5-year-old breaks his nanny's $2000 laptop, parents refuse to pay her for the damages: 'I feel like this is absolutely not my responsibility.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
Jan 15, 2026 8:00 AM EST

They should at least pay for half of it

When you're babysitting or petsitting, you need to be smart about exactly where you put your possessions. Kids and animals are not always the most considerate of the fact that you spend a lot of money on your jewelry, and do not appreciate it if someone breaks or chews it. Depending on their age, a kid might not even realize that a bracelet belongs to you, not them, and that can create a world of trouble if you're not careful about where you put it. 

The volatility of children raises the question: Is it the parents' responsibility to cover any and everything their child breaks, or should a nanny responsible for their care take the blame when something breaks under their watch? The answer to that question is contingent on what was broken. If a kid breaks their parents' Fabergé egg while they were supposed to be under a babysitter's watchful eye, their parents are almost certainly going to place the blame on the babysitter and maybe even ask her to pay them back for the damage. But if a kid breaks their babysitter's phone by stealing it out of their pocket and throwing it on the floor, it wouldn't be a wild request for the babysitter to ask the parents to cover the cost of the phone. After all, a nanny can only do so much to morally guide kids in the right direction. If their parents tolerate disrespect for their possessions from their own children, what's going to stop their kids from doing the same thing to other people?

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  • A young boy sitting at a table in front of a mirror
    via Tamara Govedarovic

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The parents in this story don't think they should be covering the cost of their nanny's broken laptop. They think that because she put her laptop on the kitchen counter, which they consider “safe enough” to keep from their 5-year-old, she should have to pay to repair or replace it herself.

  • My child broke nanny’s laptop. She wants us to foot the bill even though I warned her about it

    Is this a standard thing an employer should cover for their nanny? We have a nanny who is a student so she brings. her laptop most days to do schoolwork when she has free time.
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • Totally cool with us. When she first started I suggested to her that when she's not using it, she keeps it in her car or at least zipped away in her bag because I noticed she was leaving it laying around in random spots which is objectively not the best idea with 2 young kids running around.
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • At one point I saw it fall off the couch while kids were jumping around. The laptop was fine but at that point I told her, definitively, please keep your laptop in a safe, unreachable place or leave it in the car.
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • This was because it's an expensive computer (newest Macbook Pro, like over $2000) and I did. not want anything to happen to it because I knew it could become complicated.
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • She got better at keeping it safe but I still noticed it laying around occasionally. Yesterday when I got home from work to relieve nanny, she told me my 5yo kid broke her laptop.
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • I asked what happened and she said he was playing on it without permission and it slipped off the kitchen island, fell and broke.
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • It's completely unusable now. I told her I was sorry that happened and had my kid apologize to her as well.
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • A person using a laptop computer on a wooden table
    via Ahmed (Unsplash+)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • She was understandably frustrated and went home. Couple of hours later my husband and I get a text from her basically saying we were responsible for paying to get it fixed or paying to replace it altogether if it was unable to be fixed.
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • I'm so completely annoyed because I knew this would happen and I repeatedly asked her to keep her laptop safe.
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • I feel like this is absolutely not my responsibility. Not sure what to do here and wanted to get some input.
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • Edit: The kitchen counter is not what we consider a "safe place" in our home and nanny knows this.
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • Brown wooden chair beside white wooden table
    via Cameron Smith

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • It's where both kids do crafts, activities, and play frequently. It's easily reachable and accessible to them.
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • coloraria Our contract has a valuables clause which states that nanny's personal valuables are to be kept out of child's reach and we're not liable to replace those items. We also provide her a lockable guest room for her things. I realize this might not help now, but may help for later negotiations.
    via u/coloraria
  • Consistent_Cookie104 Original Poster's Reply Thank you, great idea
    via u/Consistent_Cookie104
  • figsaddict This is a really great idea.
    via u/figsaddict
  • TeaCrumbs I'm a nanny who used to bring my laptop and I took it as my responsibility to keep it safe and tucked away. I would be embarrassed if it broke because I wasn't properly watching the kids to catch it before it happened.
    via u/TeaCrumbs
  • sunshinewifemom Ugh. I would be super annoyed. I would probably offer that as a gesture of goodwill, I would split the cost of the repair or split the cost of a used / refurbished laptop, not to exceed whatever price seems reasonable, on the condition that she no longer brings a computer into my house. This is assuming I care about keeping this nanny, and would mostly be because the time, stress and cost of finding a new nanny would be higher than the cost of splitting the repair. I would also b
    via u/sunshinewifemom
  • JellyfishSure1360 This is a little tricky. Had it just accidentally got knocked off the table or something spilled on it I'd agree with you but I do think you should offer to cover a portion of it because your child didn't accidentally knock it over they were playing with something they knew they shouldn't have and it got broken. 5 is old enough to know to mess with her laptop. She should have had it put away better so I don't think you are responsible for covering the whole bill. I would also t
    via u/JellyfishSure1360
  • Ok_Mulberry4331 This is hard, I'd consider on a kitchen island a safe place (as opposed to on the couch, the floor, somewhere a kid could knock it over) and 5 is old enough to know not to touch other people's stuff (when you said kid, I assumed a toddler did it and was on your side, shouldn't be somewhere they could get it). I'd at the very least offer to spit the repair of it
    via u/Ok_Mulberry4331
  • Reasonable_Aspect954 I think if you like this nanny you should pay for half, a 5 year old should understand this does not belong to them and should not be playing with it on a kitchen island
    via u/Reasonable_Aspect954
  • Ordinary-Concern3248 Honestly if it was on the counter and you like the nanny, I'd help her. Do you have to? No. Is it worth keeping the continuity and positive relationship? Up to you.
    via u/Ordinary-Concern3248
  • Icy-Event-6549 It was on a countertop, not on a coffee table or on the floor. Your son must have accessed it when she was in the bathroom or attending to another child, which he should not have done. This is on you, I feel. You should be raising kids that know not to touch things that aren't theirs. Even at age 5. Edit: she was getting clothes upstairs, so she was doing her job. 5 year olds can be alone for a few minutes. I think you just don't want to pay for it because it's expensive, which I
    via u/Icy-Event-6549

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behavior counter nanny babysitting little kids damage broken expensive laptop parents
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