Homeowner's grandchildren playing in the pool

Sitter Questions, Advice & Chat
1

I know the Terms of Service say no third parties in the house. I’m currently on a housesit, and the homeowner’s grandchildren showed up and are playing in the pool in the backyard. What would others do in this situation? Ask the kids to leave? I was thinking I would wait and mention this to the HO at the end of the sit. I can imagine the children would want to treat the home like they normally do; I would also imagine the children’s parents must know that there is a sitter here… I’m trying to separate my own emotions from this, as the children came inside to grab towels and were very rude.

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2

That’s terrible. I would send a message to the HOs and let them know and ask if they were aware that they were coming over. They may not be aware.

Liability issues etc. are relevant–and your privacy and THS rules of course. How old are they? Is there at least one legal adult on premises (aside from you)?

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3

No way! If they’re old enough to be there on their own, then they should have looked after their grandparents’ home instead of opting for sitters. I’m just kidding, of course. But that is not on. Don’t wait until the end of the sit. Mention it immediately and make sure to be clear that this was not expected and you would appreciate if it didn’t happen again, for your own privacy, as well as THS rules.

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4

Please don’t wait until the sit is over to discuss with the HO’s if you are uncomfortable! They might not know about the no third party rule as some people skip over the rules and just quickly agree.

So you have a few options.

  1. Reach out to Membership Services and kindly ask that they remind the HO’s of the rule and keep you out of it. Although this could get a little awkward when they return.

  2. talk to the HO’s yourself and see if you all can come to a peaceful understanding.

  3. wait until they have written a review of you after the sit and then after the review is up remind them about the no third party rule and that you felt uncomfortable. Then decide if that info is worth mentioning in your review of them for other sitters to be aware of.

Either way I am sorry the grandchildren were rude to you that’s not cool! I probably would have said something to the parents of the children as I’m assuming they must be listed as an emergency contact if their children are over playing in the pool.

Every sitter has different comfort levels with these sorts of things but you have every right to your privacy and our Membership Service team will assist you if you decide To go that route.

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