Babysitter Concerned Over Boy's Extreme Attachment, Cries When Leaving Her Home

The parents don't spend a lot of time with the boy.

May

• Published in Interesting
• August 30, 2023

Balancing work and family life is quite impossible to achieve if a mother has a regular nine-to-five job and an employer that isn't supportive of moms.

Women are left with no choice but to employ babysitters or use local childcare services in their area. But these options don't easily solve the problem.

Remember that working moms still spend less time with their children. So it's pretty common for their little ones to be more attached to their caregivers than their mothers.

A babysitter who shared her story on the Relationship Advice subreddit recently had this experience. She is a stay-at-home mom who decided to take babysitting jobs because her children are all grown up, and she's bored.

She has been babysitting a boy since he was 6 months old. Now that he's three, he's grown attached to the original poster (OP).

The boy's real parents don't spend a lot of time with him because of work. Recently, the boy has been crying whenever it's time to leave the OP's home.

He's so attached to the point that he even calls the OP's name in his sleep. This also made the boy's mom worried.

Now, the OP is wondering if there's anything she can do to solve this problem. She decided to ask an online community.

The OP is worried about a child she's babysitting. He has gotten too attached to her.

She explains her family background and how she does her babysitting job.

The kids are brought to her home then picked up later in the day.

There's this boy she has been babysitting since he was six months old, and now the child is three years old.

The boy has bonded with the OP's family. The OP's children are like siblings to the boy.

The OP asks:

A user suggests looking for a nanny forum. They also gave advice on how to make the boy excited for his parents' arrival.

Some users suggested communities where she can ask advice from.

Some Redditors think she should cut back on spending time with the kid, while the others think this isn't her problem anymore.

The solution needs to come from the parents. In other words, they need to spend more time with their son.

When the babysitter cares for the kids well, children often form stronger attachments to the caregiver than to their own parents.

The OP doesn't have to do anything about it because it's part of the child's development.

The child getting attached to the OP is inevitable given the his parents' schedules.

In the end, the change doesn't have to come from the OP. It's the parents who need to make adjustments to their schedules.

The OP doesn't have to do anything to improve the situation because she can't. It's all on the child's parents.

What the OP can do is continue to be there for the kid as a babysitter. If the parents are too worried, then they should make an effort to spend time with their son.

May