Nannies And Babysitters Reveal The Absurd Things They've Seen Parents Do While Working For Them
We recently asked the nannies and babysitters of the BuzzFeed Community to share the wildest, weirdest, or worst thing they ever witnessed a parent do or say while working for them, and their stories did not disappoint.
Here's what they had to say:
1."I babysat for a family when I was a teen. The parents were divorced, and the father lived in the basement while the kids and mom lived in the rest of the house. I was forbidden to discuss the very subject of divorce, including the fact that my own parents were divorced (the mom was actually hesitant to hire me because of that fact). When asked if my dad lived with us, I was to tell the kids that he traveled for work. And no mention of my stepmother or stepsiblings was allowed, ever. If we were watching a program or movie that mentioned it, I was to turn it off immediately, and if they asked any questions, I had to tell them to ask their mother when she came home (I have no idea what she actually told them). If she went on a date, I was to tell the kids it was a business dinner."
2."When I was a teenager, I watched my neighbor’s toddler son. I noticed that they left a giant water bowl out for their two big golden retrievers, and they would sometimes poop in the bowl if I got there and they hadn’t been let out all day. One day, I saw the little boy drinking out of the recently poop-filled water bowl (I had just cleaned it out and let the dogs go outside). I taught him to only drink from a sippy cup or glass, and that I would get him a drink. I told his parents what had happened in case he got sick. To my surprise, the parents said, 'Oh, he does that all the time!' I figured that he did it to misbehave and that they had told him not to drink from the dog’s bowl, but then they said that it wasn’t a big deal because he had never gotten sick."
3."I’m a professional nanny, and one of the families I worked for had a strict 'no games' rule. Not as in video games, but as in any game that could have a winner and a loser. No board games, no tag, nothing. 'Winning and losing leads to hurt feelings' was their explanation. I’d have to stop the girls any time they said something like, 'I bet I can get to the end of the driveway faster' and remind them, 'Mom and Dad say no competition, remember?' Everything had to be perfectly equal or the parents would lose it completely."
4."Once I nannied for a couple, and they came home late after having many adult beverages. First, the dad got out his wallet and started handing me 20s. He said, 'I sit in front of a computer all day and get paid lots of money so I’m going to give you more of these.' He proceeded to tip me several 20s. When I asked where his wife was, he said, 'Oh she’s doing flips in the hallway.' I thought that was an odd remark, but when I left to go to the elevator, she was literally doing just that: backflips down the hallway. She said, 'I still have my cheer routine down pat!' This is one of my favorite nanny stories to this day!"
—34, New York
5."The family I usually work for asked me to come over because they both had 'really important' Zoom call meetings and needed someone to watch the kids for, like, an hour and keep them quiet. Both parents had their own office in the same hallway (they were kind of rich), and while I was walking down the hallway, I heard the mom on the phone with someone saying some really dirty stuff and saying, 'I can’t wait to see you tonight.' I was completely shocked, and when I passed the dad’s office, I heard him saying he was going to file for divorce. I resigned pretty quickly after that. Too much drama."
—27, Maine
6."The parents of one family I worked for left a lot of porn and sex toys lying around. No shame, but put it away, please. Your kids and hired help don’t need to see it."
—27, South Carolina
7."I was a babysitter over the summer for a very wealthy family. The first day I babysat their toddler while the wife took flying lessons, I discovered that there was not a single diaper in the house, and I had to use a towel as a diaper on the poor child."
8."We had a nice family start their then-16-month-old in my class. The mom told me he was potty trained at home. I was impressed, so she demonstrated how she holds him over the toilet...over the trash can. He then proceeded to pee into the trash. Another time she took poop out of his diaper with her bare hands in front of me and all of the other kids."
—21, Arizona
9."I interviewed with a family that asked me to spank their children. I told them I was extremely uncomfortable with that and wouldn’t be doing so. They kept insisting it would be an extension of them, so it would be expected of me. I said no and that it didn’t sound like we would be a good fit. The kids were 10 and 12."
