I'm never babysitting again!

Does harrigran think a cat is a danger to a sleeping child? Anybody older than newborn would move if laid upon by a pet. My children all slept with cats and dogs on their beds.

My neighbours used to have lovely big black cat, named Bobby. They often called him other rather offensive names if he wasn't well behaved!
One day he came into my kitchen through our cat's flap, and DS, then aged 3, shouted 'Git aht, ya black b**ger!'
Talk about 'out of the mouths of babes'. We still laugh about it, and DS is now nearing 40!

can we post pics here? I wanted to show the time I was babysitting tiny GD and took a pic of her in my old pram in the polytunnel to reassure DD that all was well. Only after taking the photo did I notice there was a huge saw hanging like the sword of Damocles over her head!! Luckily DD has sense of humour!

Apricot - #1 DGD is now old enough to share her duvet with our Jack Russell when she stays with us - a living hot water bottle. When I was little my JR slept at the bottom of my bed - sheets and blankets in those days - how he breathed we never knew!

Even without a dog babysitting is fraught with problems. My DGD who was three and a half at the time went in the bathroom and put the bolt on the door, then cried in panic because she couldn't get out. We calmed her down and talked her through undoing the bolt. Then she said "But the little handle's come out and rolled under the door." DH was willing to break the door down or climb up and go through the window, but we managed to push the handle back under the door into the bathroom and talk her through screwing the little handle back into the hole and eventually undoing the bolt. Dreadful half hour! Needless to say we no longer have a bolt on the door but a little dog that sits outside the door when anyone is in the bathroom.

I wish these forums had a 'like' button as Twitter does - I love that last story!!

Have so many stories about babysitting grandchildren to add to my granny-guilt. One was in our house when my youngest DGD was nearly two and the cat got into her cot after she went to sleep. We were blase about grandchildren by then as she is the fifth and had TV on downstairs and consequently didn't hear her crying in terror. Eventually went upstairs and although she had limited vocabulary she said "I was frightened and you didn't listen me crying!" Cat was long gone out of the catflap and eventually we managed to piece together what had happened.

She was inconsolable after that and I had to take her into our bed and let her stay all night. Oh dear. She is seven now and has forgiven us.

I don't close the bedroom doors when the little grandchildren (4 & 1) are staying (probably why I don't get much sleep!).

We were renovating and the door handles were removed to make the painting easier. I took our 2 year old grandson with me to see how things were going and as we walked out of the hallway he shut the door behind him leaving me in the hallway and him with the run of the rest of the house.......including the garden I felt sick with panic :-/ Someone must have been watching over us because a screw driver had been left on the window ledge in the bedroom and somehow, after many tries with very shaky hands I managed to slide it into the gap to release the catch. One day (well in the future just in case I'm never to be trusted again!) I'll tell mum and dad

I'm with DeeWhyO, I have never closed bedroom doors when my children were young and still don't with grandchildren. My bedroom door is never closed and my 12 yr old grandson lives here. I have stair gates to ensure the dog and the cat don't go upstairs, I don't like animals on beds or sofas...they have their own luxury places to sleep ?? it has been known for grandson to take his dog to bed though, both looking extremely sheepish when discovered.

We were babysitting at my daughters house for 3 yr old gdd and 2 yr old gds. Both slept all evening and not a peep out of them. Dd and sil came home and went to check on the children. 2yr old not in his bed. It took the worst 10 minutes of our lives trying to find him. Eventually found fast asleep in the cupboard under the stairs !!

On looking after my youngest DGS I went out of the room to get his coat only to return and find him crawling on the floor with a puzzled expression and our (small) puppy enthusiastically attempting to bonk him. Thank god they were facing the same way!

And yes I did tell my daughter.

I had a lengthy spell babysitting my 2 year old granddaughter one day a week. I had the most horrendous nightmares throughout that period. Either she was in grave danger, and I knew that I would probably die in saving her, or she had been kidnapped and threatened, and I offered myself in her place. But could I trust the villain to let her go if I did die? And how would she get home?
The nightmares stopped when the arrangement ended (not at my request, I should say).
I put them down to the terror of being responsible for her wellbeing, an unexpected nervousness given that my own survived without problems!