I babysit 5 kids from my home. One of the children broke something that was VERY expensive. Should I ask the parent to help pay for the expenses to get it fixed?
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No. You should’ve been watching them, it’s not the parent’s fault.
I’ve been there, but unfortunately, it’s our responsibility to be watching them and if they break something it’s on us.
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Misty Dohner they all agree with me
You were watching him that’s on you.
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They were under YOUR supervision…
No. It’s your responsibility to ensure it’s a safe kid friendly environment for the children and your home/possessions.
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Absolutely not. If it was that valuable, it shouldn’t have been where it can be broken.
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No…that’s definitely on you
For me that’s a no. Unless it’s in your contract. Even then, it’s your responsibility to remove and put away gate even expensive and breakable objects.
If it could have been put away it should have been put away.
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This is what your business insurance is for.
No. It’s not the parents fault. It’s your responsibility for watching them so I mean it technically is your responsibility as a babysitter
You knew you would be having children in your home you should have put expensive things away and out of reach ahead of time. Best of luck to you!
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I would ask, but I don’t know if they will repay you or not. FYI, if you babysit in your house & you have something valuable, I would remove them , just for your own peace of mind
If the children being watched on your time. Honestly No. I don’t think a parent should be responsible if you didn’t want stuff that’s valuable to be harmed while children are around should of been put up.
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I think it should only be mentioned to the parent if it was discussed when you agreed to keep them in your home
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You are responsible for not watching them or keeping breakable put up.
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I mean if you brought it up to me I’d probably ask you if I could not pay you since you clearly aren’t watching my kid if he broke something super expensive 
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If it was out in the open and within reach then no. If they went out of their way to get it then yes.
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Take it as a lesson learned. It’s common sense to put away expensive things.
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I would recommend putting a disclosure in your contract - I have it in mine anything over $100 the parent would have to pay for. Like for instance if a child runs and jumps onto a kitchen chair or stool and it breaks. The kids know there’s no running in the house and if they make that choice and break something like that then yes the parent should replace the item.
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Kids + the expression “this is y we can’t have nice things” go hand in hand for a reason…I watch kids in my home as well. Nothing I would b tremendously upset about getting broken is in their area (the downstairs) I tell my older children as well, if u don’t want it broken by the littles u have to keep it picked up.
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Nope. You’re the one that didn’t protect it.
As a parent, I would offer to pay for at least half
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What if the kid knew it was there and was swinging something around KNOWING it could break something? AFTER being told to put down what they were swinging around more than once?
You should have insurance for that home business if it’s legal ? If one of those kids breaks those parents will come after you!
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Depends if it’s something that could have been put away or up. And it depends how it was broken
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I assume to protect ur belongings as a business you have insurance but I have to personally say if u did ur job how’d it get broke I think we need back story on how it got broke first cuz that could change everything lol
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I ran an in home daycare for many years. I made sure if it was important/expensive or irreplaceable, that it was out of reach of the children. In my opinion, parents should not have to pay.
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No if something got broken means you weren’t watching the child for a minute or so,it’s your responsibility to watch the children
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I m amazed at the amount of people who are blaming her for not watching the kids well enough…like nothing has ever gone wrong right in front of your eyes. I would not ask the parents to replace it but I would most definitely talk about what happened…because if it were my child, I would feel obligated to replace it whether you ask or not. Your child…your responsibility. If they vandalized school property, you wouldn’t blame the staff…you’d be responsible for enforcing consequences and paying for damages
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Nope it was your responsibility to watch the child and make sure they were not getting into anything they were not suppose to
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Nope keep your valuables up away from kids.
Nope. It was under your watch.
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No. You’re responsible for the children while in your care. If he grabbed something he shouldn’t have had, that’s on you. Accidents are going to happen, especially with Littles. I would keep everything out of reach that I didn’t want to chance getting broken.
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No. And if it was very expensive or valuable, you should have moved it.
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Depends, if it was an item you told the child not to touch repeatedly and they did so anyways this causing it to break then yes. If you didn’t tell the child to leave the item alone or you were negligent on putting it up knowing it could possibly get broken then no.
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No. Knowing you’re going to be watching a child, those things should be put away. Also if you were supposed to watch the child , that’s on you
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No. You are watching them
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No. You should not have that where they can get ahold of it
No, you should have put items out of their reach that you didn’t want broken.
I say no. You chose to put the item where the child could break it, not the parent.
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Being an in home provider myself if I have things in the area of my home that I watch children in then I assume the responsibility to make sure it is safe to be there and nothing that’s expensive or irreplaceable. So as a provider that’s on you .
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If he’s in your care no obviously you weren’t watching him properly or you should put your good stuff away
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she just wants a new laptop
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If I was the parent I’d certainly offer to pay but I don’t think it should be expected if you are being paid to watch them.
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No. Your home should be childproof for other children. It’s your responsibility to put things up.
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Did the child break it intentionally or by accident?
And if it was “very expensive” it should have been out of sight and out of reach. There are certain things I put away when other adults are coming over…let alone a child.
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Depends on if you were supposed to be watching the child and had the item where it could be reached .
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Childcare is not for you.
No…ur fault also for not moving it out of the way…in some cases my kiddos fault or not…I as a parent felt responsible too & always offered to pay for any damage my kid did…you know tho most of the time they said thank you for offering but dont have to pay me
#1 should of been out of child’s reach. Kids don’t know the value of stuff. No the kids parents shouldn’t pay, they pay u to watch the children so what were you doing … lesson learned
Anything that gets broke under your watch, is YOUR responsibility!!
That is the risk you take when you do in home childcare 
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As a babysitter, I would never ask the parents to pay for something broke while the children were in my care. Children are destructive, put it up and keep it safe, or deal with it being broke 
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You were the babysitter and we’re supposed to be watching them. It’s your responsibility to make sure they are not only being looked after, but also that you put anything that you don’t want broken up. So no.
