Despite an otherwise pleasant weekend, I'm more than a little unhappy with our babysitter. She's in her late twenties and very smart, but has problems holding down jobs, mostly, I think, because she's so bossy.
I normally don't mind her bossiness, though we did have words several years ago when she decided to tell me how she didn't approve of how I loaded my dishwasher. Since then, well, she has her moods, but everything was fine until last night.
DH and I went out for my birthday, then to a club to hear some jazz. This is high living for us. Our usual Saturday night is something off the grill and a library rental DVD.
When we got home, the sitter announced that she'd decided to "clean out" the freezer. We'd bought some rotisserie chicken and veggies for her and DD for dinner, as well as cake. But she was looking for a popsicle in the freezer and decided that some of the things in there should be thrown away.
I always freeze chicken scraps, bones, vegetable parings etc for homemade soup stock. She emptied all those bags and threw that away. The frozen bananas for banana bread--also gone. That made me pretty mad, but today, I realized she'd also moved five or six packages of meat from the freezer to the fridge, and now it was all thawed and needed to be cooked immediately. So much for my peaceful Sunday. I've been braising beef, frying sausages, and making stock. If she appeared on my doorstep right now, I'm afraid I might stick her head in the stock. Has anyone run into this odd control freak behavior from a sitter before?
She's great with DD, but man alive, I've had it with her right now.
A Bit Outraged
September 12th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
September 12th, 2010 at 11:22 pm 1284333773
Is your babysitter your parent or your partner's parent--someone who thinks they are the wise adult and you the foolish child? If so, they need some adjustment and to be told to butt out. If this babysitter is not even a family member, I think they have a screw loose. It sounds bad enough that I would worry about leaving a child with them. You've used their sitting services for years?
September 12th, 2010 at 11:54 pm 1284335673
September 13th, 2010 at 12:15 am 1284336930
If you don't think her behavior would ever affect your kids, and you want to keep her on, I'd just sit her down and explain that you don't ever want her to do anything like that again. Tell her about the wasted food, your intentions for the broth and bananas; everything. If she doesn't agree not to meddle again, then I guess you have a bigger problem. But I wouldn't just let something like this go, because it could escalate into even weirder, more entitled actions.
Good luck!
September 13th, 2010 at 12:29 am 1284337771
Agreed.
Good luck, indeed.
September 13th, 2010 at 12:35 am 1284338143
September 13th, 2010 at 12:39 am 1284338340
September 13th, 2010 at 01:42 am 1284342126
September 13th, 2010 at 01:58 am 1284343083
Have we asked the obvious question? Knowing better than anyone but in her late twenties and "just" a babysitting gig? Is she good with DD or is DD terrified of her?
September 13th, 2010 at 02:12 am 1284343939
She sure has alot of nerve. Who does she think she is and what gives her the right? Um...I guess you've allowed her too much empowerment in the past, I'm thinking.
September 13th, 2010 at 02:22 am 1284344547
September 13th, 2010 at 08:24 pm 1284409490
very strange and don't forget you are paying her.
September 13th, 2010 at 09:46 pm 1284414418
September 14th, 2010 at 12:01 am 1284422479
September 14th, 2010 at 04:10 am 1284437404
Part of being an administrative assistant or expert or an advice guru in any field (children, lifestyle, financial, etc) is knowing how to be a reasonable employee - how tread the line between giving advice, giving orders, and doing something rash. Something akin to what she did would easily get her in hot water even in the first rungs of the corporate ladder.
Also remind her that if this situation is not resolved, you probably would mention it in if she asked you for a reference.
September 14th, 2010 at 09:47 pm 1284500826
Baselle and everyone else who made this point is correct. She left grad school before under a cloud because of her confrontation with an instructor. We've always speculated that she should be a hard-hitting attorney, but I need some time and space from her before I can see her again.
September 15th, 2010 at 12:52 pm 1284555158
Perhaps her parents let her get away with stuff like that; she needs to learn there are boundaries, and repercussions to her actions.
A teenager should know better than to let several pounds of meet dethaw in the fridge. I'm not sure if it's a control issue as much as it is not giving a s*** if she feels an impulse to do something.
September 24th, 2010 at 01:12 pm 1285333936