i said "help yourself to snacks"

[venusvenus123]

not eat the whole fucking tub, tubster!

last night my next door neighbour's son babysat for us. he's quite sweet and my son loves him, so that's nice. i know i shouldn't be surprised, but when i told him he could help himself to some snacks i really didn't expect him to finish a near-full tub of flapjacks.

is that normal behaviour for the average teen? my teens are too long gone for me to be able to remember...

[The Notorious LOL]

did you slap him around a bit?

[abcdefz]

i really didn't expect him to finish a near-full tub of flapjacks.


...are flapjacks the same as pancakes? I'm trying to imagine a tub of pancakes. Seems like they wouldn't keep well.

[venusvenus123]

oh yeah, i seem to remember a time on here a while back, when there was confusion amid USers over flapjacks.

flapjacks are like little cake things, made from oats, butter and golden syrup. they keep for ages... and are very filling, which is one of the reasons i'm so surprised that he ate them all.

he did have his friend over tho.... they probably had gay sex on my sofa.

[ericlee]

who fills their bathtub with flapjacks anyhow?

[abcdefz]

oh yeah, i seem to remember a time on here a while back, when there was confusion amid USers over flapjacks.

flapjacks are like little cake things, made from oats, butter and golden syrup. they keep for ages... and are very filling, which is one of the reasons i'm so surprised that he ate them all.

he did have his friend over tho.... they probably had gay sex on my sofa.



Teens + food = teens. Unless it's broccoli.

[hpdrifter]

When I babysat as a teen, one of the families told me I could have a piece of cheesecake. I think I ate three.

[venusvenus123]

i was pretty much anorexic as a teen. so i guess this doesn't apply to me:(


:p

[hpdrifter]

I could eat anything I wanted as a teenager and remain thin as a rail.

God I miss those days.

[ericlee]

babysitters rock. The first time I ever saw bush was from my 16 year old babysitter when I was 9.

All I saw was bush though, maybe if I had some flapjacks I could've persuaded her to show me more.

[kaiser soze]

be thankful he didn't eat your kid!!

[The Notorious LOL]

so did you slap him up then?

[The Notorious LOL]

babysitters rock. The first time I ever saw bush was from my 16 year old babysitter when I was 9.

All I saw was bush though, maybe if I had some flapjacks I could've persuaded her to show me more.


did she show you it or was it by mistake?

[venusvenus123]

be thankful he didn't eat your kid!!
haha, i remember once last summer, i went over to my friends house and the same boy and his friend came to babysit. my friends offered me some grass after dinner. i don't smoke much these days and i started to get seriously paranoid that the two boys were doing all sorts of horrible stuff to him. crazy!

and miss hp: you're just trying to convince me that you weren't some big fat blob laying on the sofa stuffing 3 pieces of cheesecake in yer gob! :p

[venusvenus123]

so did you slap him up then?
haha no. i just threatened to.

sorry, witty comebacks aren't coming easily. i blame extreme vodka hangover.

[ericlee]

did she show you it or was it by mistake?

It was a "I'll show you mine if you show me yours". Type thing except for I cheated her. She went first and I was stricken by rigor mortis down there and it made me too shy to show her.

[Echewta]

teach your boy the way of kung-fu.

I think as long as you feed teenage boys who are babysitting your child, you should be ok. Its like a sedative.

[hpdrifter]

That's creepy. What was a 16 year old doing playing sexual games with a little boy?

*shudder*

[venusvenus123]

true. i would be horrified if my son told me a babysitter did that with him.

[Echewta]

Teach your son the beautiful art of firearms.

[abcdefz]

Teach your son the beautiful art of firearms.



-- like the Human Torch!

[enree erzweglle]

My first babysitting job was for two people who were die-hard leftover hippies from the 60s and they had food for me and I didn't even know what most of it was. I remember being astounded by some of it, most of it. Especially some of the fruit, some of which looked like it was going to put up a fight. I didn't even know if some of it even was food. "What IS this?"

They didn't believe in using chemicals of any sort so I had to wash the dishes and the baby clothes like I was in Little House on the Prairie. They probably paid my parents in sacks of sugar.

[Echewta]

Teach your son the wispful ways of he UKSF.

[steve-onpoint]

They probably paid my parents in sacks of sugar.

sweet.

[mickill]

This reminds me of my brother. The minute he walks through the door, he's in our fridge or in the cupboards, eating our food. And it's not like he just helps himself to a little snack or something. He cooks for himself. He'll grill himself a little steak. The worst is when he eats the wife's chocolate chips, though. I get the hell for it and have to run to the grocery store when she finds out there's only a handful left in the bag just as she's mixing the batter for cookies.

