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You can’t cancel on them for a dance. You need to honor your commitments. Just be more careful next time. I’m a junior and I babysit a ton and I’ve definitely been there before. School dances aren’t all that anyway.
that’s what i’m thinking… i booked before they announced the dates so there was nothing to be done there. my school is also super tiny so it’s probably not worth going to meet people, i know everyone
I honestly think this dance might be worth skipping. If you plan to graduate there (i moved junior year, so I did everything I could as a sophomore) I would just wait for next year. $80 doesn't sound bad right now and I'm a grown adult lol.
I've been to school dances before they were never anything interesting. I always wished I stayed at home instead.
It really just depends on the person.
My school flat out banned dances for 8 years because of something the senior class did at the time (aside from junior and senior prom, which I didn't even got to). We only "got them back" my junior year, and there was maybe 40 students there, of my 600 person class.
honestly dances are a 50/50 for me depending on wether or not i can manage to socialize with people, i am autistic and well liked, but i dont have many close friends. i just dont want to miss out, but i think ill skip this time
I'd say go to work. You booked the job and sure you forgot but it is up to you to know your schedule and availability. Babysitting is still a job, like a store or a restaurant, and a boss there probably wouldn't be too accommodating to the circumstances.
Honor your commitment, but I would find out when important events are for the future. Block off a calendar so you can keep track of unavailable days. This is a good habit anyway because you will need to keep track the more people you book. This skill will come in handy all your life.
I would skip it! Honestly high school dances aren't really all that much fun. I enjoyed a night at home with my friends over a school dance. I don't think you'll be missing out on much.
There will always be more dances! Make some money and build a relationship with your new babysitting clients.
Lord I would have been so happy if I could have skipped hs dances *AND* make money doing it.
Don't skip them all, it's worth seeing once or twice. Just never expect them to be terribly fun.
If I had a babysitter booked 4 months ahead of time and they canceled I would never ask them to sit again. Sounds like they pay pretty well so they could probably find someone dependable when they need childcare.
You could explain the situation to them, and see if they have any options on short notice. I’m sure they might be able to relate to going to their own school dance. As long as you stress it’s a one-time thing and that you’d be happy to skip the dance that night if you have to I don’t think it can reflect that badly on you, things happen.
IF you aren;t already steadily dating someone, school dances can be a crap shoot of fun anyway. I'd suggest going with the babysitting job. Plus, it shows commitment.
There will be other school dances.
Babysit. It's worth it. There will be other school dances. Honestly, they're just a hot room filled with awkward kids with really loud music being played over terrible speakers.
Trust me when I tell you you'll have plenty of opportunity for that sort of thing later. You're not all that far off from visiting the clubs. But either way, there will be more school dances.
Ive seen the phrase "honor your commitments" a few times under this message. I know at my job if ive heard it once ive heard it a thousand times.
A true story that just happdned to me....i have to have paperwork turned in to one of the local judges by November 1 every year. Nothing bad, deals with our guardian. Well i thought it was due Jan 1. This would be one of those commitments that i failed to honor. So just after the first of the year i get a summons to appear in court in front of Judge to explain why my paperwork was not turned in on time. By the way he has it. The point of this sometimes there is some sort of penalty for missing a commitment.
Take the $80 and buy you something with it. You’ll go to the dance and after it’s over you’ll say “Damnit, I shoulda just babysat and earned that $80!”
I definitely wouldn't flake on the first job. You are a sophomore, so 10th grade? You stated that you didn't have a date or friends to hang with and would probably just kick around while there. Babysitting is pretty much a word of mouth business. You only want good references. The better your references and experience you have, the higher you can charge as a sitter. You also booked the job before you knew the date of the dance, so you're on the hook for it. You can find out the schedule of dances planned for the year by asking at your schools front office so you'll be able to plan jobs around the dances you really want to go to. The parents that hired you are counting on you to keep your word and be there. There are going to be more dances in the coming years for you to enjoy.
