History Main / BadlyBatteredBabysitter

** 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.

* Played ''very'' darkly during the Creator/KimNewman novella "Bloody Students". One subplot involves a woman named Abigail being asked to babysit the protagonist's eight-year-old son, Jason: the kid's a nuisance at the best of times, but he's recently been bitten by a rabbit carrying the [[TheCorruption mutagenic super-virus]] of the story, so things start to go downhill when Jason mutates... and then goes on to not only attack Abigail but ''rape'' her as well.* One of the ''Literature/BoneChillers'' books, "Why I Quit the Baby-Sitters Club". The protagonist is hired to take care of a couple's sweet little baby, only to find out said baby - and its parents - are eldritch monsters in human disguise, and the baby is hungry for the sitter.

** The title characters spent an episode taking care of an 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...]]

The charge in question is usually a BabysittersNightmare. 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. See also BabysitterFriendship, where the child the babysitter looks after is one of their best friends.

* ''Series/TheMuppetShow:'' Anyone who has to look after Bobby Benson's Baby Band is bound to become a badly battered babysitter. Fozzie got beaten up in less than two minutes (in fairness, he tried to tell them his jokes). Miss Piggy's room got ransacked. The babies don't even get along with each other, often picking fights mid-act, so anyone else is fair game. The only person who can keep them on a leash is Bobby himself. And Bobby's a crook.

* ''WebAnimation/HappyTreeFriends:'' In "A Handy Nanny", Handy babysits Cub while Pop goes to a bowling tournament. Handy's [[IronicName lack of hands]] causes him to get a pacifier stuck in his eye and get his face burned off by boiling milk. He eventually gets Cub to sleep and cools his face off with a fan, only for Pop to come home and knock over the fan, [[DeadlyRotaryFan shredding him to pieces.]]

* In ''Webcomic/{{Erma}}'', the titular young StringyHairedGhostGirl has supernatural powers and a morbid sense of humour that she's eager to share with babysitters. Subverted with Felicia, a GenreSavvy horror movie buff who thinks that Erma's [[FreakyIsCool freakiness is cool]] and ends up befriending her. Played straight with her former babysitter, who ended up in a mental institution and has been filling a RoomFullOfCrazy since her release.
* Chapter 33 of ''Webcomic/FurryFightChronicles'' has Mellow take multiple extra jobs. One of them is babysitting five kids, who immediately start crying, biting him, and pulling on his face.

** 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 Franchise/{{Popeye}} CaptainErsatz is trying to save "Green Bean".

* ''WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes''

--->"Life is bitter for I am a sitter\\

And each hour I earn fifty cents."

%%* Happens to [[spoiler: Leslie]] in ''WesternAnimation/MegaBabies''.
* PlayedWith in ''WesternAnimation/MiloMurphysLaw.'' Naturally, [[BornUnlucky Milo]] was the "unusual child" variant, with his old babysitter, Veronica, being the only person outside of the family CrazyPrepared enough to keep [[HereditaryCurse Murphy's Law]] from killing him. Milo's AwesomeBackpack of supplies was actually a gift from her.

* In ''Manga/ThePrinceOfTennis'' anime, [[PluckyGirl Tomoka]] [[GenkiGirl Osakada]] is implied to fall into this trope when she [[PromotiontoParent has to take care of her two baby siblings.]]

* In ''Fanfic/CalvinAndHobbesTheSeries'', the main cast takes on this role trying to babysit Calvin's younger cousin, [[ItMakesSenseInContext climaxing in a water park.]]

* In ''Trunk's New Look'' the titular character takes on this role when babysitting Goten and his younger self. This eventually results in him ending up in his mother's PlayboyBunny outfit. Suffice to say after all of that he never takes a babysitting job again.

* This is Roger's role in the ''WesternAnimation/RogerRabbitShorts'', as well as in the movie.
* In ''Anime/{{Suzume}}'', Rumi asks the titular character to look after her twins while she goes to work. Suzume is literally driven to collapse in exhaustion by their rambunctious energy, at which point they start climbing on her. Souta steps in to help, though she does have to offer a hasty explanation why a [[ForcedTransformation child's chair can walk and talk]].

* [[DoubleSubversion Double subverted]] in the [[GenreAnthology horror anthology film]] ''Film/TheMortuaryCollection''. 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 ''she'' is the escaped serial killer -- her real name is Charlotte, and she took the name Sam from the [[GenderBlenderName (male)]] original babysitter, who is now fighting back against her and who we'd been led to believe was the bad guy for most of the segment. Given that we've been following "Sam"/Charlotte 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.]]

* One of the ''Literature/BoneChillers'' books, "Why I Quit the Baby-Sitters Club". The protagonist is hired to take care of a couple's sweet little baby, only to find out said baby - and its parents - are eldritch monsters in human disguise, and the baby is hungry for the sitter.

