History Main / BadlyBatteredBabysitter

** The roles are reversed in the episode ''Married....without Children''. Al and Peg decide to take a vacation at a motel in Wisconsin. Their next door neighbors, Steve and Marcy Rhoade, offer to babysit Bud and Kelly. They quickly regret their decision as Bud and Kelly prove to be total chaos. (Marcy wanted to know what it would be like to raise a child.) The Rhoades are thrilled to hear that Al and Peg decide to come home early. To prove that they shouldn't babysit the kids again, Marcy allows Kelly to throw a party, which was forbidden by Peggy. This turns out to be a bigger mistake. Not only are the Rhoades' home wrecked by the party, but Al and Peg decide to stay longer.

** The roles are reversed in the episode ''Married....without Children''. Al and Peg decide to take a vacation at a motel in Wisconsin. Their next door neighbors, Steve and Marcy Rhoade, offer to babysit Bud and Kelly. They quickly regret their decision as Bud and Kelly prove to be total chaos. (Marcy wanted to know what it would be like to raise a child.) The Rhoades are thrilled to hear that Al and Peg decide to come home early. To prove that they shouldn't babysit the kids again, Marcy allows Kelly to throw a party, which was forbidden by Peggy. This turns out to be a bigger mistake. Not only is the Rhoades' home wrecked by the party, but Al and Peg decide to stay longer.

** The roles are reversed in the episode ''Married....without Children''. Al and Peg decide to take a vacation at a motel in Wisconsin. Their next door neighbors, Steve and Marcy Rhoade, offer to babysit Bud and Kelly. They quickly regret their decision as Bud and Kelly prove to be total chaos. (Marcy wanted to know what it would be like to raise a child.)The Rhoades are thrilled to hear that Al and Peg decide to come home early. To prove that they shouldn't babysit the kids again, Marcy allows Kelly to throw a party, which was forbidden by Peggy. This turns out to be a bigger mistake. Not only is the Rhoades' home wrecked by the party, but Al and Peg decide to stay longer.

** The roles are reversed in the episode ''Married....without Children''. Al and Peg decide to take a vacation at a motel in Wisconsin. Their next door neighbors, Steve and Marcy, offer to babysit Bud and Kelly. They quickly regret their decision as Bud and Kelly prove to be total chaos. (Marcy wanted to know what it would be like to raise a child.)

* ''Series/MarriedWithChildren'': Desperate for concert ticket money, Bud rents Kelly out as a babysitter. During the evening, she's tied to a chair, peed on, and threatened with scalping. (They even threaten to ''lynch'' her, but she escapes that, somehow.)

* Invoked in ''Fanfic/AshesOfThePast'' Silver the baby Lugia is normally perfectly well-behaved, but his parents need to keep three rambunctious legendary birds busy while they help save the world. So they tell the birds to take care of Silver "on pain of laser", then tell Silver to keep the birds busy. Cue a "rampaging" Silver engaging in all sorts of mischief, including carving his name in islands with ''[[WaveMotionGun Aeroblast]]''.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' Did It.

Compare NoSympathy, EscortMission (and StealthEscortMission when the babysitter must ensure their charge is unaware there was any danger in the first place).

* Estonia from ''Manga/AxisPowersHetalia'' ends up being this [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter to the mochis]].

* One story of the ''FanFic/FacingTheFutureSeries'' involves this when [[spoiler:Danny and Sam are turned into five-year-olds and Tucker and the rest of the Fentons must deal with their ghost powered mischief. According to Jazz, Danny was like this the first time he was five years old]].
* In ''FanFic/MegaManDefenderOfTheHumanRace'', Tiesel Bonne has to look after his rambunctious baby brother...who pilots a mech suit.

-->-- '''Kari [=McKeen=]''', ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''

!!Examples

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

-->'''Asterix:''' Do you think we ought to take the risk, Obelix?
-->'''Obelix:''' It's the pedlar who'd be taking a risk!

