Things can get tricky when parents rely on family members to babysit their kids. Should you offer to pay them? Or should it be a given that childcare is free because they're family? Either way, the topic of payment should probably be addressed before the babysitting happens.
Case in point: A TikTok mom named Jessica Pares was shocked when her sister sent an itemized invoice after watching her daughter. She decided to vent her frustrations about the questionable charges on the social media platform, and TikTok users weren't afraid to share their opinions.
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A TikTok video of an invoice Jessica Pares received after her sister babysat her daughter has gone viral.
In April, Jessica shared the Apple Pay invoice her sister sent after watching her daughter, Victoria. The TikTok video has since attracted more than 2.7 million views and over 240,000 likes. And it isn’t hard to see why.
In the message, her sister claimed 'times are getting hard.'
“Here is a breakdown of everything Victoria used in my home,” the message from the aunt read. “Times are getting hard and I think it is only fair we charge for stuff that she used while being here. Can’t wait for her to come over again.”
Here's a look at the itemized invoice.
Here’s a rundown of the itemized invoice for babysitting:
- Flushing toilet .50 per flush (x5)
- Handwashing .50 (x5)
- Using electricity to play video games (played My Little Pony for 20 mins) $7
- Bag of Chips $1 (x3)
- One cup of milk $1
- One cup apple juice $2.50 (x3)
- Dinner from Olive Garden $19
- Gas for driving to the park (Victoria’s idea) $3.75
- Played on her iPad using my WiFi $10
- Netflix to watch a movie $4.50
- Peed on bed $10
- Paint used when drawing $1.25.
The aunt concluded, “Please pay $72 by APRIL 30th, 2024 to avoid interest.”
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TikTok users were collectively horrified by the move.
In the comments, TikTok users were equally horrified and amused by the charges and their correlating money amounts.
“Your daughter probably was trying to save you another flush charge that resulted in the wetting the bed charge,” one person wrote.
Another TikTok user pointed out, “It’s giving Mr. Krabs giving Squidward and SpongeBob an invoice for breathing and existence.”
Another shared, “I can’t imagine charging my sister to keep my nephew…that’s my baby,” and someone else joked, “I’m surprised she didn’t add toilet paper by the square on the list.”
“I only understand the olive garden and peed on bed…MAYBE, even the drive but even then girl, just say no to babysitting at that point,” another person wrote.
“My little pony for 20 minutes at $7….. What has this economy come to,” yet another commenter quipped.
In a different TikTok video, the sister tried to defend herself, but folks weren't buying it.
A TikTok user named Jessy (@xo.jessyy), seemingly Jessica’s sister, replied to a commenter who supported the invoice with her own video.
“Thank you so much for agreeing with me. You’re like one of the few,” she said to the camera. “If she were to have taken my niece to a daycare they would have charged her at least like $100, $150 just to watch her. I have enough on my plate, you know. I have a lot of people that live here, so her coming over here was an extra mouth to feed.”
A quick look at the comments, however, showed that most folks still disagreed.
“Wow, you’re a delight,” one person snarked.
Yet another TikTok user declared, “That’s family. I’d never act like this.”
