My Experience As A Babysitter in New York

December 31st, 2008 by admin

When I graduated college with my degree in Anthropology, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do. I was a young and naive girl of twenty. All I knew was that I needed to continue to feed myself while paying rent. For that summer, I took on the hefty job as a babysitter in New York. It will be an experience that I will always remember–for better or worse.

Not long after I posted my babysitter flyers around the city, people immediately started to call me. Some wanted me to take care of their miniature Yorkies which I explained was not apart of my job description and others wanted me to watch their elderly parents–also not apart of my arsenal of skills. Finally, a woman who lived on Lexington Avenue rang and said that if I was willing, she had a four year old son who needed to be looked after by a reliable and caring nanny. I excitedly agreed after she promised to pay me $20 an hour.

In short, the my time there was hell. Not only was the mother rude to me but she was disconnected from her child completely. If I had any questions, she would tell me to figure it out on my own. Her son was not any better. When I would accompany him on his piano lessons on Park Avenue, he would throw tantrums and scream so loud that the driver would be forced to let us off earlier. Once, he purposefully tripped me while I was running around the house, looking for him. I had bruises on both my knees for a week. I know that I was desparate for money but there had to be a limit and I was well past it with this babysitting gig. I called in the next day to terminate my employment as the newest most aggravated babysitter in new york.

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