After your kids become teenagers, you’d think they’d be more responsible and trustworthy, but that might not be the case for lots of teen parents. Whether they’re sneaking out late at night or going off on wild adventures, some teenagers can be up to no good, and this is the case for this single dad.
Now you know that your teenaged son is not a good choice as a babysitter for a seven year old daughter. I'm pretty sure your employer did not spring this trip on you so you should have had a chance to find a sitter. Why would you think a 14 yo. would be a good choice as a responsible adult when you, yourself sired a child at 18? Obviously through your own experience of being a teenaged Dad you should have learned (from personal experience alone) that teenagers make bad decisions.
I’m (32) a single dad living with my son, Zack (14), and daughter, Rachel (7). I needed to leave for a couple of days on a work trip, so I called my sister to babysit, but she said she can only do the second day, not the first. So, I told my son that he’s in charge on day one until his aunt comes.
I reached the airport, but my flight got cancelled because of bad weather. So, I drove back and told work to reschedule the flight. I reached home, but it was oddly quiet. I tried calling out my kids’ names, but no one answered. No one was home.
I instantly panicked and called Zack, but he wasn’t picking up. I called my sister, but she said she didn’t know where they were.
I decided to track Zack’s phone using Find My Friends. He was at his friend’s house, so I instantly drove there. His street was filled with cars, and as I got closer, it was like a teenager hotspot.
I barged in and spotted Zack in the living room dancing in a huge crowd. I grabbed his arm and asked him where Rachel was. He just stared at me, still shocked. I yelled again, asking where she was, and he just shrugged.
So, I unplugged the speakers to grab everyone’s attention and asked everyone where my daughter was. Everyone pointed to a corner where my poor Rachel was sitting huddled with her hands over her ears.
I grabbed her and Zack and was out of there in seconds. I’m not sure what to do with him. I’m beyond furious at this point. I thought I could trust him.
Thanks for sharing your story with us. The first thing you need to do is give Zack a consequence. You trusted him with your daughter, and he completely betrayed it and put her in danger.
You can choose a suitable punishment, whether that involves limiting his phone use or grounding him. Either way, he has to lose some privilege so he can be properly disciplined.
Take Rachel aside and ask her what happened. Talk with her gently, she’s likely a bit shaken up from the environment she was in. Tell her she’s safe now and everything’s going to be okay. It may seem little, but that reassurance will make all the difference for her mental wellbeing.
Don’t just lay a punishment on Zack and expect him not to repeat his mistakes. You need to also tell him that he jeopardized his sister’s safety and made you feel very worried when you couldn’t reach him through a call. He needs to understand the gravity of his mistake.
Not all teen stories have sad endings. Lots of teenagers actually understand responsibility and accountability, like these ones that have parents so trusting of them, they basically let them rule the entire basement.