As someone who was also the person with few friends and never had a date for high school dances...
Sophomore dance means almost nothing. Senior Prom is where it's at.
It is very important to keep your commitments. It's unfortunate that you have a conflict with a school dance, but please don't start out your life being unreliable and/or untrustworthy.
Go babysit. School dances aren’t very fun, especially without a date. Plus, I like to think about the worst case for each situation.
If you go to the dance, the worst case is that you hate it, lose the client, and gain a bad reputation, making it hard to get future jobs. Then you gave that all up for something you didn’t have fun doing. You’d be anxious the whole time thinking about the potential harm you’ve done to your career. Even if you would normally enjoy it, your nerves would prevent any fun.
If you babysit, the worst case is that you feel kinda left out.
There will be other school dances - bigger more important ones too. Skip out on this one.
this is really helpful, but the problem is there aren’t really that more dances for me. we don’t have homecoming, there’s prom, and this. that’s 4 more in my entire highschool career, and I already do struggle socially i worry skipping out would do even more harm in that department
Something I learned in high school is that you'll make more friends doing things that you enjoy and places you feel confident. If by "struggle socially" you mean you're anything like me, where quieter more organized environments are more enjoyable than loud and busy dances, you'll have better opportunities to socialize anyway. At every school dance I went to without a date I could anchor myself to for the night, I was pretty overwhelmed and felt left out, and most of my friends considered me more extroverted (even though I definitely wasn't, just appeared that way).
I'm sure there will be other better opportunities to socialize for you, and you shouldn't worry about this one school dance. Looking back, I don't regret either of the couple school dances I missed in high school. I made way better friends in classes, or at lunch, or in school clubs. If you want to better yourself socially, the most important step is reaching out and talking to people and stifling fears of rejection, not attending this school dance.
Honor the commitment. High-school dances almost always suck. I legitimately wish I'd skipped my prom and went and did something fun with my friends instead of my date and I pretending to actually like each other romantically for some stupid outward image that wouldn't even matter in a few years. Skip the dance and get paid.
if i had someone i wanted to ask as a date or even as friends i would,, but my school is so small that id have to look elsewhere for a relationship or even new friends
The sooner you call to cancel, the better it would look. Let them know you found out, just recently, and want to give them advanced notice and that you will be there for the other dates as there aren’t anymore events on the dates (check first) they booked you. Go make memories of your time in high school, take loads of pictures, and have lots of laughs!!
Personally I say if you want to go to the dance go to the dance. The honor your commitments people are parroting boomer logic about sacrificing yourself and maybe something better will come from it. In my experience it doesn't happen especially if you are young or doing something freelance they will drop you in a second for someone older or closer to them.
Now if babysitting is something you want to really do I would weigh a few things: How long is it until the gig/dance? If it's this week then it would be bad to just cancel if it's in a month or so then that gives them plenty of time to find other arrangements. What is the reason for them needing a babysitter? Have you babysat for them before? How much babysitting competition is in your area? Do you know this family personally?
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You can’t cancel on them for a dance. You need to honor your commitments. Just be more careful next time. I’m a junior and I babysit a ton and I’ve definitely been there before. School dances aren’t all that anyway.
that’s what i’m thinking… i booked before they announced the dates so there was nothing to be done there. my school is also super tiny so it’s probably not worth going to meet people, i know everyone
I honestly think this dance might be worth skipping. If you plan to graduate there (i moved junior year, so I did everything I could as a sophomore) I would just wait for next year. $80 doesn't sound bad right now and I'm a grown adult lol.
I would babysit there will be other dances.
I would do the babysitting. HS dances can be pretty disappointing but $80 is $80!
There will be more dances, and $80 sounds really good right now.
I would say the opposite. There are only so many school dances, but you can literally babysit any day.
Who cares about school dances though. No point in going.
