Babysitting often comes off as the easiest teenage job, but many Staples students have found otherwise. If the awkward car rides home with the dad (“So…how’s school?”) weren’t enough, the shananagins of youngsters can be stressful to say the least. Of course, kids will be kids, but the term “kids” tends to be more commonly associated with “monsters.”
What babysitters go through rarely dignifies their pay – just take it from teenagers themselves. While they don’t strive to be Mary Poppins, Staples girls and boys, have had to deal with some pretty crazy situations.
After putting the kids to bed, Emma Berry ’15 plopped into a seat at the kitchen table, only to be soon greeted by the dark silouhette of a man in the doorway. She flicked on the fluorescent lights only to illuminate the lanky body that stood before her. A disheveled man, wearing jeans that had seen better days, glanced limply at her. She soon discovered the man was a relative of the family – one who didn’t speak English.
“We just stood there and stared at each other for a good 10 minutes,” says Berry.
On a scale of one to middle school relationships, that would rank a number nine on the awkward scale, hands down.
However, not talking is a blessing compared to the fight Elizabeth Coogan ’14 witnessed between two siblings. The little girl, clutching her favorite plush dog in her hand, went face to face with her brother.
Coogan used threats like “I’ll hide him so you’ll never ever find him again!” – cue the gasps from the audience – and the disagreement heated quickly.
Of course, the escalating name calling, with names such as ‘Poopy’ and ‘Buttface’, led to a nearly fatal quarrel. In fact, it escalated so quickly, the little girl ran out of the house to hide from her brother. Coogan searched for the little girl frantically, pacing back and forth across the backyard.
“I used every bribe I could think of: ice cream, television, an apology from her brother, but since she was mad, she wasn’t responding. I was pretty positive that she had been kidnapped or ran away,” said Coogan. Luckily, the little girl came back. “It was literally the most stressful five minutes of my babysitting career.”
Having a kid that you’re responsible for in danger is a babysitter’s worst nightmare. But what about a puppy?
Rachel Shapiro ’13 was babysitting one night for a sixth grader who had three dogs and a puppy. They were eating dinner when they started to smell something repulsive. About 30 minutes went by before they realized the puppy had diaherrea on not only the floor, but the curtains and the wall, as well.
“The little girl told me to leave it because she wasn’t sure what to clean it with,” says Shapiro. “But when I was leaving I had completely forgotten about it. As I’m about to close the door, I hear the father say ‘It smells like ****’. I felt so terrible that I didn’t tell them!”
Talk about a crappy situation.
The unexpected positions these girls were put in would’ve shaken any babysitter’s confidence. The job is not always kicking back on the sofa and watching T.V. while the kids play quietly upstairs.
“It’s just a lot of responsibility. You don’t really realize until you think about it,” says Katie Smith, ’14.
“You’re already watching the kids – throw a pet in there and you’re basically responsible for the most important things in the parents’ life.”
Taking responsibility for another person’s prized posessions comes with pressure, but also the capability to keep crazy situations at bay. Babysitting has its rewards, and it doesn’t hurt that these little “monsters” sure do make for great stories.
