7 days ago
Babysitter Orders Food From DoorDash, Unprepared for Message From the Mom
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A babysitter who briefly stepped outside to grab a DoorDash order was unprepared for the backlash from the mother when she got home.
In a post on Reddit's r/AmIOverreacting thread, u/South-Eagle-300 said that the mom discovered, via a Ring doorbell camera, that someone had approached the door.
The visitor was a food delivery driver, summoned by the babysitter, who said they hadn't eaten since lunch and was developing a headache. The children, both aged under 2, were reportedly asleep at the time.
Stock image: A mom shouts at a babysitter in a home.
Stock image: A mom shouts at a babysitter in a home.
shironosov
"The mom told me she was uncomfortable that someone came to the door and that I 'left the kids alone'," the Reddit user wrote.
The post included screenshots of the text exchange with the children's mother, showing a rapid shift in tone once the food delivery was discovered.
Initially, the sitter asked for an update on the parents' return, noting they were already over two hours later than expected.
The mother replied: "We are taking the 10:30 train so we should be home at 11:30."
But, moments later, things escalated when the mom texted to ask whether the sitter had something delivered.
After the sitter confirmed it was DoorDash, the mom responded saying that she was "concerned" about doing this without asking her first.
"I would never be okay with a stranger coming to the door while my kids are sleeping. I really wish you had asked me before doing that," the text read.
The mother went on to request that the babysitter double-check that both the storm door and the door chain were locked, adding that she needed to "fully trust who's here."
In follow-up texts, the sitter apologized and said that they had waited until the delivery person left before stepping outside and had locked everything behind her.
The sitter also mentioned having babysat for other families where ordering food was never an issue.
But the parents remained firm, responding that their concern wasn't about the babysitter being hungry—it was about someone coming to the door without their knowledge, and the babysitter stepping outside without informing anyone.
When the parents returned, the sitter was told they couldn't be trusted anymore and was subsequently fired.
At the time of writing, the post received more than 31,000 upvotes and over 5,600 comments.
Many commenters sided with the sitter, pointing out the double standard of leaving children with a near-stranger while expressing outrage over a 10-second trip to the porch.
"People are crazy like if you're THAT concerned about your kids maybe you should take care of your own kids: sorry you lost clients that sucks," one user wrote.
"I think the fact that she hired a stranger off Facebook to watch them and left them alone with her speaks volumes and she's a hypocrite to complain about food delivery in the way it was done here," another posted.
Parenting consultant Jo Hayes told Newsweek that the babysitter's starvation may put the children at greater risk than opening the door to retrieve her food.
"If they haven't eaten since lunchtime, their cognitive functions and general physical energy would be diminished, meaning they're in a less-than-ideal position to deal with any babysitting emergencies, should they arise," Hayes said.
A third user believed the mom managed to redirect the attention away from how much later they would actually be arriving home.
"At least now you'll be able to spot it next time … because there WILL be a next time. It's how these people move through the world," the user wrote.
Newsweek reached out to u/South-Eagle-300 via Reddit.