[[folder:Fan Fic]]

[[folder:Film - Animated]]

* ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994'':

[[folder:Film - Live Action]]

* Film/Halloween1978 has Laurie and Annie, the latter of whom ends up with a slashed throat while Laurie ends up with a slashed shoulder, broken ankle, and a cut-up hand.
* ''Film/TheHouseOfTheDevil''

[[folder:Folklore and Mythology]]
* OlderThanPrint: In a [[Myth/CelticMythology Welsh]] folktale, Prince Llywelyn the Great returns from a day out to discover his baby son's cradle overturned, the baby missing, and the guard dog Gelert with blood around his mouth. Llywelyn drew his sword and killed Gelert, who let out a final dying yelp. Then he heard the baby's cries and found it under the cradle, unharmed, along with a dead wolf which had attacked the child. Gelert had killed it, and the blood had been the wolf's -- and his own, from wounds received in the child's defense.
* One variation of the "Caller Upstairs" urban legend involve the babysitter inviting a friend or even her boyfriend over. After several calls they alert the police, and the friend/boyfriend goes upstairs to investigate, the 911 dispatcher calls and says the caller is inside the house, the companion then comes tumbling into the living room, bleeding out, telling the original babysitter to make a run for it.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Live Action TV]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Strongly implied to be a risk of babysitting ComicStrip/TheAddamsFamily children.
-->"We won't be late, Miss Weems. Get the children to bed around eight, and keep your back to the wall at all times."
* ''ComicStrip/BabyBlues'': Usually happens in the comic where instead of the parents leaving, it's Darryl that leaves. Wanda ends up chasing or saving Zoe, Hammie, and Wren and gets hurt in the process.
* Very averted in ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', where Rosalyn comes close to a BabysitterFromHell at times, being one of the few people Calvin is truly afraid of. First, every time the parents hire Rosalyn to watch over Calvin, he's always the one to get lectured (at the very least) for the pranks he pulls on her. He once tried to run away and didn't get very far before she brought him back. Rosalyn can generally take what he dishes out and come down hard on him for it. Even during the times Calvin "won", it would always be a PyrrhicVictory at best, as he was the one to get in trouble for it. Second, she commands ''princely'' sums (even getting advances) as she's the only one who will put up with Calvin. Third, the parents are all too aware of Calvin's antics themselves, so Rosalyn never has to worry about [[CassandraTruth not being believed]]. Lastly, in Rosalyn's final appearance, she and Calvin make peace with each other after bonding over a game of {{Calvinball}}. Although one strip suggested that the reason Rosalyn is willing to babysit Calvin is that ''every other babysitter'' who his parents have hired have fallen victim to this trope.
* Done with a twist in the "ComicStrip/CloseToHome" books by John [=McPherson=]. A babysitter, after a hellish evening with her charges, (which ended in a wrecked house), states to the child's parents that not only will she never babysit for them again, but it will cost them an extra $100 just for her to keep her mouth shut and not tell other sitters to avoid them.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Dennis the Menace|US}}'': This was pretty much a regular trope for this strip, especially when Hank Ketchum was alive doing it, and Dennis was much more 'menacing'.
* ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}'':
** Paige Fox has suffered mild versions of this, but most of the time it's her own fault. Once she fell asleep because she was working herself too hard on babysitting jobs, and the girl she was supposed to be watching cut up her new dress with her mother's scissors (As Paige says herself, it could have been much worse). Another time she fed a toddler a huge piece of chocolate cake right before bedtime, and [[HilarityEnsues hilarity ensued]] when she began quite literally bouncing off the walls.
** Her brother Peter, on the other hand, has actually suffered serious injury dog-sitting an extremely small dog with extremely sharp teeth and a NapoleonComplex.

[[folder: Web Comics]]
* Poor Benny in the "Wolves" comic from Webcomic/HyperboleAndAHalf.

[[folder: Western Animation]]

* This is the setup used by the "Buttons and Mindy" segments on ''WesternAnimation/{{Animaniacs}}'', where they took almost sadistic glee in torturing the poor dog. And the poor dog [[TheWoobie always winds up getting chewed out]] by the oblivious mother.
** The overuse of this trope is {{Lampshaded}} in one cartoon where Mindy winds up in a construction site, where {{Captain Ersatz}}es of WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry are trying to save an unknown baby, and a {{Popeye}} CaptainErsatz is trying to save "Green Bean".

