Good babysitters are hard to find, so parents don’t want to get on their bad side.

Childcare is a necessity for any family with working parents, or even just those who need some time away from the kids once in a while. Not everybody gets the luxury of making sure their kids have the best treatment possible. Much of the time, they have no choice but to leave them with strangers and hope that the standard of care is good enough for them and their children. 

Those who have family members willing and able to look after kids are among the luckiest moms and dads out there, but they can have a tendency to take this privilege for granted. This generosity is only going to extend so far if they start acting entitled and go against the terms and conditions of having access to this childcare.

It is a predictable pattern that many babysitting relatives find themselves stuck in, where the parent they are helping out oversteps their boundaries, then gets upset when they reinstate them. Things can get even dicier if money is involved, as they want to feel as if their expense is working for them, and not against them. Holding onto those principles is crucial.