I'm like, do you just not see food anywhere but at this house or something? But he's never offered to watch our child. Not that we'd let him.

[abcdefz]

"Lessee.... mmmmm..... steak... mmmmmmmchocolate.... mmm.... CHILD!"

[beastiegirrl101]

venus is seriously the coolest mom.

[ericlee]

That's creepy. What was a 16 year old doing playing sexual games with a little boy?

*shudder*

Oh believe me, she wasn't my babysitter after that. Of course I had to brag to my pops.

It didn't go too well.

[beastiegirrl101]

Oh believe me, she wasn't my babysitter after that. Of course I had to brag to my pops.

It didn't go too well.

you were 9!!! Wow...that is so young.

[abcdefz]

Oh believe me, she wasn't my babysitter after that. Of course I had to brag to my pops.



Whoops.

[kaiser soze]

your pops was pissed because he thought HE was the only one banging her

geesh, kids ruin everything!

[ericlee]

your pops was pissed because he thought HE was the only one banging her

geesh, kids ruin everything!

nah, if that were a case, I'd probably would've been given a time out or grounding.

[Documad]

Well, when you've been living with parents who monitor what you eat and drink, you tend to take advantage the first time you have the ability to overdo it. I was never allowed to have Mountain Dew at home and it was my favorite drink. The main family I babysat for had a basement refrigerator full of pop. I'd drink as many Mountain Dews as I thought I could without them taking special notice.

I also ate about 1/3 of an angel food cake once. :o

In my defense, those parents made me cook the kids spagetti-ohs for dinner almost every night, and it's not like I was going to eat those, so I had to survive on sugar.

[Documad]

It's a whole other topic, but I would never let a male babysit.

[venusvenus123]

It's a whole other topic, but I would never let a male babysit.
i don't mind that it's a whole other topic, i'm interested to know your reasons why...

also... do you have kids?

[mickill]

The neighbors used to occasionally ask me to watch their infant son for them when I was about 16. They didn't really even know me all too well. I was a pretty responsible and beautiful 16 year old, though. I'm sure they noticed.

[Documad]

i don't mind that it's a whole other topic, i'm interested to know your reasons why...

also... do you have kids?
I do not have kids.

During and after law school, I worked for a prosecutor's office. My team handled homicide and child sexual abuse cases. I also worked in juvenile court for a while. I've reviewed the background documents and juvenile histories of adult sexual predators. About half of my attorney friends have been prosecutors. A lot of my non-attorney friends are probation officers and social workers. A couple of my best friends specialize in cases involving sexual predators. Most of my friends with criminal law experience have small children. We have talked about this a lot over the years. None of us would ever let a teenage boy babysit. The vast majority of teenage boys are fine, but it's impossible to spot the ones who aren't. In all my years in criminal court, I only saw one case where a teenage girl who was a child molester (she was very crazy and abducted a boy in a store). I've seen hundreds of boys who were child molesters. On top of that, boys have worse impulse control all around. It's just a matter of bad odds.

(I have adult male friends who are gay. It has nothing to do with homosexuality. Just about every sexual predator has a girlfriend or wife. )

I have a close friend whose favorite babysitter is the boy next door. She's a super responsible parent and she disagrees with me.

BTW -- everyone also agrees that they would never allow foster kids in a house with non-foster kids. Again, the odds are bad. You get a warped view of life, I'll admit. About half of the juvenile sex offenders I've seen molested a younger stepbrother or stepsister first, but I understand that you probably can't keep stepkids out of your house.

[voltanapricot]

I babysat for a couple that would always leave me alcohol. That's kind of absurd.

[hpdrifter]

I'm curious, given your experience, if you think this particular abberation (paedophilism) can be treated, controlled, and/or cured.

[Documad]

I babysat for some "swingers" in the late 70s. I didn't dare tell my parents what I saw there. They paid well and stayed out late so I made good money. And their kids were small and went to bed before Fantasy Island.

[venusvenus123]

I do not have kids.

During and after law school, I worked for a prosecutor's office. My team handled homicide and child sexual abuse cases. I also worked in juvenile court for a while. I've reviewed the background documents and juvenile histories of adult sexual predators. About half of my attorney friends have been prosecutors. A lot of my non-attorney friends are probation officers and social workers. A couple of my best friends specialize in cases involving sexual predators. Most of my friends with criminal law experience have small children. We have talked about this a lot over the years. None of us would ever let a teenage boy babysit. The vast majority of teenage boys are fine, but it's impossible to spot the ones who aren't. In all my years in criminal court, I only saw one case where a teenage girl who was a child molester (she was very crazy and abducted a boy in a store). I've seen hundreds of boys who were child molesters. On top of that, boys have worse impulse control all around. It's just a matter of bad odds.

