Imagine showing up for a tutoring gig, ready to tackle fractions and spelling words, only to discover you’ve been turned into an unpaid babysitter. That’s exactly what happened to one Redditor, who insists on a clear boundary: “I tutor, but I don’t babysit.”
The parent in question ignored those rules, vanished during the session, and left her 8-year-old behind. When the mom didn’t answer texts or calls, the tutor faced a dilemma: abandon the child or call the police? Choosing safety over silence, they rang the non-emergency line.
The fallout? Angry voicemails, a one-star review, and a mother furious at being flagged by social services. Was this an overreaction or the only safe choice? Let’s unpack the drama.
A tutor, clear about not being a babysitter, calls the police when a mom leaves her 8-year-old alone during a session
This story shows how blurred boundaries can spiral into serious consequences. The tutor entered with clear terms: I am not childcare, I am academic support.
The parent broke that agreement by leaving, failed to respond to calls, and left the tutor legally and ethically stuck. Faced with either abandoning an 8-year-old or escalating, the tutor chose the safest option, calling the non-emergency police line.
Some may argue this was excessive, but context matters. In most U.S. states, leaving an 8-year-old home alone can raise child neglect concerns.
According to Child Welfare Information Gateway (a service of the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services), only a handful of states specify a legal minimum age, but many agencies advise against leaving kids under 12 unsupervised for extended periods. In other words, the tutor’s fear of liability wasn’t paranoia, it was grounded in real child protection guidance.
Experts on child safety stress the importance of communication. Dr. David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center at the University of New Hampshire, has noted: “The risks aren’t just about emergencies, it’s about children being placed in situations where they don’t know what to do, and there’s no adult around to help.”
This directly supports the tutor’s instinct: even if the child seemed fine, emergencies can happen in minutes.
What could OP have done differently? Ideally, before this incident, there should have been a written policy or signed contract specifying:
- Tutor is not a babysitter; a parent/guardian must remain present.
- Emergency contacts must be provided.
- Consequences for violations (termination of services, fees).
If such documentation exists, OP is fully shielded. If not, this incident underscores the need to formalize boundaries to avoid misunderstandings.
Take a look at the comments from fellow users:
These users backed the tutor, slamming the mom for abandoning her child, ignoring calls
Some praised the tutor for protecting the child, not the parent’s convenience
This group, with tutoring experience, warned that some parents deliberately “sneak out” to exploit tutors as babysitters
These users noted that the police only escalated matters further because the mom was gone long enough to raise red flags
What started as a simple homework session became a case study in professional boundaries, child safety, and parental accountability. The tutor wasn’t looking for drama just for parents to follow the rules. Reddit’s jury says the mother’s anger is misplaced: if she didn’t want police or social services involved, she should have stayed home as agreed.
So, was the tutor right to stick to their boundaries, or should they have waited it out and confronted the mom afterward? Would you call the police in that situation or take the risk of leaving a child alone?