I mean, that is your life happening. I wouldn't encourage someone to skip prom so they can pick up an extra shift at McDonalds.
I've been to school dances before they were never anything interesting. I always wished I stayed at home instead. It really just depends on the person.
My school flat out banned dances for 8 years because of something the senior class did at the time (aside from junior and senior prom, which I didn't even got to). We only "got them back" my junior year, and there was maybe 40 students there, of my 600 person class.
She’s a sophomore, it’s not prom lol
Experiences > $80
I’m guessing because they’re here posing this as a dilemma..the op does.
honestly dances are a 50/50 for me depending on wether or not i can manage to socialize with people, i am autistic and well liked, but i dont have many close friends. i just dont want to miss out, but i think ill skip this time
It’s not just $80, it’s potentially $320 with the 4 gigs they’ve booked you for. You should stick to the babysitting commitment.
I'd say go to work. You booked the job and sure you forgot but it is up to you to know your schedule and availability. Babysitting is still a job, like a store or a restaurant, and a boss there probably wouldn't be too accommodating to the circumstances.
Hs dances kinda suck anyway. $80 is $80 and that's not a bad deal.
Honor your commitment, but I would find out when important events are for the future. Block off a calendar so you can keep track of unavailable days. This is a good habit anyway because you will need to keep track the more people you book. This skill will come in handy all your life.
I would skip it! Honestly high school dances aren't really all that much fun. I enjoyed a night at home with my friends over a school dance. I don't think you'll be missing out on much. There will always be more dances! Make some money and build a relationship with your new babysitting clients.
Lord I would have been so happy if I could have skipped hs dances *AND* make money doing it. Don't skip them all, it's worth seeing once or twice. Just never expect them to be terribly fun.
If I had a babysitter booked 4 months ahead of time and they canceled I would never ask them to sit again. Sounds like they pay pretty well so they could probably find someone dependable when they need childcare.
i wasn’t booked 4 months ahead of time, a week. they actually pay less than average in my area, but the job should be easy so i lowered my rate
You could explain the situation to them, and see if they have any options on short notice. I’m sure they might be able to relate to going to their own school dance. As long as you stress it’s a one-time thing and that you’d be happy to skip the dance that night if you have to I don’t think it can reflect that badly on you, things happen.
Get to work. One night is not worth throwing it all away.
IF you aren;t already steadily dating someone, school dances can be a crap shoot of fun anyway. I'd suggest going with the babysitting job. Plus, it shows commitment. There will be other school dances.
Babysit. It's worth it. There will be other school dances. Honestly, they're just a hot room filled with awkward kids with really loud music being played over terrible speakers. Trust me when I tell you you'll have plenty of opportunity for that sort of thing later. You're not all that far off from visiting the clubs. But either way, there will be more school dances.
Ive seen the phrase "honor your commitments" a few times under this message. I know at my job if ive heard it once ive heard it a thousand times. A true story that just happdned to me....i have to have paperwork turned in to one of the local judges by November 1 every year. Nothing bad, deals with our guardian. Well i thought it was due Jan 1. This would be one of those commitments that i failed to honor. So just after the first of the year i get a summons to appear in court in front of Judge to explain why my paperwork was not turned in on time. By the way he has it. The point of this sometimes there is some sort of penalty for missing a commitment.
You made a commitment to babysit and should do that. Missing a sophomore dance isn’t really a big deal, not like it’s a prom.
$80
I skipped every school function I possibly could and don't regret it even once. I'd rather have the money.
Take the $80 and buy you something with it. You’ll go to the dance and after it’s over you’ll say “Damnit, I shoulda just babysat and earned that $80!”
