Anonymous wrote:OP here - they asked to take the kids for a few days (which we LOVE obviously) and they're about an hour away.
If they'd told me in advance is probably have been okay with it? I might have asked how long they knew the sitter and who it was - like is it a lifelong friend or some lady they heard about from a neighbor?
I'm sort of torn. I'm pretty careful about who I leave my kids with, but I get that they're a ton of work. As an aside, they have a history of doing things I'm not sure I'm comfortable with. Like bringing a 2 year old home with sparkler burns or putting my tiny 7 year old in the front seat of a pickup without a booster.
Not sure if everyone reading this thread saw this post.
Based on all this, I would vote--not okay.
1. They asked to take the kids, so weren't doing you a favor. If they want the kids, they should want to, um, be with the kids. If they want them for fewer days, then take them for fewer days.
2. As many others have posted, it's not that a sitter is automatically bad, but they absolutely should have given you and DH a heads up about it.
3. Sparkler burns on a 2 year old + 7 year old in the front seat without booster signals that these folks have a pretty cavalier attitude, so I would not be 100% confident in their ability to get a quality babysitter.
All in all, I'm think you need to reduce the amount of time your kids are with ILs without you or DH around. I consider myself a fairly laid back parent, but this is just too much.