RN babysiting gig gone south

[RNnbakes]

This recently happened to my cousin and I dont think she was wrong but she is as mad as hell at the situation.

She's a May 09 grad RN who hasnt been able to get a job yet so she babysits for extra cash. she was asked to help babysit for this family with 3kids (8,12 and 15)whose parents were going to be out of the country for two weeks. She met the parents a day before they left the country, she was availalbe but had a class 4pm on Tuesdays. They said it was ok and would get 15yr to come back home early so that she could stay with the youngest while my cousin went to class. On the Tuesday, she picked the 8yr old from school, fed him and helped with homework. The oldest was supposed to be home at 3.20 so my cousin could leave b/c her class was 40mins away. well she didnt show at 3.25 and my cousin put the 8yr old in front of the tv and left for her class. She kept calling to check on the kid on her way to class and the 15yr showed at 3.35, so she was relieved.

While in class she got a nasty text message from the parents who were displeased because she left their kid alone for TEN whole minutes. When she finally spoke to them and explained what happened, she got an earful from them and they basically made her feel incompetent and useless. They said they couldnt trust her BUT they didnt tell her to leave b/c she was their only option. she continued the gig and told me that everytime they called for their kids, they made her feel like she was a monster looking after their precious ones". Nothing she did after that was right.

Maybe because she's family but I dont think should have been chastised like that. I just want to know what folks think about the situation. also is she putting her license at risk by babysiting? can she be reported to the board for this?

And she got paid a whopping $225 per week i.e $32 per day for an RN, Unbelievable!!!!

[RNnbakes]

@wintergurl060: Thanks! I guess when you ask for advice on AN, you should expect the good and bad. Its just hard to see a relative clubbered over a bad judgement call.

At least I now know how to explain it to her so that it doesnt happen again.

Thanks for all the replies.

[bnb0627]

Lol, it's kind of strange, I'm trying to get into nursing because my childcare business isn't doing so well with the economy and she's a nurse who's babysitting cause of the economy.....hopefully we'll all have jobs soon!!!!

[caliotter3]

Show her this thread. Nobody means to make her feel badly, they just want her to realize what could have happened and the Good Lord willing, did not. So, now, she can be more aware to avoid such situations in the future.

[DirtyBlackSocks]

While I can understand you being defensive over a family member or close friend, the bottom line is your cousin was careless in what she did. Only 10 minutes? That's plenty of time for a child to get into all sorts of trouble!

If your cousin fails to see how she made a huge error in judgment here it is only a reflection of her own level of responsibility.

Just because she "needs the money" doesn't mean she can ignore her responsibilities towards that child. Imagine if the sibling hadn't made it home in 10 minutes? Imagine if the 8 year old had gotten into some sort of accident?

She's lucky nothing happened, but somehow I don't think not being late to class would justify a dead child on her conscience, if things had gone wrong.

One day when you're a parent, you'll understand why some of us find it so appalling. They aren't personal attacks against your cousin, they're remarks based around common sense.

[traumaRUs, MSN, APRN]

I realize that you and probably your cousin have no children but this was irresponsible on so many levels:

1. The parents left a stranger with their children - what were THEY thinking?

2. Your cousin left an 8 y/o ALONE - what was she thinking?

3. She wasn't paid to be an RN she was paid to be a BABYSITTER.

[jrsmrs]

Wow, there are just so many things about this that disturb me.

First off, it sounds like your cousin is not very well-acquainted with this family. Hell would freeze over before I would be running off to Europe leaving my kids in the care of anyone who was not a very close friend or family.

Secondly, if she dislikes the pay, she should have declined the job. A doctor who has to pump gas for a living cannot possibly expect to make 6 figures just based on his education. It isnt that reasonable to expect an RN salary for doing a job that a high school student can do. Not to say she was necessarily paid fairly for the job, but I dont base that on her education.

Lastly, it was horrendously irresponsible of her to leave that child. She had no idea when or if that girl would show up to care for those kids and took a huge gamble. What if the girl had never showed up? Should they have stayed home alone while she was in class? Anything could have happened... and a mothers mind thinks of every one of those things. It is no wonder the parents were furious. I have 2 kids myself, including a 9 yr old. If I have to make it to class and have no one to stay with him, I take him with me.

I have to assume your cousin is still quite young, because I cant believe an older person would have made that decision. Time to work on those critical thinking skills they teach us so much about in nursing school. IMO.

[leslie :-D]

I realize that you and probably your cousin have no children but this was irresponsible on so many levels:

heck, i didn't have any children when i was 14 and started babysitting, yet i knew not to leave a young child alone.

totally inexcusable.

as jolie said, they all got what they deserved (except the children, of course).

leslie

[Crux1024]

"Child endangerment" or whatever it is called in that state, is a chargeable crime. Being a crime against a person, charges or conviction, could cause problems for the nursing license. Just about any crime against persons, property, or allegations of moral turpitude can cause problems for the license.

Thank you for explaining. My mind didnt even go that route initially.

[mamamerlee, LPN]

I was in the basement doing laundry. My spouse was up on the 2nd floor reading. Our 7 year old was watching TV in the living room. He took a long-handled duster, and tried to dust the halogen floor lamp.

I smelled something awful, and ran up the steps. Kid on sofa, denies any problems. Spouse just now smelling something awful. Lo and behold, under the dining table, a melted duster!

We were extremely glad that it didn't catch fire.

Only a few minutes, and both parents were home.

[50caliber]

Totally irresponsible. A lot can happen in ten minutes. Your cousin got lucky on this one. Count your lucky stars. If anything were to happen, that would be gross negligence and she would legally have nothing to stand on.

[HealthShepherd]

I agree with everything that has been said about leaving the child alone. She could have skipped the class, or left a note for the teenager and brought the child to school with her - not fabulous options, but a lot better than abandoning the child.

Aside from that, I think there's another important life lesson your cousin can take away from this experience:

"The oldest was supposed to be home at 3.20 so my cousin could leave b/c her class was 40mins away."

You have to plan, and have contingency plans, for the things that are important to you. If she had a test that day, it was crazy for her to make a plan that depended on a teenager's reliability and allowed no margin of error. If it were just a regular class or meeting a friend for dinner on time, that might be OK. But if you have a test, or a job interview, or a plane to catch, you need to consider the things that may go wrong and make allowances for them. For example: have some cash in case the car won't start and you have to take a taxi. Use an alarm clock with a fresh battery instead of an electric one that won't work if there was a power failure. Tell your flakey friends to be ready an hour before they need to be ready. Get there early in case you have trouble finding the room.

And above all, DON'T depend on another person to be exactly on time! Even if they're very responsible, and know that it's important to you, stuff happens.

[shanyone]

I just had to add that when I read the original post I thought for sure you were going to say that when the 15 year old wasn't home your cousin had to put the 8 year old in her car and take her to school with her. Now THAT would have been the only responsible thing to do in this situation if she really needed to make it to class. But when you said that she left her alone I thought, "Well, duh! No wonder she can't find a nursing position!".

At the least she's clearly got some personal growth to go through before she should parent or nurse. That's just my opinion, of course.

Good luck to her.