BabysitterFromHell is the inversion of this trope, but this trope sometimes comes into play as a karmic punishment. It also works the other way around.

* Franchise/TheDCU comic book ''{{Elseworld}}s 80 Page Giant'' was pulled from the shelves for "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter", a BadlyBatteredBabysitter sequence in which a baby Clark Kent survives various cartoonish hazards, including accidentally microwaving himself, thanks to his invulnerability. The story was later reprinted in ''Bizarro Comics''. It was also pulled for other things, like the implication that the Kents hired the babysitter so they could have a quiet night together. Also played with a bit at the end where the Kents get home, see the wrecked house, and compliment Letitia and ask if she's available next week. Another thing that irked the censors was a scene where little Clark gets himself a drink of milk straight from the udders of a cow.

* [[DoubleSubversion Double subverted]] in the AnthologyFilm ''The Mortuary Collection''. The final segment, "The Babysitter Murders" (originally released as a short film in its own right), opens with a familiar SlasherMovie storyline: Sam, a pretty blonde babysitter, finds herself under attack by the "Tooth Fairy" SerialKiller who broke out of a mental hospital, and fights to save both herself and the children under her watch. She also starts the film watching a cheesy slasher with a very similar plot. [[spoiler:It turns out, however, that it's Sam who is the escaped serial killer (and her name is actually Charlotte), and the man trying to kill her, [[GenderBlenderName himself named Sam]], was the original babysitter fighting back. Given that we've been following her as the AudienceSurrogate during the FramingDevice connecting the segments, it goes without saying that TheBadGuyWins; when the segment starts, she's already killed one of the kids and is [[ImAHumanitarian putting him in the oven]] (which we only find out after TheReveal), she kills the real Sam and escapes as the kids' parents return home, and she was at the mortuary not to apply for a job but to collect a tooth from her victim's corpse (her [[CreepySouvenir trademark as a killer]]). The mortician Montgomery Dark, upon learning who "Sam" really is (and especially after she tries to kill him upon deciding that HeKnowsTooMuch), proceeds to inflict a dose of LaserGuidedKarma on her.]]

[[caption-width-right:350:...Okay. No more flash cards.]]

* ''ComicStrip/{{Dennis the Menace|US}}'': This was pretty much a regular trope for this strip, especially when Hank Ketchum was alive doing it, and Dennis was much more 'menacing'.
* ''ComicStrip/BabyBlues'': Usually happens in the comic where instead of the parents leaving, it's Darryl that leaves. Wanda ends up chasing or saving Zoe, Hammie, and Wren and gets hurt in the process.

* The short film ''Jack-Jack Attack'' (special featured on the ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' DVD) features a slightly ditzy but responsible girl (Kari) babysitting Jack-Jack Parr. Jack-Jack proceeds to [[RandomTransportation teleport about the house]], [[PowerFloats defy gravity]], chew through a wooden "cage" (actually an inverted playpen), [[IntangibleMan phase through walls]], set the house on fire while '''[[WreathedInFlames being on fire]]''', and [[EyeBeams shoot Kari with lasers]] (which is the page image). [[MeanwhileBackAtThe This actually happened WITHIN the time-frame of the movie, off-screen]]. Her frantic calls to Mrs. Parr, and the ease/eagerness with which she handed the kid off to a [[BigBad complete stranger]] that belatedly identified himself as the replacement sitter, tied into the main plot as well. To her credit, she never tried to leave Jack-Jack before the "replacement sitter" showed up (and Helen had told her she'd be calling a replacement), and she was stressed out and sleep-deprived at that point.

