My parents always had an appreciation for our wildness. Sometimes I wonder how they survived raising five kids. My siblings - Ben, Jon, Sarah, Susan and I were shaped by a household always teetering between chaos and wonder. Most times our play was spirited and mischievous, but our parents enjoyed observing our imagination at work finding ways to let us express our creativity in safety and consideration of others.

But, the line between wonder and chaos was a fine one, and when my parents would be away, employing a cousin or neighbor to babysit us, that line virtually disappeared. Play became un-playful, experimentation became destruction, and pranks no longer resembled friendly fun. It was like our babysitters were test dummies for us to experiment with morality and build an understanding of what is right, but more significantly, wrong.

These are my families babysitting horror stories.