Post by Judy Dutton.
"You know how LEGO bricks have one, two, three, etc. 'bumps' on them? Well, while serving as a part-time nanny to an 8-year-old, the mother demanded I sort them. She took upcycled milk cartons, cut off the tops, then drew, on the inside, along the top, the picture of what shape should go in the carton. ACK. Seriously lady? This was after college, so here I was, a college-educated woman, sorting LEGOs."No Shoes, No Service
"I once had a stay-at-home dad come drop off his 18-month-old at my family child care home. Right away, I noticed that neither the dad nor his toddler were wearing shoes. He told me that he doesn't 'believe in wearing shoes' for himself or his son, and requested that I not put any on his toddler. The real kicker was that we lived in Alaska!"Get the Picture?
I had a mom drop off her 2-year-old with a hand-drawn picture of his butt, and where the rash was. That way, she said, I'd know where to put the cream -- as if it wasn't obvious already?"
More From The Stir: Little White Lies Moms Tell Their Babysitters
Clean Freak
"I used to babysit a little boy whose mom insisted that I wash his whole area with soap and water after every time he pooped. She'd even packed a bar of soap and a little rag for me to use for that purpose. I was fine with that … at least until one day she called me and accused me of not washing him because the bar of soap wasn't shrinking fast enough. The next day, she came in and showed me what she wanted me to do: lay him down on the kitchen counter, fill up the sink with water, and wash him from the waist down. I didn't feel safe laying him across the kitchen counter, so I just started sticking him in the tub. She then told me to not give him a bath, since that's her special time with him. Hands down, this was the weirdest lady I ever babysat for." Scary Scheduler
"One mom I worked for was absolutely a schedule Nazi. Her 8-week-old son was only allowed to eat x amount every x hours. He would always get hungry and inconsolable an hour or more before the scheduled time. And then when I would feed him, he'd gulp so fast he'd get sick. I understand trying to keep a baby on a schedule, but she took it to some ridiculous levels."Mission Impossible
"I had a mom ask that her daughter's white shoes remain clean outside. Um..."
More from The Stir: 7 Crazy Reasons Moms Fired Their Bad Babysitters
Food Fight
"I babysat this kid whose mom packed a bunch of canned and dried food, saying he'll only eat that stuff. When I asked him if he was hungry, he said yes and I tried feeding him some of that crap, but he wouldn't eat it. So I made him something from our house, and he did eat it. Then she got mad that I let him eat food from my house!"Pants Please
"I babysat an 8-month-old girl whose parents would get mad if she didn't have pants on at all times ... Only problem was, her pants were too big, so she kept crawling out of them or tripping on them when she was walking. I was constantly pulling them up or putting them back on -- and the girl would fight me tooth and nail to keep them off. So I would keep them off until just about pickup time."Er, Can't 4-year-olds Feed Themselves?
"I once watched a 4-year-old girl from India who never ate. She just sat in front of the food and didn't do anything. When I talked to the mom, she asked if I was feeding her, because she hand feeds her. Apparently it's a cultural thing. I didn't want to disrespect their culture, but that was not going to happen."Who's in Charge Here?
"I babysat for a mom years ago whose 5-year-old daughter ran the entire house: The mom basically told me I had to listen to the girl the whole time I was there. Only problem was, the girl wanted to jump rope in the road, cook her own lunch, and wash the cat in the laundry machine. The clincher? She dumped a whole bag of popcorn kernels on the floor on purpose and told me I had to pick them up. When the mom returned, the little girl told her all of the stuff I didn't let her do, so the mom went to my mother and demanded to know what was the meaning of all of that... She was a holy terror, that kid, and her mom was so afraid of her, she tried to make everyone else obey her as well."Moving Day
"I babysat for a completely insane family for a grand total of three months -- that was as long as I could take it. The straw that broke the camel's back was when they informed me that I was going to be helping them move. I was fine while I was packing things during nap time, but when they asked me to carry heavy furniture to the moving truck I was done!"![]()
Sometimes it's hard to hand over child care duties to a babysitter -- after all, you want to make sure your little tots are well cared for, right? Still, some parents take things a little too far when it comes to micro-managing their kids' lives when they're out of their sight.