* [[DoubleSubversion Double subverted]] in the AnthologyFilm ''The Mortuary Collection''. The final segment, "The Babysitter Murders" (originally released as a short film in its own right), opens with a familiar SlasherMovie storyline: Sam, a pretty blonde babysitter, finds herself under attack by the "Tooth Fairy" SerialKiller who broke out of a mental hospital, and fights to save both herself and the children under her watch. She also starts the film watching a cheesy slasher with a very similar plot. [[spoiler:It turns out, however, that it's Sam who is the escaped serial killer (and her name is actually Charlotte), and the man trying to kill her, [[GenderBlenderName himself named Sam]], was the original babysitter fighting back. Given that we've been following her as the AudienceSurrogate during the wraparound connecting the segments, it goes without saying that TheBadGuyWins; when the segment starts, she's already killed one of the kids and is [[ImAHumanitarian putting him in the oven]] (which we only find out after TheReveal), she kills the real Sam and escapes as the kids' parents return home, and she was at the mortuary not to apply for a job but to collect a tooth from her victim's corpse (her [[CreepySouvenir trademark as a killer]]). The mortician Montgomery Dark, upon learning who "Sam" really is (and especially after she tries to kill him upon deciding that HeKnowsTooMuch), proceeds to inflict a dose of LaserGuidedKarma on her.]]

* [[DoubleSubversion Double subverted]] in the AnthologyFilm ''The Mortuary Collection''. The final segment, "The Babysitter Murders" (originally released as a short film in its own right), opens with a familiar SlasherMovie storyline: Sam, a pretty blonde babysitter, finds herself under attack by the "Tooth Fairy" SerialKiller who broke out of a mental hospital, and fights to save both herself and the children under her watch. She also starts the film watching a cheesy slasher with a very similar plot. [[spoiler:It turns out, however, that it's Sam who is the escaped serial killer (and her name is actually Charlotte), and the man trying to kill her was the original babysitter fighting back. Given that we've been following her as the AudienceSurrogate during the wraparound connecting the segments, it goes without saying that TheBadGuyWins; when the segment starts, she's already killed one of the kids and is [[ImAHumanitarian putting him in the oven]], she kills the real Sam and escapes as the kids' parents return home, and she was at the mortuary not to apply for a job but to collect a tooth from her victim's corpse (her trademark as a killer). The mortician Montgomery Dark, upon learning who "Sam" really is (and especially after she tries to kill him), proceeds to inflict a dose of LaserGuidedKarma on her.]]

*** ''Sun and Moon'' looks to be bringing it back if the stinger after [[spoiler:Nebby]] was introduced is any indication -- he tried to save it from crawling off a ladder...but this Pokemon can float, so Pikachu ended up sending himself to the ground.

* Franchise/TheDCU comic book ''{{Elseworld}}s 80 Page Giant'' was pulled from the shelves for "Letitia Lerner, Superman's Babysitter", a BadlyBatteredBabysitter sequence in which a baby Clark Kent survives various cartoonish hazards, including accidentally microwaving himself, thanks to his invulnerability. The story was later reprinted in ''Bizarro Comics''.
** It was also pulled for other things, like the implication that the Kents hired the babysitter so they could have a quiet night together. Also played with a bit at the end where the Kents get home, see the wrecked house, and compliment Letitia and ask if she's available next week. Another thing that irked the censors was a scene where little Clark gets himself a drink of milk straight from the udders of a cow.

* ComicBook/{{X23}} is assigned the task of watching after [[ComicBook/FantasticFour the Richards kids.]] Said kids open a temporal window and unleash a dragon. It gets complicated from there.

* The short film ''Jack-Jack Attack'' (special featured on the ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'' DVD) features a slightly ditzy but responsible girl (Kari) babysitting Jack-Jack Parr. Jack-Jack proceeds to [[RandomTransportation teleport about the house]], [[PowerFloats defy gravity]], chew through a wooden "cage" (actually an inverted playpen), [[IntangibleMan phase through walls]], set the house on fire while '''[[WreathedInFlames being on fire]]''', and [[EyeBeams shoot Kari with lasers]] (which is the page image). [[MeanwhileBackAtThe This actually happened WITHIN the time-frame of the movie, off-screen]].
** Her frantic calls to Mrs. Parr, and the ease/eagerness with which she handed the kid off to a [[BigBad complete stranger]] that belatedly identified himself as the replacement sitter, tied into the main plot as well.
*** To her credit, she never tried to leave Jack-Jack before the "replacement sitter" showed up (and Helen had told her she'd be calling a replacement), and she was stressed out and sleep-deprived at that point.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingIISimbasPride'', Simba entrusts Timon and Pumbaa to watch Kiara -- something they don't know the first thing about. Considering that their attempt to raise Simba as shown in ''WesternAnimation/TheLionKingOneAndAHalf'' wasn't any better, either.

