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Badly-Battered Babysitter: Difference between revisions
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When the parents -- who frankly should be locked up for negligence -- return home, they are either totally unaware that anything untoward has happened, or [[Selective Enforcement|chastise the babysitter for something trivial]], like tracking mud on the carpet, not knowing that he's suffered massive [[Amusing Injuries]] keeping their child safe.
A version of the story (below) goes right back to ancient Welsh folklore - making this trope [[Older Than Print]].
Note that [[Tropes Are Flexible|the "babysitter" need not be an actual babysitter, nor the "infant" an actual infant]]. This trope works any time a supposedly responsible individual is left in charge of an innocent, and ends up paying for it physically.
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== [[Fanfic]] ==
* In ''[[Calvin and Hobbes: The Series]]'', the main cast takes on this role trying to babysit Calvin's younger cousin, [[It Makes Sense in Context|climaxing in a water park.]]
== [[Film]] ==
* ''[[Who Framed Roger Rabbit?]]'' abused its titular character as he attempted to babysit Baby Herman in a film-short-within-a-film. This 'plot' was carried over to subsequent [[Roger Rabbit Shorts]].
* In the movie ''[[Baby's Day Out]]'', the titular baby is kidnapped, escapes from his three abductors, and makes his way safely through a very busy day in which the kidnappers take such a beating that their eventual arrest is a relief to them, since it puts them well away from the baby.
* ''[[Adventures in Babysitting]]'' is made of tweaks to this trope. The babysitter has to go out to the big scary City, dragging her (multiple) charges along, and they get into truly ridiculous amounts of trouble, but always manage to escape more or less unharmed.
* [[The Three Stooges]] got into several of these messes, most famously one that involved a couple fighting over their child, an [[Enfant Terrible|adorable tyke]] who, among other stunts, belted the Stooges and his father [[Drop the Hammer|with a hammer]].
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== Folklore and Mythology: ==
* [[Older Than Print]]: In the [[Welsh Mythology]] cycle, ''The [[Mabinogion]]'', Prince Llewellyn the Great goes out, returning to discover his baby son's cradle overturned, the baby missing, and the guart dog Gelert with blood around his mouth. Llywelyn drew his sword and killed Gelert, who let out a final dying yelp. The he heard the baby's cries and discovered it was unharmed under the cradle, along with a dead wolf which had attacked the child. Gelert had killed it, and the blood had been the wolf's -- and his own, from wounds received in the child's defense.
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* One of the scenarios in ''[[Elite Beat Agents]]'' involves a cat trying to protect his owner's infant son as the hapless baby chases a butterfly through an [[No OSHA Compliance|inexplicably peril-laden construction site]]. The ''very first song'' has a sitter trying to control a terrible trio of uncooperative children.
* Although not babysitting, two SNES video games follow the same plot - ''[[Rocko's Modern Life]]: Spunky's Dangerous Day'' and ''[[Eek the Cat]]'' both centered around the title (playable) character ensuring the safety of the individual they're watching over (a dog for the former, an old lady and his large girlfriend for the latter)
* One level of ''[[Earthworm Jim (video game)|Earthworm Jim]]'' has the titular Jim protecting Peter Puppy from danger, mostly by whipping him over obstacles. If Peter ever gets hit, it causes him to mutate into a horrifying monster which proceeds to beat the crud out of Jim for his failure and drag him backwards through the stage.
* The platform game ''Sleepwalker'' had the player controlling a hapless dog tasked with stopping his master from waking up as he sleepwalked all over the city.
* A parody of this occurs in the ''[[Stinkoman 20 X 6]]'', in which the hopelessly naive 1-Up wanders into "[[Lethal Lava Land|The Lava Zone]]" to look for a kidnapped Pan-Pan. Stinkoman doesn't care until he realizes 1-Up took his "Power Crunch," at which point he must follow and protect 1-Up to ensure he gets his item back.
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* An episode of ''[[Lilo and Stitch: The Series]]'' had most of the characters, including Lilo's older sister, turn into babies, forcing Lilo to baby-sit.
* Examples from ''[[Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers (animation)|Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers]]'': The booby baby in "Three Men and a Booby", Jeremy in "Bearing Up Baby", and Bink (and Tammy) in "Adventures in Squirrelsitting".
* ''[[Timon and Pumbaa]]'', in ''Timon and Pumbaa's Wild Adventures'', spent an episode taking care of a eagle chick named Baby Earl. Baby Earl's mama had decided to nest right on the edge of a cliff, and Baby Earl himself decided he wanted to try "flying the coop"...literally. This was not helped by the fact that the only reason Timon and Pumbaa were stuck looking after the kid was because [[Mama Bear|the mother]] caught them stealing food from her precious baby, and so forced them to watch him as punishment, with the condition that if [[Punctuated!
* Happens to Marion in an episode of ''[[Bounty Hamster]]'' with a alien child who keeps randomly changing ages.
* One recent episode of ''[[The Fairly Odd Parents]]'' had Timmy chasing after magically powered fairy infant Poof. Including the obligatory construction girders.
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* Father Nicholas from the short-lived ''Popetown''. The "kid" he takes care of is actually a [[Psychopathic Manchild]]... and ''[[The Pope]]''.
* There's an episode of ''[[Arthur (animation)|Arthur]]'' when Arthur has to take care of the terrible [[Bratty Half-Pint|Tibble Twins]].
* Subverted in the ''[[Phineas and Ferb]]'' episode "Suddenly Suzy". When Candace has to take care of her boyfriend's evil and sadistic sister Suzy, she's sure she's in for this... only for Suzy to explain that if Jeremy isn't there, [[Punch Clock Villain|she's off the clock]]. They proceed to bond.
* ''[[My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic|My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic]]'': Fluttershy gets run ragged trying to look after the Cutie Mark Crusaders in "Stare Master", and Pinkie Pie struggles to keep up with the Cakes' newborn twins in "Baby Cakes". Spike spends some time as a Badly Battered ''Pet''sitter in "Dragonshy".
* ''[[The Simpsons]]'' Did It. Bart has actually abused so many babysitters that the family is effectively blacklisted by every one in Springfield (and one who is convinced to come back has post-traumatic flashbacks on seeing Bart and runs away screaming).
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