As proof, check out what these babysitters and nannies below had to say about the craziest requests they've heard from parents on how to dress, bathe, feed, or treat their kids.
Consider this a list of demands to not make if you want your sitter to stick around!
LEGO Sorting Insanity"You know how LEGO bricks have one, two, three, etc. 'bumps' on them? Well, while serving as a part-time nanny to an 8-year-old, the mother demanded I sort them. She took upcycled milk cartons, cut off the tops, then drew, on the inside, along the top, the picture of what shape should go in the carton. ACK. Seriously lady? This was after college, so here I was, a college-educated woman, sorting LEGOs."No Shoes, No Service
"I once had a stay-at-home dad come drop off his 18-month-old at my family child care home. Right away, I noticed that neither the dad nor his toddler were wearing shoes. He told me that he doesn't 'believe in wearing shoes' for himself or his son, and requested that I not put any on his toddler. The real kicker was that we lived in Alaska!"Get the Picture?
I had a mom drop off her 2-year-old with a hand-drawn picture of his butt, and where the rash was. That way, she said, I'd know where to put the cream -- as if it wasn't obvious already?"
More From The Stir: Little White Lies Moms Tell Their Babysitters
Clean Freak
"I used to babysit a little boy whose mom insisted that I wash his whole area with soap and water after every time he pooped. She'd even packed a bar of soap and a little rag for me to use for that purpose. I was fine with that … at least until one day she called me and accused me of not washing him because the bar of soap wasn't shrinking fast enough. The next day, she came in and showed me what she wanted me to do: lay him down on the kitchen counter, fill up the sink with water, and wash him from the waist down. I didn't feel safe laying him across the kitchen counter, so I just started sticking him in the tub. She then told me to not give him a bath, since that's her special time with him. Hands down, this was the weirdest lady I ever babysat for." Scary Scheduler
"One mom I worked for was absolutely a schedule Nazi. Her 8-week-old son was only allowed to eat x amount every x hours. He would always get hungry and inconsolable an hour or more before the scheduled time. And then when I would feed him, he'd gulp so fast he'd get sick. I understand trying to keep a baby on a schedule, but she took it to some ridiculous levels."Mission Impossible
"I had a mom ask that her daughter's white shoes remain clean outside. Um..."
More from The Stir: 7 Crazy Reasons Moms Fired Their Bad Babysitters
Food Fight
"I babysat this kid whose mom packed a bunch of canned and dried food, saying he'll only eat that stuff. When I asked him if he was hungry, he said yes and I tried feeding him some of that crap, but he wouldn't eat it. So I made him something from our house, and he did eat it. Then she got mad that I let him eat food from my house!"Pants Please
"I babysat an 8-month-old girl whose parents would get mad if she didn't have pants on at all times ... Only problem was, her pants were too big, so she kept crawling out of them or tripping on them when she was walking. I was constantly pulling them up or putting them back on -- and the girl would fight me tooth and nail to keep them off. So I would keep them off until just about pickup time."Er, Can't 4-year-olds Feed Themselves?
"I once watched a 4-year-old girl from India who never ate. She just sat in front of the food and didn't do anything. When I talked to the mom, she asked if I was feeding her, because she hand feeds her. Apparently it's a cultural thing. I didn't want to disrespect their culture, but that was not going to happen."Who's in Charge Here?
"I babysat for a mom years ago whose 5-year-old daughter ran the entire house: The mom basically told me I had to listen to the girl the whole time I was there. Only problem was, the girl wanted to jump rope in the road, cook her own lunch, and wash the cat in the laundry machine. The clincher? She dumped a whole bag of popcorn kernels on the floor on purpose and told me I had to pick them up. When the mom returned, the little girl told her all of the stuff I didn't let her do, so the mom went to my mother and demanded to know what was the meaning of all of that... She was a holy terror, that kid, and her mom was so afraid of her, she tried to make everyone else obey her as well."Moving Day
"I babysat for a completely insane family for a grand total of three months -- that was as long as I could take it. The straw that broke the camel's back was when they informed me that I was going to be helping them move. I was fine while I was packing things during nap time, but when they asked me to carry heavy furniture to the moving truck I was done!"
What's the craziest request you've heard parents make of their babysitters?
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