Adventures in Babysitting

Treasured memories from modern-day Mary Poppinses and daffy but dear Mrs. Doubtfires

Asking the Right Questions

A friend was babysitting for five kids and found crayon scribbles all over the wall. He knew the culprit wouldn't go down easy, so he cleverly asked, "Who drew those beautiful pictures on the wall?" Of course, the guilty party announced, "I did!" -CATHERINE ERAMO Wall, NJ

Dropping-Then Picking Up-the Ball

I babysat my sister and her friend every New Year's Eve. We'd have our own little party with snacks and sparkling grape juice. The girls didn't know our time zone was an hour behind New York City's, so every year, at 11 p.m., we'd watch the ball drop, then they went off to bed and I was free to watch whatever I wanted. Fortunately, when my sister realized years later, she thought it was funny and clever. -RACHEL HODGES Richardson, TX

Bedtime Means Bedtime

My parents were going out to dinner with our neighbors, who asked if I could babysit their young kids. They wanted the kids in bed at 8 p.m., which was no problem. When they came home, they found the kids sound asleep but couldn't find me. I'd gone home and to bed. My job was done, or so I thought! -ROBERT HOEHN Fair Oaks, CA

Help Yourself*

My wife and I left for the evening, telling our babysitter that she could help herself to anything in the fridge. Three hours later, we came home to a tearful teenager kneeling in front of the open oven door and frantically scraping a mountain of melted plastic from the inside. We'd left out one crucial instruction: Help yourself, but make sure you remove the Tupperware we store in the oven before firing it up. -JOHN AHLQUIST Ramsey, MN

Tots in the Henhouse