--> It's a rummy thing. Aunt Agatha is the one person in the world I daren't offend, and [[LampshadeHanging it always happens that everyone she sends to me with letters of introduction gets into trouble of some sort.]] And she always seems to think that I ought to have watched over them while they were in New York like a blend of nursemaid and guardian angel. Which, of course, is a bit thick and pretty scaly.

* In a [[Literature/SweetValleyHigh Sweet Valley Twins]] book, Jessica gets a hefty dose of LaserGuidedKarma after stealing Elizabeth's babysitting job when the amount of kids to look after goes from one to four and they all turn out to be brats.
* The Literature/LittleCritter book ''Just Me and My Babysitter'' involves something like this; the parents go out for the evening and leave Little Critter and Little Sister in the care of an elderly female sitter. The kids make her job a hassle, by not wanting to eat the dinner she prepares, going crazy with [[BathsAreFun bathing Little Sister]], having a pillow fight, repeatedly making messes, watching a movie on TV the babysitter isn't crazy about, and not going to bed when told to. The book ends with the parents returning at one in the morning to see the kids watching TV while the babysitter is sleeping on the couch.
* ''Literature/MarleyAndMe''. The author and his wife take a trip to Ireland, leaving their dog Marley in the care of a pet sitter. Every day, she calls to regale them with horror stories of Marley's antics and seems to be in a complete HeroicBSOD when they return to pick him up.
* Played ''very'' darkly during the Creator/KimNewman novella "Bloody Students." One subplot involves a woman named Abigail being asked to babysit the protagonist's eight-year-old son, Jason: the kid's a nuisance at the best of times, but he's recently been bitten by a rabbit carrying the [[TheCorruption mutagenic super-virus]] of the story, so things start to go downhill when Jason mutates... and then goes on to not only attack Abigail but ''rape'' her as well.

* The Froggy book Froggy Gets A Babysitter revolves around Froggy doing everything he can to annoy the titular babysitter, including teasing her while she's on the phone with her boyfriend and tracking mud all over the house, among other things.

* Late in ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy2019'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:Number Seven (a.k.a. Vanya)]] was prone to ''killing'' the household nannies in fits of pique, either throwing them across the room, down the stairs or out the window. [[DisproportionateRetribution All in response to being told to eat oatmeal for breakfast]]. It took the creation of Grace the android nanny to end this particular habit, and even ''she'' ended up having her neck twisted 180 degrees before [[spoiler: Vanya]] finally got the message.
* In ''Series/{{Jekyll}}'', Katherine Reimer is technically hired as Dr. Jackman's assistant, but when the [[PsychopathicManchild maliciously childish]] [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Hyde]] manifests, she half-jokingly refers to herself as his nanny. In turn, Hyde gleefully dubs her "Film/MaryPoppins." As per the agreement, they have a relatively harmonious relationship as long as Jackman's CCTV cameras are still forcing Hyde to remain on his best behavior... right up until Katherine shuts down the security systems in a very risky attempt to sneak a peek at her employer's secrets, resulting in Hyde turning the whole thing into an AloneWithThePsycho scenario.
* In ''Series/HomeImprovement'' when Tim and Jill leave for the weekend to attend Jill's class reunion, they get Al to look after the boys. They end up running amok and locking Al out of the house.
* ''Series/MalcolmInTheMiddle'':
** When 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 anywhere 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.
** It's heavily implied that being together 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 weekend 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.
* ''Series/{{Cheers}}:'' It's a running gag throughout the series that anyone who looks after Carla's vicious children is, basically, asking for it. This is part of the reason Carla is eager to find someone to do it for her. One of the first season episodes has her judging a prospective sitter on the sole basis of how she throws a punch. Several episodes show members of the gang trying to look after them. Cliff assumes he'll be able to keep them in line, and is deposited back on the steps of ''Cheers'' trussed up in wrapping. Sam tries, and his evening ''starts'' with the kids microwaving his pants. It doesn't get easier from there. Even Ludlow, the nicest and smartest of Carla's kids, ends up setting Frasier's shoes on fire in a crowded restaurant.
* In ''Series/LegendsOfTomorrow'', once she becomes a FairyGodmother, Nora becomes exasperated with the demands of her charges, which encompasses practically any youth all over the world who'd need a fairy godmother in the first place. This might explain why her predecessor, Tabitha, was such a JackassGenie (she got fed up with all the responsibilities). Unlike Tabitha, however, Nora actually owns up to the role.
* The ''Series/OddSquad'' episode "Into the Odd Woods" downplays this. Orla doesn't get physically injured by Omar, but rather, she gets repeated [[PieInTheFace pies to the face]] as a result of his Clown-itosis as she tries to keep him from running away to join the circus.

-->'''Kaya''': I had a nanny, but she quit. And then the other nannies quit. And then the nanny company stopped calling Daddy back. So now I go everywhere with him.
-->'''Turner''': Oh. I'm sorry. That must be hard.
-->'''Kaya''': Yes. Sometimes it's lonely. But Daddy says I have to stay strong until we can find a nanny who is not afraid of a challenge.

