Parents refuse to pay their 15-year-old babysitter the full amount they owed her because they thought her tank top was inappropriate: '$50 does not feel like enough money for 2 kids and 7 hours'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Apr 23, 2025 8:00 AM EDT

Being a teenage girl is all about adults constantly telling you that your clothes are "inappropriate," even when they are nothing of the sort. I do not envy the days in my life when I was dress-coded by my nefarious theater teacher for the crime of wearing solid black leggings to the 8th grade. He made me change into extremely embarrassing '90s pants in the costume closet, and I can still remember how badly they fit. I was also constantly dress-coded for wearing shorts because I was 5'11 and even normal-length shorts looked tiny on me. I was fighting for my life wearing pants in the 90-degree Texas heat during the first and last months of school.

While it's crucial to learn that certain outfits are best saved for parties or dances, it can be borderline creepy to tell a teenager that she's crossing a boundary for simply wearing a tank top or shorts. 

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  • The parents in this story are technically allowed to tell their teenage babysitter what not to wear on the job, but they certainly aren't allowed to withhold her pay because they don't like it. Nevertheless, that's what they did, leading the teen to seek answers online on how to get her money back in full. 

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    Cheezburger Image 10497246976
    via Oleg Ivanov (Unsplash+)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • 02

    Am I overreacting for demanding to be paid after wearing something inappropriate to babysit?