* In the ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'' where the family is going to a water park, Hal can be heard calling a potential babysitter for Dewey, who can't go because of an ear infection, telling her "just the little one" as the others, Malcolm and Reese, won't be nowhere near the house. [[BreakingTheFourthWall Malcolm then explains]] that they've had issues with babysitters in the past, with a series of [[{{Flashback}} flashbacks showing:]] a baby Francis biting an old lady; a teenage girl running out of the house in terror because of [[TakeOurWordForIt something they showed her;]] and a guy suffering from claustrophobia having a panic attack inside the closet Malcolm and Reese locked him in.
** Heavily implied that being togehter is what sets off the boys to cause trouble in the episode where Hal takes a heavily pregnant Lois to a retreat. As they're getting ready to leave town, they explain that Malcolm will stay the wekedn at Stevie's house, Reese will visit Ida, and Dewey will be babysat by Craig, and Reese asks why they can't stay together at the house, Hal bluntly responds, "it's the only way the judge will let us get out of town."
* In the ''Series/DrakeAndJosh'' episode ''Two Idiots and a Baby'', Drake and Josh must look after their father's boss's son. However, Drake leaves to play a gig with his band, leaving Josh to take care of the baby all by himself. On top of this, his step sister [[AnnoyingYoungerSibling Megan]] decides to play a prank on him by hiding the baby. Fortunately, Drake comes home in time to help his stepbrother out.

* Very averted in ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', where Rosalyn comes close to a BabysitterFromHell at times, being one of the few people Calvin is truly afraid of. First, every time the parents hire Rosalyn to watch over Calvin, he's always the one to get lectured (at the very least) for the pranks he pulls on her. He once tried to run away and didn't get very far before she brought him back. Rosalyn can generally take what he dishes out and come down hard on him for it. Even during the times Calvin "won", it would always be a PyrrhicVictory at best, as he was the one to get in trouble for it. Second, she commands ''princely'' sums (even getting advances) as she's the only one who will put up with Calvin. Third, the parents are all too aware of Calvin's antics themselves, so Rosalyn never has to worry about [[CassandraTruth not being believed]]. Lastly, in Rosalyn's final appearance, she and Calvin make peace with each other after bonding over a game of {{Calvinball}}.
** Although, one strip suggested that the reason Rosalyn is willing to babysit Calvin is that ''every other babysitter'' who his parents have hired have fallen victim to this trope.

* ''ComicStrip/{{Foxtrot}}''

* ''ComicStrip/{{Dennis the Menace|US}}''
** This was pretty much a regular trope for this strip, especially when Hank Ketchum was alive doing it, and Dennis was much more 'menacing'.

* ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' has a multicolored tribe of Yoshis ferrying Baby Mario through the whole game and rather ridiculous obstacles. (You think they could just leave the baby with someone at home and go clear the way on their own?)
** Or maybe have all eight Yoshis travel together rather than pass the baby like a relay baton?

** The overuse of this trope is {{Lampshaded}} in one cartoon where Mindy winds up in a construction site, where {{Captain Ersatz}}es of WesternAnimation/TomAndJerry are trying to save an unknown baby, and a {{Popeye}} CaptainErsatz is trying to save [[strike:Swee' Pea]] Green Bean.

** This was taken UpToEleven in a HalloweenEpisode where Buttons chased her into a zombie-infested graveyard (Mindy apparently knew what zombies were, but just didn't realize they were ''dangerous'') ending in a {{Homage}} to Music/MichaelJackson's ''Thriller''. (Sort of a [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome CMOA]] for Buttons.) At least this time, Buttons didn't get yelled at by Mindy's parents.

