.... WHAT?!
Feature Ad:
1) Looking For a Sitter Tonight... (Rhode Island)
Hello! I am looking for a sitter in our home tonight for our 4 1/2 year old son. I need help with him while we do some unpacking/housework (we just moved back to RI). I would also like someone to help give him a bath & get him ready for bed.
Would like this to lead to a part-time or as-needed position for the right individual. Must be a non-smoker & like pets (2 cats & a chihuahua). Mothers with similar-aged children are okay as well as RESPONSIBLE teenagers or college students.
If you can help out tonight, please e-mail me ASAP today with your rate requirements (5/6-10pm). No scams/solicitations please!
Original URL: http://providence.craigslist.org/kid/1410609446.html
*Response from angry CL reader:
2) RE: Looking For a Sitter Tonight (Rhode Island)
You want some random stranger to come babysit last minute AND BATHE your child? How do you think your child will be with a stranger bathing them? Are you a nutcase? What the hell is the matter with you people? "Ok lil Tony. Mommy and Daddy placed an ad on craigslist tonight for someone we can't screen at these hours to come watch you and they are going to bathe your lil naked body too,.. even though you have no idea who they are and we don't know who they are either. They could be a sexual predator,.. but who cares,.. at least we can unpack and not watch you." WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU WACKOS????
Original URL: http://providence.craigslist.org/kid/1411133936.html
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Wow #25 takes the cake. She wants help but in the end YOU are the one out the money not her, so in essence you are paying to help watch her children.
ReplyDeleteOhh and I don't buy into the poor pitiful me I have 2 kids on a long plane ride, my cousin flew her 6 month old and 2 1/2 yr old from Houston to Germany BY HERSELF when the army transferred them there.
I must be crazy but I don't see what is wrong with this ad. The parents will be there and they just want "mothers helper" help with their child. It sounds more responsible than ignoring him or yelling at him to get out of the way. It could be a win-win for some teen or college student that needs a bit of $$.
ReplyDeleteI don't understand why #3 is on here unless it's because they would want to train a chimp. $35 for 5 hours a week isn't bad.
ReplyDeleteTC, are you kidding me? If you're looking for an extremely cheap way to get to London then number 25 is a great deal. I just looked up the cost of a one-way ticket from Houston to London and it's over $1,500 from Delta. So the mom paying half the cost of the ticket would be $750. That would mean $75 an hour for a ten-hour flight.
ReplyDeleteAnd the mom does not say anything like "poor, pitiful me." She tells it like it is, asks for help, and offers a great deal for someone who wants to take the opportunity.
Get over yourself.
#25 Can be interesting if you plan on going to London for a trip or going home to visit anyway. To me it reads as, if your plan on going to London, I can use the help and will pay for half of your ticket from here to there. You help with some kids for 10-11 hours and get 25% of a round trip ticket off.
ReplyDeleteI think the waiting for the bus ad is upsetting. Who wants to be thought of as a "chimp?" I know some people think they are funny,but they are not. It is a big responsibility to hire someone to make sure your child gets on the bus on time and safely every day. The pay is low, and she is insulting the potential candidates to boot. I would not apply for this job.
ReplyDeleteWhat the mom in #25 didn't mention is that whoever takes this job is most likely going to have a 10-month-old on their lap for some of the flight. Who books a 10 hour flight and doesn't buy a seat for the baby? That would have probably been the better investment.
ReplyDeleteOkay I can see if you needed to get to London from Houston at the same time this lady is going, than that MIGHT be a good deal. And hey once your on the plane you can always ditch out on the lady!! LOL. No really though what are the odds. The odds that there is someone who cares to deal with children (that aren't theirs and do not want to be comforted by a STRANGER while Mom is right there) on a damn airplane all the way to London, that is going ONE way to London, and lives near Houston, ON that day. Not very likely. I have a feeling that if someone did agree to do this, the mother would end up getting screwed because the kids would want her anyway and the person could literally NOT help her and there would be nothing she could do. Just a dumb idea all the way around.
ReplyDeleteIf she really needs the help she should either PAY someone AND pay for the one way ticket OR pay for a round trip ticket for someone so they can actually vacation or visit their family and get some real benefit to helping a complete stranger besides a 25% off coupon. please.
Number 26 on the other hand shouldn't really be on there. They aren't looking for a nanny in their home. They need an in home day care provider. So if you're running a business thats a good business decision to add to your roster 2 kids and a thousand dollars a month. Or if you're a stay at home mom, a thousand a month for some playmates for your kids isn't too bad at all. And 2.50 an hour IS a going rate per kid for an in home day care.
Toni Brayer,
ReplyDeleteI suppose that is logical, if these are the kind of parents who think that they have three options:
1) Ignore the child
2) Scream at their child to keep him out of their hair
3) Hire a stranger to come in and bathe him
I don't mind the parts about hiring somebody to occupy the child while they unpack, as long as they are going to be home the whole time, until a complete background and references check can be done...but they should take the 15 minutes to bathe their own child before the complete stranger comes over.
Sometimes I wonder if some of these ads are "veiled" ways to let people know that their children are available to pedophiles...you know, like the secret signals gay men apparently do in public bathrooms.
I vastly prefer option 4:
4) Take care of your children as usual (moves are stressful for them too, so as much consistency as possible during the process is best....which means more familiar people, like parents, less strangers, taking care of them), and unpack in spurts, as you are able, without totally ignoring them for hours at a time.
ck, I think it would take a certain type of person to be able to see this as a deal. Honestly, it's hard taking my own kids on a flight to London, never mind someone else's. This would not be a fun job, and the pay is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteAnd Betsy Ross, why, as a matter of fact, I fly to London without an extra seat for my infant because truly the child will rather be in my arms than their seat, so why waste $1500 for a spot for their carseat?
