Babysitter Wonders If Decision to Call Police after Mom Didn't Arrive on Time Was Right

A novice babysitter took it to Reddit after calling the cops on her client, who didn't return home on time. She went home and slept, but an unexpected call woke her up in the middle of the night.

A 28-year-old girl confessed she babysat children on weekends to earn extra money. She was working with a family unwillingly because she was attached to the kids and needed money.

She wasn't comfortable working with this family because the mother never returned home on time. Annoyed by the mother's behavior, she called the cops one day.

A Reddit user named Electronic_Professor posted her story of calling the cops on her client and asked other users for advice. She shared that her client never told her when she would return until recently.

Even after telling the time, her client returned home late, which meant OP (Original Poster) had to delay her weekend plans. The mother also never called the babysitter to inform her about delays.

One day, the mother asked OP to babysit her children for three hours and promised to return by 9. OP accepted the offer and decided to meet her friends after babysitting the kids.

She informed the mother about her plans and asked her to return on time. After putting the kids to bed, OP quickly wore her outfit and put on some makeup.

Has she abandoned the kids? OP thought to herself.

As usual, it was 9 p.m., and the mother hadn't returned. OP immediately dialed her number, but she didn't respond. She waited for another hour, but her client didn't return.

It was 10 p.m., and OP didn't receive any message from her client. At this point, she was furious because her plans were ruined. She waited until midnight and then left her client a voicemail. She explained:

" I call her and leave a voicemail saying if she's not home in the next hour, I'm considering the kids abandoned and calling the cops. "

She waited for her response to no avail. Then, she texted her the same hoping she would respond. To her surprise, her client read the text but didn't reply.

Has she abandoned the kids? OP thought to herself. She didn't know who the father was, and neither did she know about their relatives. She waited for another fifteen minutes for her response and then took a risky step.

She called the cops at her client's house through the non-emergency line. Within a few minutes, a group of police officers arrived at the doorstep.

OP informed the cops that she had been waiting for her client to return for more than three hours. She also showed them the text where her client agreed to arrive home by 9 p.m.

After listening to her story, the cops took the kids to the police station and told OP to go home. They tried calling the mother, but she didn't respond.

OP went home looking forward to sleeping peacefully after a hectic day. Unfortunately, her plans were ruined because her phone rang in the middle of the night, waking her up from deep sleep. She explained:

"I am awoken at 3 AM by a frantic call. It's her. Where are the kids? Why am I not here?"

She told the woman that her kids were at the police station because she had called the cops. The next day, the woman called OP and cursed her because the police had launched a DCF investigation after calling the children's father.

OP thought she wasn't at fault until she talked to a friend who believed she could have waited for the mother to return. Confused, OP asked other Redditors for advice.

People's opinions on the forum are divided. But most people think that the babysitter did the right thing by calling the police. In their opinion, she had taken all the necessary steps to give the mother time to respond and communicate.

She had considered all possibilities and even canceled her plans if the mother had an issue before calling the police. Like any job, babysitting requires clear communication and an agreement between both parties.

In this instance, the mother neglected to contact the babysitter regarding the time change and had been inconsiderate towards the babysitter's time. The babysitter was not obliged to stay beyond the agreed times.

Most users believe the babysitter's decision to call the police and ensure the children's safety was the most responsible given the circumstances. She took her job seriously, and even though the children were technically no longer under her watch, she refused to leave them alone and unsupervised.

Moving forward, users advised that she ask clients for at least two alternative contacts to call if they cannot be reached. Some also advise parents to keep their babysitters in the loop when plans change during their night out.

Ensure your babysitter knows what to do in cases of emergencies and whom to contact if you are unreachable at that moment. Having a safety net in place can save you from a lot of trouble later on. If you liked this article, you might like this one about a woman who set up voice-recording cameras in her room and angered her roommate.