YMMV / Baby-Sitting Is a Dangerous Job

• Unintentional Period Piece: This book is pretty clearly a product of the 1980s.
  • Darcy mentions Hershey Big Block bars, which were introduced in 1980 and renamed to King-size in 1991.
  • Darcy's house doesn't have a microwave, so she doesn't know she's not supposed to put plastic plates in them when she uses the one at the Fosters' house. In 1986, only about 25% of American households owned a microwave.
• Values Dissonance: The Department of Child Disservices buys Diana's father's excuse that he only hits her when she's sassy. In the 2010s, corporal punishment for children has started to be viewed more widely as abuse, not just discipline.
• The Woobie: Diana, who comes from an abusive home where her father beats her, her sister and her mother. When child services refuses to do anything because they believe her father about her being a bad child, she runs away from home with nothing but a makeshift tent, a box of crackers and a few dollars to her name.