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Nope. If you watch them in your home and parents aren’t around it’s your responsibility to watch them. Also if it’s a business you’d have insurance?
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No. You should keep a closer eye on what the 5 children you’re supposed to be watching are doing.
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The answer to your question!! Is all these comments!!
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Yes the parents should pay at least half imo
You have 2 options, you can either pay for the damages on your own. Or 2, you can ask the parents to pay for the damages and also lose your clients then you’re out of a job without pay. Your call.
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Absolutely NOT !! You are responsible for keeping anything that is expensive/ important away from the kids
In my opinion you are getting payed to watch the child in your home knowing that kids sometimes break things. If it was important or expensive then you should of been aware of what was happening and watching the kid. If the kid did it on purpose then I would say maybe inform the parent you can’t watch the kid anymore but I can’t see making the parent pay when it was your job to watch the child.
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Seriously, you babysit 5 kids and have something very expensive around them. Make it make sense
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No absolutely not. Don’t have expensive items in children’s reach I would be pissed if someone asked me to do this
Isn’t it your job to supervise those kids? Meaning it’s kind of YOUR responsibility if they broke something?
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In my opinion depending on certain things the answer would be different…why was such an expensive item located where the child could get to it? How old is this child…under a certain age requires you to be paying full attention which leaves it back on you, an older child who can be in a room alone for little while then was it accidental or on purpose. If accidental then goes back in you for not putting away to begin with, if on purpose and you can prove that then the parents should pay. But in general you are being paid to WATCH and provide care for the parents and need to child proof your home in the manner suited for whatever ages you are caring for. Intentional damage is different. Best of luck.
Yes the parents should be held responsible
Depends on the age of the child and if it was an accident or not. I watched an 8 year old and I asked him 5,000 times to stop running into my walls. It was only his second day with me and he put a hole in my wall. I told his parents I could no longer watch him. I’ve watched many kids, for many years and never had this problem. His dad offered to fix my wall and I declined, because I just wanted to end the gig as the kiddo was very bad and didn’t listen at all. It really depends on the situation.
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By all means bring it to their attention along with the scenario in which it happened. I wouldn’t expected to be paid or compensated for it, especially if it was an accident; but it doesn’t hurt to ask, especially if it was intentional and the child knew what they were doing. Everyone that is saying, “if it’s valuable it should have been put up” -Teach your children to not act like a bull in a China shop when they leave your house. There’s nothing wrong with personal accountability and you aren’t doing the child or the parents any favors by making it your responsibility that they broke something.
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No … Your hone should be childproof knowing you are watching children … Sorry but children are not responsible nor a parent … If it is on your watch . just my opinion … Anyone could break something and say a child did it … All breakables should be out of harms way … Suppose he or she was cut really bad … Would you pay for medical bills ? … Just put all your breakables away until the weekend … I always say … If he or she was being watched … It could of been prevented … IV had plenty of thing broken from my grandbabies over the years …and it was my fault for not paying attention …
Well.lets see…THEIR under ur care so u should b watching them so no its ur responsibility
No cause it sounds like the child wasn’t being watched…
Nope. You were the adult & should of had it
put away.
Sorry your fault for having it exposed to children. Child care is expensive I’d laugh if a day Care or babysitter asked me to pay for something. If u were “watching” the kid then item wouldn’t of been broke
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Eh, if you are watching 5 kids, you probably shouldn’t have had it anywhere they could access it. 
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Is this question for real? 
No it your job watch the child.
You should absolutely mention it to the parents. If my child broke something at another persons house I would absolutely offer to replace it. The people in these comments are wild.
Aren’t you suppose to watch them? 
If your running a daycare. Things that are special, should not be left out.
That depends, is it an item that could have been put away? Was it deliberately done or an issue where it was broken in chain of something he did?
Most likely no, you can on the other hand possibly make an insurance claim through your business insurance depending on what the item was
were you not watching the child correctly? its your own fault imo…
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Nope. You were the responsible party.
No, you shouldn’t be leaving anything expensive In a child’s way! That’s your responsibility,
Sorry sweetie
I agree with the other comments
As a day care provider
Its up to you to watch the kids
With egal eyes
And to remove preacious items from their reach
The onus is on you
To keep watch over the 5 kids
Perhaps family daycare
Isn’t for you
That’s why people get bonded and insured.
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No if he was in your care.
For me, it would depend on the item and why the child had access to it. If it’s something that could have been made inaccessible, then I’d replace it myself; if not, I’d at least have a conversation about it with the parents.
Something like that should’ve been discussed before watching the kids
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Well it would probably help if you put expensive things away.
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Just no, ur the one supposed to be responsible, not the kids or parents.
No u should move those things kids will be kids! It’s a tough lesson learnt.
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If you were actually watching said child, it wouldn’t have gotten broken 
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Absolutely not. It should of been properly locked away…
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If you watch them on a regular or expected too, then no.
You should have your things up
However if you were trying to do them a favour and they broke something
Absolutely
Think im going to move my flat screen tv around all day Lollol absolutely not
This is my place and its to be respected regardless of the flipping situation lollol
Im sorry for the ppl that dont agree, but being a single parent household. Naaa im not going to let it cost me money to help friends out
So if i do i definitely expect the parents to know if something brakes. It will most indeed have to be replaced or thats it
If it’s a legitimate daycare you should have insurance to cover it. Your home insurance may cover it otherwise
No. If you watch kids in your home, you hold the responsibility for valuables that are damaged. I suggest not leaving breakable around when the children are with you.
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They’re paying you to watch their children… if they broke something during that time you were obviously not doing what you are being paid to so how would it be their responsibility?
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