teen-sitter

plural teen-sitters · alternative teensitter

1. rareOne who watches or tends someone else’s teenage child for a period of time, often for money.

   “And you’d be Max Hunter,” she continued, as if she weren’t a very rude woman. “I’m Dana Dupinsky, Caroline’s friend.” / “So I’m told,” he responded dryly. “As well as a teen-sitter with a narcolepsy problem.”

   2003, Karen Rose, chapter 7, in Don’t Tell, New York, N.Y.: Warner Books, →ISBN, page 87

   2 more examples

   Woman phoned to say she and her husband went to Paris for the weekend, leaving their children with a—well, a teen-sitter, I suppose. The couple got back late last night to find the lot gone and naturally she assumes they’ve all drowned.

   2002, Ruth Rendell, chapter 1, in The Babes in the Wood (A Chief Inspector Wexford Mystery; 19), New York, N.Y.: Crown Publishers, →ISBN, page 9

   “We’re going to need to work up a schedule to keep her entertained and ensure someone is always with her. She looks older than fifteen but she’s just a kid.” / “Shouldn’t be a problem,” Beck said. “An army of teen-sitters.[…]”

   2016, Kate Meader, chapter 6, in Sparking the Fire, New York, N.Y.: Pocket Books, →ISBN, page 105