* There's an episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Arthur}}'' when Arthur has to take care of the terrible [[BrattyHalfPint Tibble Twins]].
** They're a semi-regular gig in later seasons since a couple of them start with him heading off to sit for them and making plans to keep them out of trouble (these usually [[FailureIsTheOnlyOption fall flat]]).

** If it counts, this also applies to Vicky in the pilot episode (except in her case she's a JerkAss [[TeensAreMonsters who clearly deserves it]]).

* ''WesternAnimation/InspectorGadget'''s niece's dog, Brain, was always doing the leg work and getting the worst of the situations Gadget got into on cases. Gadget himself was [[InspectorOblivious not aware of this]] in the least.
** Taken to its logical conclusion in ''WesternAnimation/GadgetAndTheGadgetinis''. The sequel series, taking place two years after the first show, shows that Brain had a breakdown between shows and was moved to a riverside house. He's fine around Penny, and warms up to the robot sidekicks that took his place, but is terrified to see Gadget or even hear the word gadget.

** "Brother Brat" is a WartimeCartoon where a factory worker has Porky watch over her sack-o'-hell baby.

-->'''Pinkie:''' [[OhCrap Hm- Ah- lemme check my schedule!]] [[ImNotDoingThatAgain I should be available a week from... never!]]

* The babysitter isn't always an animal -- the earliest variation on this theme is one of the old Fleischer ''ComicStrip/{{Popeye}}'' cartoons, with either the titular sailor himself or Poopdeck Pappy sitting the errant babe. Many of the other examples on this page are probably homages to the Popeye cartoons.
** This was probably a variation of the 1934 Popeye cartoon "A Dream Walking," in which Popeye and Bluto tried to protect a sleepwalking Olive Oyl from the dangers of a construction site.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' Did It. Bart has actually abused so many babysitters that the family is effectively blacklisted by everyone in Springfield (and one who is convinced to come back has post-traumatic flashbacks on seeing Bart and runs away screaming). All deliberate attempts on Bart's part to make sure he has absolutely no supervision at home so he can have free reign of the house.

* ''WesternAnimation/TimonAndPumbaa'': ''Timon and Pumbaa's Wild Adventures'', spent an episode taking care of a eagle chick named Baby Earl. Baby Earl's mama had decided to nest right on the edge of a cliff, and Baby Earl himself decided he wanted to try "flying the coop"...literally. This was not helped by the fact that the only reason Timon and Pumbaa were stuck looking after the kid was because [[MamaBear the mother]] caught them stealing food from her precious baby, and so forced them to watch him as punishment, with the condition that if [[PunctuatedForEmphasis "ONE. SINGLE. SCRATCH"]] was found on Baby Earl, that Timon would be crushed. [[HilarityEnsues And then there was the semi that randomly showed up...]]
** In the episode, "Sitting Pretty Awful", Timon and Pumbaa babysit a set of human triplets. It starts out with the usual hijinks, such as Timon getting hit on the head by a bowling ball and throwing a lit match into a pile of dynamite while trying to keep the triplets safe, but towards the end of the episode, Timon injures himself in various ways on purpose to get them to laugh.

-->-- '''Kari [=McKeen=]''' (page image, on the left), on babysitting [[GooGooGodlike Jack-Jack]] (page image, right foreground), ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles''

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheBoondocks'' episode "Home Alone", we see a montage of bad experiences involving Huey, Riley, and some babysitters who were hired by their Granddad; including a teen girl who was {{pistol whip}}ed with an airsoft gun by Riley, and a professional "role model" who was somehow driven to tears by the boys' behavior (another babysitter, a British {{Supernanny}}, was left unscathed but was fired for a stupid reason). Later in the episode, Huey and Riley fire airsoft guns to scare their latest {{babysitter| from hell}}, [[{{Jerkass}} Uncle]] [[SitcomArchnemesis Ruckus]], out of the house.