Babysitter confusion

[daffodilbrain]

My neighbour asked me if I needed a babysitter as her ds's gf was available I said yes as my usual is doing a-levels and we had a ball coming up. Intros were made and babysitter and I text on 3/6 to agree date and time and if she was ok with that. All was fine, I text this morning to check on times etc and she came back this afternoon to say she'd forgotten and had taken a new job and couldn't babysit tonight but maybe next week when I explained our ball was tonight she then said actually she didn't think I needed her tonight as I hadn't text this week. Is it me BU?

Don't use her again, she's unreliable! Is there a local mum's Facebook group that you could ask for babysitter recommendations?

No not that im aware of 😕I'm racking my brains. It's a bit cheeky asking anyone to to babysit if 4 hrs time....D.S. will be in front of Xbox but D.D likes a chat and to know the person...

Def not acceptable. As the "babysitter" I usually send a confirmation text to the family 24hrs before but as a teenager def didnt have a mobile so once booked you rocked up on the day at the right time.

How about texting your usual, explaining you’re in a pickle and offering a higher hourly rate?

Then find a new babysitter that doesn’t make use of the irresponsible one!

Not sure how you get a safe sitter at short notice, we ended up leaving ours home alone for the first time because of similar circumstances (11 & 13 mind you), still I worried. I've sat at short notice as a favour for people, do you know any families you could trade with? Or trade something else eg my friend offered to clean my ovens as my kids are adults now.

She is BU.

You could try the Bubble app or Sitters.com if you are really desperate. I have used sitters when I needed to work from home and it has worked for me.

Some students have finished A levels. If your usual babysitter still has exams, they may well have a friend who has finished and would welcome the money. As they know your children and your home, they probably know which friend would be suitable.

How long will the dc be awake for? If it’s not long it may be ok for your usual sitter.

I was about to say most A levels are over and Suggest what GetOff has.

Could you ask your neighbour? She might feel guilty!

Put a call out on local Facebook groups or contact school mums to see if they can recommend anyone local. Any experienced babysitter will be absolutely fine with the short notice. Sounds like your DS will be fine and if your DD likes to chat then that should work out even if she doesn't know them. Got to be worth a try at the very least.

Oh and btw, YANBU. Confirming the date on the 3rd and then reconfirming today is pretty normal. I usually do it 24 hours in advance but on the day is hardly unreasonable. She clearly messed up and forgot to out you in the diary.

Thanks for the comments my usual
Babysitter's mum (a friend ) is stepping into the breach, panic over! DH will have to go to the ball now