10."The dad asked me if I was looking to be 'eaten out by a real man' after I told them I was going through a hard breakup. I quit, AND I told his wife."
—28, New York
11."Not really one shocking moment, but the parents were big sports fans (the dad was an ex-pro), so they forced their kids to play sports. The kids were not interested — they hated going to practices. As I was usually driving them to practice, I would have to see them look so miserable the whole time. The sad part was that the oldest boy absolutely LOVED arts and crafts. He would always ask me to paint or create something with him, but his parents showed no interest in encouraging him to spend time on it as a hobby. They were just sports, sports, sports."
12."I nannied three boys one summer. The parents were very wealthy, and the mom, in particular, was incredibly out of touch. She was telling me about the beach house they just bought, explaining how 'teeny tiny' it was and how 'it could only be used for a weekend getaway.' It had a kitchen, a deck, a laundry room, a bathroom, two bedrooms, a living room, A/C, and spare clothes/shoes/toys that stayed there in case they forgot something. On top of that, they remodeled everything, so it was ALL brand new."
—18, Iowa
13."I walked in on them having a threesome with their neighbor. Still scarred."
—46, California
14."I was nine months pregnant, and the mom asked me to stop and get cigarettes and vodka for her on my way over. I was mortified."
—35, Connecticut
15."The wildest thing happened at a lavish birthday party for their 7-year-old son that was more like a wedding reception, with all their family and wealthy friends. I overheard a heated debate among the mother, her mother, and a friend about the next birthday party for the almost-6-year-old daughter. They were earnestly discussing at what point the llama should be presented, debating its mode of arrival (hot air balloon or motorcycle trailer) and even planning a cake for the llama."
—35, Boston
16."I work with three little boys, and I usually only nanny during the day, but the parents asked me to stay late one day, help get them ready for bed, and give them a bath. At first, it's no problem — the youngest two bathe together and have a dandy time in the bath as kids do. Next thing I know, the 7-year-old starts peeing, AND IT GOES ON THE 5-YEAR-OLD'S FACE. Even worse, the 5-year-old is laughing, and pee goes directly into his mouth."
"I am mortified and start freaking out and getting mad at the kids, but neither of them seem to have any concept of how gross it is. They keep laughing and not even paying me attention as I'm trying to explain how bad and inappropriate that is. I give up and quickly end the bath and just get them to bed quickly as I am completely grossed out. Here is the worst part: The parents come home, and I awkwardly explain what happened, and they turn around and just say something along the lines of 'Oh, yeah, that happens all the time, we can't stop them from doing it, though.'"
—20, Canada
17."I was a live-in nanny for a family while they stayed in their vacation home for three months. One of the kids threw up one night, and after that, we were no longer allowed to eat anywhere that wasn’t on an approved list. It was full of expensive places — which is fine since I wasn’t paying — but the kids really just wanted Chick-fil-A. Then on my days off, the parents fed them candy all day. Guess who had to deal with the constipated kiddos?"
18.And lastly, "When I was younger, I nannied for two great young girls. It was my night off, and the family was going to dinner. Before I could leave, I needed to have the girls ready while their mom and dad got ready. The mom was a doctor, and something in the office ran over so she was late getting home and rushing to get out the door. I was keeping the girls occupied while she got ready. The dad, an avid golfer, decided to practice his swing in the living room where the girls and I were reading a book. He takes a full swing and, on the follow-through, hits the plate glass light fixture in the ceiling, shattering glass everywhere. We screamed, the mom came running down the stairs, and we were both trying to make sure no cuts happened. And then, the dad has the audacity to tell the mother it’s her fault for not being ready. He was bored and upset they couldn’t leave on time. He walked out the door and left me and the mom to clean it up."
—Anonymous, California
Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
Do you have a surprising babysitting or nanny story? Let me know in the comment section below!