* In ''ComicBook/{{Asterix}} and Son'', the titular DoorstopBaby, once tanked up on Magic Potion, becomes more than a match for any would-be babysitter, tossing people around like rattlers. When a Roman legionary disguised as a rattler pedlar offers to watch the baby...

* 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 at a NoTellMotel. 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.
* A variation happens in ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio: Panade à Champignac'', the two heroes are the battered babysitters of the grown-up Zorglub, who suffers from amnesia and acts like an 8-month-old baby.
* ComicBook/{{X23}}:
** The title character 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.
** In the humorous, out-of-continuity series ''Franklin Richards: Son of a Genius'', Herbie the Robot is this to the titular son of Reed Richards (thankfully for Herbie, Franklin's super-genius sister does not appear), who is a rough counterpart of [[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes Calvin]] with almost unlimited access to all the technology on hand in the Fantastic Four's headquarters. Though Herbie comes off as high-strung and neurotic, it's usually his quick (and desperate) thinking that prevents destruction, disaster, and Franklin being grounded for life.
* Shows up a couple of times in ''ComicBook/YoungJustice'': once when Wonder Girl and Arrowette babysat a child who was hypnotized by a children's video into attempting to kill them, and again when the young and old superheroes switched ages, forcing the now-adult sidekicks to babysit their now-child mentors. During the midst of the latter situation, Wonder Girl even mentions the former one, lamenting how she'd promised never to babysit again afterward.
* In ''ComicBook/Robin1993'', Tim's friend Ives gets so badly bruised after taking a job as a mascot at a SuckECheeses that Tim thinks he's being abused, it turns out the injuries are from the kids and his lack of mobility in his GoofySuit.

* In ''Series/{{Jekyll}}'', Katherine Reimer is technically hired as Dr. Jackman's assistant, but when the [[PsychopathicManchild maliciously childish]] [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Hyde]] manifests, she half-jokingly refers to herself as his nanny. In turn, Hyde gleefully dubs her "Film/MaryPoppins." As per the agreement, they have a relatively harmonious relationship as long as Jackman's CCTV cameras are still forcing Hyde to remain on his best behavior ... right up until Katherine shuts down the security systems in a very risky attempt to sneak a peek at her employer's secrets, resulting in Hyde turning the whole thing into an AloneWithThePsycho scenario.

* Film/TheThreeStooges got into several of these messes, most famously one that involved a couple fighting over their child, an [[EnfantTerrible adorable tyke]] who, among other stunts, belted the Stooges and his father [[DropTheHammer with a hammer]].

* The Literature/LittleCritter book ''Just Me and My Babysitter'' involves something like this; the parents go out for the evening and leave Little Critter and Little Sister in the care of an elderly female sitter. The kids make her job a hassle, by not wanting to eat the dinner she prepares, going crazy with [[BathsAreFun bathing Little Sister]], having a pillow fight, repeatedly making messages, watching a movie on TV the babysitter isn't crazy about, and not going to bed when told to. The book ends with the parents returning at one in the morning to see the kids watching TV while the babysitter is sleeping on the couch.

[[caption-width-right:350:...I think...I'm getting the hang of this...]]

->''"The baby was EXPLODING! You ever sat an exploding baby before, Mr. Dicker?!"''

* In [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgFV-XXPG9g this commercial]] for Energizer batteries featuring Po from ''WesternAnimation/KungFuPanda'', The Energizer Bunny wanders through the Jade Palace's training hall. Po chases after him to try to protect him, but while the Bunny ends up unharmed, the same can't be said for Po.

* ''WesternAnimation/IceAge'' is this in a nutshell: a mammoth, a sloth, and a sabre-toothed tiger protect a Palaeolithic baby from ice storms, ice caves, icicles, and a lava field. Baby has fun. Caretakers? Not so much.

* Ash's Pikachu from ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' became this sometimes when little Togepi wandered off. Misty actually did notice something dangerous the egg was doing and managed to rescue it from being killed a couple of times, though.

** ''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.

* 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]]''.
* Invoked in ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/10667829 Shock the Monkey.]]'' Since Hal Jordan ate leftovers that obviously weren't intended for him, Batman is gonna throw the hapless Lantern to the Batkids until he finally repents and swears to never touch the fridge again. It works.

* Late in ''Series/TheUmbrellaAcademy,'' it's revealed that [[spoiler: Number Seven (AKA: Vanya)]] was prone to ''killing'' the household nannies in fits of pique, either throwing them across the room, down the stairs or out the window. [[DisproportionateRetribution All in response to being told to eat oatmeal for breakfast]]. It took the creation of Grace the android nanny to end this particular habit, and even ''she'' ended up having her neck twisted 180 degrees before [[spoiler: Vanya]] finally got the message.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSmurfs''.

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Kaeloo}}'': One episode had Stumpy try to [[ItMakesSenseInContext babysit Quack Quack to earn money]]. It did not end well.

* Happens to [[spoiler: Leslie]] in ''WesternAnimation/MegaBabies''.