Boy Destroys Babysitter’s Laptop After Dumping Water on It and Shattering Screen. Now the Parents Aren’t Offering to Replace It

NEED TO KNOW

A babysitter is wondering if the parents of the child they babysit should pay for their broken laptop after the kid smashed it on the ground and poured water over it.

The original poster (OP) shared their story on Reddit and explained that they normally babysit for a family with two kids — a 7-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl. The mom suggested the babysitter start doing their homework around the boy in the hope that it would inspire him to do his homework too.

“The boy is really bad and acts up all the time,” OP explained. “He’s the kind of kid that has never heard ‘no.'”

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OP went on to share that most of their homework is on their laptop, and the boy they babysit was curious, so they showed him what they can do with it. As they were showing the boy the keyboard that lights up and the paper they were writing, the boy asked what would happen if water were poured on it.

“I immediately panicked and said, ‘Well, you might break it because water can damage electronics,'” OP wrote. “I also threatened to pour water on his switch. The dad said it was okay to make empty threats because it could scare him into acting up.”

Thinking the boy might try something, OP put their laptop in their backpack. But the boy kept trying to open the bag. Eventually, OP placed their laptop on a super high shelf, which led to the boy trying to drag his high chair over to the shelf for the next hour.

At one point, the girl OP babysits had to go to the bathroom, so OP left the boy alone. He took the opportunity to pull down the laptop and slam it on the ground, which shattered the screen. He then poured water all over it.

“I freaked out and told the parents. The dad was very apologetic, but the mom just sent me a text saying, ‘I’ll speak to him and hopefully he’ll listen this time,'” wrote OP. “The issue is this happens everyday. The kid acts up, the dad disciplines him and mom just sends a sorry text.”

OP explained that the reason they want to ask the family to replace the laptop is that the dad was bragging about how the mom is a lawyer and makes a lot of money. “I got the vibe they’re pretty well off,” said OP.

“It’s a $1000 gaming laptop and I worked hard to get it a couple of years ago,” OP said, going on to ask if it would be unreasonable to ask them to replace it.

In their comments, OP received a lot of support from many who said the family should replace their laptop.

“They should absolutely replace it, and frankly, if their little demons are that destructive, maybe it’s not worth babysitting them anymore,” one person wrote.

Another pointed out that OP should quit since the parents can’t even handle their own kids.

“100% and don’t babysit for them anymore,” they said. “People who can’t control their kids should be so wary of having other people watch them before issues are resolved.”

OP responded to this comment, saying they were considering quitting and that it was only their second week. “Their previous babysitter lasted a week and I totally see why now,” added OP.

A third said the incident wasn’t an accident, and that OP should consider taking them to civil court if they don’t pay for the broken laptop.

“This wasn’t an accident. If he was drinking out of an open cup next to you and it slipped out [of] his hands I’d say no…but holy s— I’d be getting a new laptop out of it,” they said.

“And if they didn’t wanna pay that, I’d be taking them to civil court. If they weren’t well off I may think differently, but nah.”

Read the original article on People