I didn't buy seats for my infants, but always took a car seat on the plane in case an extra seat opened up next to me (which is always did.) You'd be surprised how many people offer to change seats rather than sit by an infant. hehehe
ReplyDeleteAnd you're right, babies usually want to be on mama's lap. But I wanted the car seat on board (even if it would have had to be stowed) in case we ever encountered one of those situations where we had to do a hard/crash landing. I didn't like the idea of trying to brace a loose infant myself...especially after having heard numerous times that it is next to impossible to hold on after impact.
I don't think the trip to London sounds like a good deal. It seems like if you read between the lines, there will be more expected. If I were a person applying for this job (which I would not, it sounds awful) I would have a great deal of questions I would want answers to before I boarded that plane.
ReplyDeleteck sweetheart I don't need to get over myself. I don't think it's a good idea and you do. period. We don't have to agree nor do I need to get over anything. If someone had the gall to ask me to do something like that I would laugh. I don't see it as a good deal. I live here in the Houston area and I don't think I know one person that would jump at this idea.
ReplyDeleteWhat you failed to take into consideration is that it is a ONE WAY TICKET so then someone is responsible for that one way ticket back home to Houston.
How long has it been since anyone has travelled to London? They won't let you in on a one way ticket. You have to have already booked your return flight to get in. It's been that way at least 40 years.
ReplyDeleteVillage, are ou saying that any non-UK or EU passport holders have to pay the equivalent of a return trip to their own country before customs will let them through once they have gotten off the plane in London? Or anywhere else in the UK?
ReplyDeleteAnd just to make sure people realize, babies have not been allowed to fly free for many years. They have to have at least a half-price fare, even if they will be on the adult's lap the ENTIRE time.
ReplyDeleteReally Cali? Even domestically?
ReplyDeleteThat's harsh. (Although I do like the idea of having each baby have a carseat strapped into the seat next to mom (whether he is in it or not)...just in case of a hard landing. I never held my babies on takeoff or landing...again, just in case...
cali mom I think it depends on the airlines and where it's going. All the airlines here (southwest, continental, delta) all allow a child under 2 to ride for free as long as they are in their parents lap.
ReplyDeleteChildren under 2yo still fly for free on most domestic airlines, provided they fly as lap babies and do not require a separate seat. You do often get a free seat anyway as airlines and passengers tend to leave the adjacent seat empty if at all possible. I have personally flown with a child under 2yo on Continental and American in the past two years.
ReplyDeleteAlso my experience is that there is virtually no discount for older childrens' fares anymore. So kids 2yo and above tend to pay full adult fare, not the half fare of years past.
cali mom,
ReplyDeletemy child flew free just last year. not to London, though. do you mean just overseas?
Lap babies still fly free. The rule is they have to be under 2 years old. Often times you will end up getting your own seat for them because the plane is not full, but during busy times of the year (like Christmas) you are usually stuck with the baby on your lap the whole flight.
ReplyDeleteI think #25 would have had better luck had she advertised earlier and maybe had babysit a few times someone get to know her children before the flight. Also one way tickets are often almost the same price as a round trip. She would probably have much better luck if she was offerring to pay 1/2 of a round trip or even a flat dollar amount.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeletehey turkey: spam somewhere else you troll.
ReplyDeleteWe flew to London several times when my son was between 1 and 3 and my memory is that we got a slightly discounted fare for him but had to pay it even if he had no seat. This was on Virgin Atlantic, but we were going through a lot at that time so I may be remembering incorrectly, AND it may depend on the airline. And I don't recall ever being lucky enough to end up with an empty seat next to us on any of those flights. They tend to pack them pretty efficiently for overseas flights I think.
ReplyDeleteYou know what would be a good business. "Hey drop your kids off for the day, so you don't have to deal with them. We are certified strangers that you know nothing about. Your kids won't know us either, so they won't be able to tell you which one of us locked them in the closet. Since you only need us for a short amount of time and you will pay absolutly nothing, we will not feed them, bathe them, or even talk unless we have to discipline them. So come on down all you busy parents and drop off your kids, so you can have fun or just to get them outa your hair! We are located just down your street in that white van with no windows, so you can be sure of the reliable transportation we provide. Just call us 1-800-BAD-KIDS, or look up our company WHERE BAD KIDS GO FOR GOOD"
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many idiots would actually call it?
Yup, kids under 2 fly free on your lap. Even overseas. HOWEVER, you need to pay tax for them.
ReplyDeleteEww the person who responded to #1 sounds like a pyscho.
ReplyDeleteHere's a thought: the mother can hire someone to work during the day, to play with the child. Even children this age can help with unpacking to the extent of cleaning up, like moving empty boxes, newspaper, etc. The craft possibilities are endless! Secondly, is the mother that overwhelmed or lazy she can't bathe her own child, that she would hire a stranger to bathe him?
ReplyDeleteWow....It's Tuesday and hardly anyone has commented on posts, and there haven't been any new sightings. Where is everyone? MPP: Did you get the email regarding the woman who changed her plea at the last minute at her sentencing hearing in the child abuse case?
I can see if you needed to get to London from Houston at the same time this lady is going, than that MIGHT be a good deal. And hey once your on the plane you can always ditch out on the lady
ReplyDelete