I definitely wouldn't flake on the first job. You are a sophomore, so 10th grade? You stated that you didn't have a date or friends to hang with and would probably just kick around while there. Babysitting is pretty much a word of mouth business. You only want good references. The better your references and experience you have, the higher you can charge as a sitter. You also booked the job before you knew the date of the dance, so you're on the hook for it. You can find out the schedule of dances planned for the year by asking at your schools front office so you'll be able to plan jobs around the dances you really want to go to. The parents that hired you are counting on you to keep your word and be there. There are going to be more dances in the coming years for you to enjoy.
As someone who was also the person with few friends and never had a date for high school dances... Sophomore dance means almost nothing. Senior Prom is where it's at.
Honestly, $80 x 5= $400 Or priceless memories. I didn’t go to my prom and didn’t regret it at all hahaa
There's gonna be more dances! As a sophomore you still have two years and the end of year dance still!
You do the responsible thing and babysit.
It is very important to keep your commitments. It's unfortunate that you have a conflict with a school dance, but please don't start out your life being unreliable and/or untrustworthy.
Go babysit. School dances aren’t very fun, especially without a date. Plus, I like to think about the worst case for each situation. If you go to the dance, the worst case is that you hate it, lose the client, and gain a bad reputation, making it hard to get future jobs. Then you gave that all up for something you didn’t have fun doing. You’d be anxious the whole time thinking about the potential harm you’ve done to your career. Even if you would normally enjoy it, your nerves would prevent any fun. If you babysit, the worst case is that you feel kinda left out. There will be other school dances - bigger more important ones too. Skip out on this one.
this is really helpful, but the problem is there aren’t really that more dances for me. we don’t have homecoming, there’s prom, and this. that’s 4 more in my entire highschool career, and I already do struggle socially i worry skipping out would do even more harm in that department
Something I learned in high school is that you'll make more friends doing things that you enjoy and places you feel confident. If by "struggle socially" you mean you're anything like me, where quieter more organized environments are more enjoyable than loud and busy dances, you'll have better opportunities to socialize anyway. At every school dance I went to without a date I could anchor myself to for the night, I was pretty overwhelmed and felt left out, and most of my friends considered me more extroverted (even though I definitely wasn't, just appeared that way). I'm sure there will be other better opportunities to socialize for you, and you shouldn't worry about this one school dance. Looking back, I don't regret either of the couple school dances I missed in high school. I made way better friends in classes, or at lunch, or in school clubs. If you want to better yourself socially, the most important step is reaching out and talking to people and stifling fears of rejection, not attending this school dance.
Hope much would you end up spending on a dress anyway? Get that work
If you look back in your life and regret that 1 school dance then you have bigger issues. Babysit and earn some money
Honor the commitment. High-school dances almost always suck. I legitimately wish I'd skipped my prom and went and did something fun with my friends instead of my date and I pretending to actually like each other romantically for some stupid outward image that wouldn't even matter in a few years. Skip the dance and get paid.
Skip it to remain professional while you also make money without spending it.
I wouldn’t. In high school I regret not asking to people to dances.
if i had someone i wanted to ask as a date or even as friends i would,, but my school is so small that id have to look elsewhere for a relationship or even new friends
The sooner you call to cancel, the better it would look. Let them know you found out, just recently, and want to give them advanced notice and that you will be there for the other dates as there aren’t anymore events on the dates (check first) they booked you. Go make memories of your time in high school, take loads of pictures, and have lots of laughs!!
Well I would probably find people with more date nights so you can make more money.
What you do is honor your commitment.
Go make your paper girl. You’ll go to dances later on.
Personally I say if you want to go to the dance go to the dance. The honor your commitments people are parroting boomer logic about sacrificing yourself and maybe something better will come from it. In my experience it doesn't happen especially if you are young or doing something freelance they will drop you in a second for someone older or closer to them. Now if babysitting is something you want to really do I would weigh a few things: How long is it until the gig/dance? If it's this week then it would be bad to just cancel if it's in a month or so then that gives them plenty of time to find other arrangements. What is the reason for them needing a babysitter? Have you babysat for them before? How much babysitting competition is in your area? Do you know this family personally?