OP here. I cancelled on them. I blamed most of it on the sickness thing- told them I was not willing to expose myself to what may be norovirus, as it could potentially keep me out of work for a few days and I could expose my young weekday charge. And it's true! This may be an unpopular opinion, but I wouldn't voluntarily take care of a puking kid for ANY amount of money. Being sick is the thing I hate the most, and I'm 100% unwilling to knowingly expose myself. It's unsafe for me and the family I work for.

They seemed annoyed and confused as to why I was cancelling, they truly didn't see anything wrong with increasing my workload tenfold and letting me know the morning of. They told me I really put them in a bind and asked me if I knew anyone who could take my place. Yeah right, as if I'm gonna send one of my friends into that mess.

Part of me thinks maybe they knew about the extra kids and the late end-time all along, but didn't tell me until the day of, thinking that I wouldn't cancel since I already committed. Oh well. It's really not that big of a loss for me, they aren't a great family to work for. I had to fight them to get a $2/hr pay increase when their 10 month old came along, they always round down when they pay me (if the total is $44, they'll give me $40 and not mention the difference), and they are notoriously late, sometimes an hour or two without giving me a heads up. I won't be sitting for them in the future. Thanks for the advice guys, glad to know I made the right decision.

Ask for $30/hr for the five kids. These are my kids ages. It isn't that hard. I promise. Just put a movie on and put kids to bed one at a time starting with the youngest. And it's $200 for the evening.

Anonymous wrote:Cancel due to the sickness issue only and keep it at that. I've learned burning bridges is horrible. If you do what some posters are advising.....hey you are the one without that regular extra weekend cash not them. At least now you know the parents so invest time in looking for another gig.

Same day? After they texted her with the updates? Obviously she's responding to the text and isn't sick. This is more likely to burn a bridge than telling them it's not a job she can do.

Cancel due to the sickness issue only and keep it at that. I've learned burning bridges is horrible. If you do what some posters are advising.....hey you are the one without that regular extra weekend cash not them. At least now you know the parents so invest time in looking for another gig.

Yikes! not fair at all, and I hate, hate, hate when babysitters cancel on me. but i would not think of just telling a babysitter this is happening. I would ask what your rates would be for 5 kids. the stomach bug thing is what would lend me to say maybe you should cancel... we were just at our pediatrician this morning and she told us they are seeing lots of cases of norovirus in this area so to be on the lookout if the kids start experiencing symptons

"I am sorry but I cannot work with children who ate experiencing gastrointestinal symptoms because I work with an infant full time and cannot risk exposing her to illness."

Never babysit for them again. They don't respect you and you can find a better family to work with on weekends.

I wouldn't do this for $100/hr! Ridiculous and I would NEVER sit for these rude people again. Sayonara. Hasta la vista.

Cancel - thank you for the heads up. I'm not comfortable caring for 5 children, especially when 2 are sick with stomach issues. It would be best if you found someone else. Have a great evening.

Anonymous wrote:Tell them you will stay till midnight for the 2 kids only. Say no to the extra 3 kids. Or tell them, with those rates, it will be $35-40 an hour till midnight and see if they still want to. "A little extra sounds like $25- $30"

I forgot about the sick kid part. $140 is nothing to laugh at, I wouldn't mind them increasing the hours from 8pm to midnight, as the last few hours the kids should be aslepp. But sick kids need a lot of care. Handling 5 kids with sick included is an automatic No. I might just do the 2 kids.

Tell them you will stay till midnight for the 2 kids only. Say no to the extra 3 kids. Or tell them, with those rates, it will be $35-40 an hour till midnight and see if they still want to. "A little extra sounds like $25- $30"

Seriously??!!!

I'm a mom and cannot fathom doing that to someone.

I would also be tremendously upset to have a sitter cancel on me on short notice, but I kind of think she deserves it.

My hunch is that if you respond and say you can't do it she'll tell her friends to find another option and still want you to do at least what they initially requested.

I think that if you want to cancel that is entirely fair and appropriate. If you do so you should assume you'll never babysit for them again, and that you won't be paid for anything for tonight. You can't ask for payment if you cancel.

And if you're willing to be talked into doing it then you should ask for $30 and hour and perhaps say you can't stay past 10 or 10:30 or something like that. And then you should assume you'll never sit for them again.

Cancel the gig. When someone shows you who they truly are - believe it. These parents showed you that they are clueless and inconsiderate.

If you are a good babysitter, you can find other gigs faster than these parents can find another good babysitter.

I think you do one or both of the following:
1) Say, "Wow! That's a surprise! There are a lot of moving parts here, but we can do it! 5 kids until midnight will change my fee to $30/hr" (or whatever).
2) Say, "Wow! That's a surprise! Unfortunately, I had only set aside the early part of the evening, and I am busy after 8:30. 5 kids is also more than I am comfortable sitting for at once, especially when I haven't met the kids or their parents before."
3) Tell them you'll do it, but you're bringing someone else who also charges $20/hr.

If you are willing to completely burn this bridge, then yes, ask for the three hours of pay. If you have a cancellation policy, you can also ask for the pay, explaining that they changed the terms so completely that you accepted a completely different job.

They're not being respectful, I'd cancel the gig.
Unless you really need the money ... and if you do, I'd make sure to be on the same page as the parents : how much you will get exactly.

I have a babysitting gig scheduled for tonight, it's a family I've sat for a few times, they have two children under 4. I was originally under the impression I'd be watching the two of them from 5pm to 8pm while they went to an event. This was scheduled two weeks ago, and we agreed on my regular rate of $20/hr.

In the last hour, they've just texted me and dropped three huge bombs on me. One, they ask me if it's alright that some friends of theirs also leave their THREE KIDS, aged 7, 3 and 1 with me. And really, they didn't ask me, they TOLD me in that "by the way, this is going to happen, hope it's alright!" way. Two, they've asked if I mind staying until around midnight so they can go out for drinks after the event, and just put all the kids to bed. And three, they've let me know that their two kids are showing some gastrointestinal symptoms. "They're having some minor tummy issues", they say. They ended the text with "don't worry, we'll pay you a little extra!"

I feel like this is a practical joke. It's really a no-brainer for me that I do NOT want to work this babysitting gig anymore. 5 kids at once, three of them I've never met before, don't know what they're like, their schedules, etc. There's no way I can put five young kids to bed. And two of them possibly sick with a stomach bug??? No way. I'm not risking getting sick, and my regular weekday charge is an infant so I'm not going to risk getting her exposed as well. And if it's actually a stomach bug I'm willing to bet that at the end of the night after playing together, all five kids will be sick. I'm not doing it, and I'm livid that they would think I would have absolutely no problem with them springing this on me last minute.

What would you do??? Someone please tell me I'm not overreacting by wanting to cancel. Should I have them pay me for the 3 hours I already cleared for them? I feel so insulted by this, I don't even think I want to keep working for them in the future.