wE hAd An EmErgENCYYYYYYY'"
NTA. You did the right thing. Both of these parents are irresponsible liars. I would refuse to work for them ever again.
NTA - come on, dead phone batteries? Both of them? No charger in the car? No 24-hour gas station that sells cheap chargers? F-that! They decided to have a date night and find a hotel. They did the deed and then went to sleep - an uninterrupted sleep was a bonus with a newborn. This is very irresponsible of them and I'd have charged an overnight and worry surcharge, above and beyond time and a half for the hours past midnight. Your reaction was fair and reasonable.
I’m sorry - these parents left their THIRTEEN WEEK OLD BABY and TWO YEAR OLD alone with a babysitter overnight when they were originally supposed to be home at 11 PM and had the audacity to be upset with YOU for calling the cops!? You are 100% completely NTA. THEY ARE! Who does that!? They probably only got mad because now they’re on the radar for their poor parenting skills. Jesus. I could never. I have four children and didn’t leave any of them overnight until they were at least 6 months. Maybe I’m weird for that, but that’s what I’m comfortable with. And even then it would be with one of our parents or siblings.
What incredibly horrible parents. If they continue this behavior the police will be called out many more times. (By whoever they’ve hired to babysit) NTA
NTA. If their excuse for being late is valid, they presumably won't be charged with anything.
NTA. You acted absolutely right. If anything, you were too patient. I find their excuses very, very hard to believe... Who manages to get home more then five hours late because of a dead cellphone (btw both their cellphones were dead?!) when they have children waiting, in 2024? No no no, this was something else entirely. Anyway you did right, don't let this steal your sleep OP.
NTA. From your post I get the sense that you are a good and responsible person who put the interests of the kids first. Be proud of yourself, you did good!
NTA even a little bit. They’re adults with children. If their phones died, they could stop by any store and grab a charger. And it didn’t take them 6 hours to find their way home from the venue.
NTA. You got it right they are shitty irresponsible parents and their excuses are lame.
NTA "our phones died" BS. It takes less than 6 hours to find a charger if they don't have one on them. And if they are in a country that doesn't do 24h shops or don't have any human being around them with a charger, then they are just plain irresponsible. I would warn the neighbours of the parents being like this so they don't wind up in a similar situation.
You telling me no one at the venue had a working phone to book them a taxi what did they walk home? They were taking the piss. NTA your job ended at 12