Perhaps the remote was dunked in water. Coulda been the sink. Coulda been the toilet. I doubt any babysitter would confess to doing either.

More seriously... Any jolt may "bounce" the batteries against their contacts. Not many electronic devices will survive perfectly if the current to them flickers or sparks. That's why my floor is padded and carpeted, and I don't let babysitters play with my nice remotes.

Normally my TV audio goes thru my amp, and thus requires a macro to turn everything on and set the remote to use the amp for volume and mute, etc.. But when a babysitter is coming, I retrieve my original TV remote, and set the TV to local channels. The babysitter is supposed to be watching the kids, so only having 5 channels to choose from should not be a problem. The Pronto and the Cinema7 are tucked safely in a drawer.

Dave