(I have adult male friends who are gay. It has nothing to do with homosexuality. Just about every sexual predator has a girlfriend or wife. )

I have a close friend whose favorite babysitter is the boy next door. She's a super responsible parent and she disagrees with me.

BTW -- everyone also agrees that they would never allow foster kids in a house with non-foster kids. Again, the odds are bad. You get a warped view of life, I'll admit. About half of the juvenile sex offenders I've seen molested a younger stepbrother or stepsister first, but I understand that you probably can't keep stepkids out of your house.

i was just curious to know whether it was because of this... or something else. for instance this guy went on my computer, without asking or anything. he was stupid enough to use messenger, where all conversations are stored. so i found out that he'd been using our computer to burn loads of his cds. the computer is in a different room that i've never shown him and i have a lot of personal documents lying around (well, pay, bank etc). so we put a password lock on the computer and always turn it off before he comes round. i think he basically feels too at home here!

i obviously have the same misgivings as you about sexual interference. but i think i would know immediately if something went on. isn't it sad that we can't trust any male? perhaps you're right and it's just not worth the risk. there's a girl i usually ask to babysit for our son anyway, but she's away at the moment.

by the way, my son sometimes stays over at my brother in law's house. he's gay and lives with his partner. i wonder if that's also statistically a terrible risk? :(

[monkey]

two things:
1. when i used to babysit, i used to give the kids cookies and finish off the pack. eating junk food when youre babysitting is almost de rigeur. i especially loved pizza night cause no way in hell were the kids gonna eat more than 2 slices but i could finish off the pizza. man, i was a hungry kid. but i ran around a lot so i guess that explains it.

2. my brother is a better babysitter than i am. he's naturally responsible and kind to children and he has patience that no one has ever inspired in me. my boyfriend works with children and he's the same way. as a matter of fact, my dad has that same kind of attitude of gentleness towards kids. i guess im just a child-hater. :(

[marsdaddy]

I hide my favorite snacks from my stepdad when he and my mom watch the kids. Otherwise he eats them all.

Males might be more likely to sexually abuse children, but females are just as likely to mentally or physically do so. And sexual abuse has little to do with sexual orientation and more to do with power. I wonder if openly gay men are less likely to be pedophiles, since they've exerted power by coming out?

I had a male babysitter as a kid -- he taught me how to play basketball. He and I also ruined one of my mom's old Elvis Presley 78's and I seem to recall that was the last I saw of him.

[Lex Diamonds]

He was probably getting chonged all night and needed the flapjacks for sustenance. (y)

[hardnox71]

is that normal behaviour for the average teen?
Yes. Number one, he's a teenage boy. He'll eat a rusty tin can if you put it on a plate. Number two, he's bored. Nothing to do but eat and watch TV.

[abcdefz]

He and I also ruined one of my mom's old Elvis Presley 78's



Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! :(

[marsdaddy]

Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo! :(Memories...

[Yeti]

who fills their bathtub with flapjacks anyhow?

Oprah

[abcdefz]

Memories...



I'm assuming that if it was a 78, it was one of the Sun singles? Unless that was in pretty bad shape, I think that was worth some dough.

RIP, E 78.

[marsdaddy]

I'm assuming that if it was a 78, it was one of the Sun singles? Unless that was in pretty bad shape, I think that was worth some dough.

RIP, E 78.It was in MINT condition before we played frisbee with it. It was early Elvis, so probably Sun.

I learned my lesson, though. I will not leave any MINT condition vinyl lying around the house for my elementary school aged child or his babysitter to ruin.

[ericlee]

Oprah

blarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhffffff

[abcdefz]

It was in MINT condition before we played frisbee with it. It was early Elvis, so probably Sun.



Oh, fuck. :(

Yeah... I think there was, like, one RCA 78? Maybe not even that.

That's a painful story.

[abcdefz]

I learned my lesson, though. I will not leave any MINT condition vinyl lying around the house for my elementary school aged child or his babysitter to ruin.



Fuck, man. That's one variable about having kids, is that you never know. Stuff you assume is common sense, even when they get older... you never know.

[Yeti]

My parents had a babysitter from the time I was 4 to 8. She was a college student and would usually stay with me on Saturday nights. She would turn on the TV and eat all the chips, salsa, pretzels. Sometimes she would order a pizza and eat almost the entire pie. No wonder she was always available on Saturday nights. Who would want to take her fat arse to dinner? She would break the bank of some poor college student not to mention she would smother them if they had sex.