DEAR ABBY: I have a family dilemma. We employ our 16-year-old niece to watch our boys, ages 8 and 10, during the summer and school breaks. We pay her well to come to our home and watch them eight hours a day.
My problem is, her younger brother is my son's best friend. He gets invited to their house for a sleepover the day before we need a sitter, and both boys go. Then the next day their mom says our niece watched them, and therefore she should get paid for that day, too. Abby, the mom is there all day.
To me, a cousin sleepover isn't something that should be charged for. Their children have come to our house for years for sleepovers, and I never charged them.
Is this OK? And if not, how do we refuse? We have already told her we prefer the boys to be watched at our home, so they receive one-on-one time. What do you think about this? -- COUSIN SLEEPOVER
DEAR C.S.: What do I think? I think you have been taken advantage of. A baby sitter is hired when there is no adult in the home to supervise the children. If your nephew's mother can't be home when your boys have been invited for a sleepover, the person who should pay for the baby sitter is her -- not you. If you want to put an end to this, tell the woman exactly what I have told you.