    hi! i am 15 and have been babysitting this family for over a year. they are more on the conservative side, and a lot more religious than my family, but they are generally nice and i love their kids. i did not receive payment
    via u/MightUsual421
  • 03
    from them the last time i babysat, and so i reached out and they are now saying they will not pay me the full price because i was wearing something inappropriate. just wondering if i am overreactingreacting
    via u/MightUsual421
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    for context, i was wearing a sweatshirt over my tanktop (3rd pic) and only took it off after the kids asked me to run around with them.
    via u/MightUsual421
  • 05
    i babysat from 4 to 10:30, and normally charge 15 dollars w a 5 dollar increase per kid, so 20 dollars for 2 kids.
    via u/MightUsual421
  • 06
    > 10:50 M Marianne Today 2:46 PM Hi! Hope you had a great weekend, I just wanted to reach out because I haven't gotten my payment from Wednesday yet. I know you guys celebrate Good Friday and Easter so I totally get that it probably slipped off your radar but if you could Venmo me when you have the chance, that would be fantastic! Today 10:39 PM Hello Mae, Dan and I have been talking about it, and quite frankly, we do not feel comfortable paying you the full amount after you wore such an inappro
    via u/MightUsual421
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    10:51 Marianne M which you have the chance, ITAL would be fantastic! Today 10:39 PM Hello Mae, Dan and I have been talking about it, and quite frankly, we do not feel comfortable paying you the full amount after you wore such an inappropriate clothing to our house. The kids love you and we are more than happy to give you a second chance, but we cannot pay you more than 50$ after you wore that outfit. Wow, I had no idea you guys felt that way, I am so so sorry I made you uncomfortable. I just wan
    via u/MightUsual421
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    Cheezburger Image 10497242368
    via u/MightUsual421
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    m00nyb4be I second that you should tell your parent or a trusted adult. The family needs to pay you the full amount. What you wore was not inappropriate in the least and even if it was - they still need to pay you what they owe. If they were uncomfortable with your clothing they could have had a conversation with you / sent you home before they went out. IMO it's just shady behaviour + an excuse not to pay up. I also agree with what others are saying about them sexualizing you. It's not cool. It
    via u/m00nyb4be
  • 10
    Natti07 What you wore was not inappropriate in the least and even if it was - they still need to pay you what they owe. Exactly. You can't just not pay someone for the time they worked. If they were uncomfortable with her outfit, they could have said they didn't want her to babysit or they could not ask her back in the future. (But they won't bc then who could they exploit for their childcare)
    via u/Natti07
  • 11
    OP, please talk to a parent about this. You did a pretty good job replying, but never offer for someone to pay half when they're already being unreasonable and unethical. There are times to reduce or refund charges, but this is not one of them.
    via u/Natti07
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    MightUsual421 OP thanks!! unfortunately they really don't get along w my parents (very opposing political views etc) and so my parents can't really do much. my mom did say she'd try to reach out to her in the morning but it will probably go no where
    via u/MightUsual421
  • 13
    NotNobody_Somebody Tell other people in their church that they refused to pay you the agreed amount. If they try to push back about your clothing, ask them why it wasn't a problem before they left you in charge of their very precious children.
    via u/NotNobody_Somebody
  • 14
    Cruzosaurus None of that matters. You provided a service. If they were so uncomfortable they should have sent you home when you arrived. Instead, they let you babysit their 2 kids for 7 hours and decided they just wouldn't pay what you're owed. Regardless of what you wore (which was fine, btw), you provided the service, they are obligated to pay. Tell them/tell your mom to tell them that you expect full payment, and that they can find a new babysitter as you do not feel comfortable working for t
    via u/Cruzosaurus
  • 15
    miss55 On another note....they were quite happy to leave you with the kids and not mention it? If it was that disturbing - couldn't they have addressed it before they conveniently left and had a really good time out FOR SEVEN HOURS- at your expense?
    via u/miss55_
  • 16
    MightUsual421 OP this is what is so odd to me! i live 4 doors down from them, they had such a problem i easily would've popped home and changed!
    via u/MightUsual421
  • 17
    teabump Girl you better say this to them. Message them back and say that you've had a think about it and actually they knew what you were wearing when you arrived and they let you babysit without mentioning that they intended to snub your pay. In any normal employment situation it would not be acceptable to reduce the agreed pay after letting someone do the work. Do NOT accept less than your standard rate I beg you !!
    via u/teabump
  • 18
    sushifarmer2022 I would never babysit for these people again. Lesson learned I guess. Try to get your money. But don't rely on them to be fair ever again
    via u/sushifarmer2022
  • 19
    jeremyjava Absolutely. OP did nothing wrong and even if she did (unless she was doing something really illegal/immoral) they should still pay her in full and say they can't hire her any longer going forward.
    via u/jeremyjava
  • 20
    dispair_silence98 how is that outfit inappropriate? you're a literal child too. Please get your parents involved and have them give you your money
    via u/dispair_silence98
  • 21
    Odd-Fox-6793 First of all let me commend you on your maturity and your respect in how you communicated with them. Well done. Now with that being said, i would respond again in a very respectful manner that you feel if they had problem with how you were dressed you wish they would have mentioned it then. At that point decisions
    via u/Odd-Fox-6793
  • 22
    could have been made whether to stay and earn less or to leave. Of course they didn't want you to leave. They needed you. I'm so sorry this happened to you. It was rotten of them. Shame shame. But i would NEVER babysit for them again, even if they paid you the entire amount. They can't be trusted.
    via u/Odd-Fox-6793
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    RaineRamirezz Yep and that's exactly why she waited until after she didn't need her anymore to confront her. Or she doesn't have the money and pulled an excuse out of the air.
    via u/RaineRamirezz
  • 24
    Gold_Adhesiveness_80 Girl. DO NOT APOLOGIZE!!! DO NOT TAKE ANY LESS MONEY THAN WHAT THEY OWE. If they were so “uncomfortable" with what you were wearing, then they should've asked you to leave and not had you babysit. this is so hypocritical!! They are
    via u/Gold_Adhesiveness_80
  • 25
    just using misogyny to be cheap. They are disgusting heinous people. Complete jackasses. Please let every girl know about their behavior so that they cannot do this to someone else. If you're my daughter, I would be in their driveway right now demanding your money and I would be blasting them all over the neighborhood.
    via u/Gold_Adhesiveness_80

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parents of teens teens neighbors babysitter teenager kids teenagers neighborhood-drama babysitting tank top entitled clothes money entitled people
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