The Nice Advice by Leah Albert

Dear Leah,

Here’s an ethical dilemma: Recently I arranged to babysit for a mom I’ve sat for before. We talked about it again the day of so I know she was planning on it. When I arrived, however, no one answered the door and her car was gone. I called and texted but no answer. A couple times she’s driven up five or 10 minutes late apologizing that her errands had taken longer than expected. I thought this might be the case, so I sat on their front porch to wait.

No one came, though, and half an hour later I drove home having given up and began re-envisioning my Saturday evening. A few minutes after I got home (about 45 minutes after I was supposed to start sitting) the mom called and said she did in fact need a sitter. What should I have done in this situation?

Would it have been stubborn of me to refuse, considering I had already scheduled my evening to sit? Or would it have been acceptable, considering it’s not really fair for her to keep me on call all night with the possibility that she won’t need me and I won’t get paid?

Signed, In Fairness

Dear In Fairness,

At the end of the day, it depends on how you personally feel about the situation. If you decided to not return to babysit or if you informed the mom that she still had to pay for the missed 45 minutes, you handled the situation correctly.

The main issue is that you don’t want to feel as though the mom is taking advantage of you. You definitely need to have a conversation with the mom regarding what will happen if she’s late in the future.

I believe you should treat this as your business and you can’t let others set the rules for how you will operate your business. Once you set some guidelines, the mom will know what to expect if she doesn’t follow them.

Keep in mind that you should be respectful and professional in your communication. You might want to talk with a parent or another trusted adult to help you figure out the best way to relay this type of information. Take care!

Leah

Leah Albert is a fictitious character. She likes wine and writing. Don’t ask her to be a matchmaker. Do send your questions to Leah at theniceadviceleahalbert@gmail.com.