Would anyone else leave a sleeping baby home alone - or am I overreacting?

barbiedoll

When I had my baby, we lived in a flat so I used to take him out for fresh air (well, as fresh as it gets in London ) every day. I had him in the winter, so he was out in the rain, snow, howling winds etc etc but I never missed a single day. If I'd had a garden at the time, I would probably have put him out there, although I don't think I'd have left him alone out there for hours, I'd have probably been doing something in the garden too.

My mum put my baby brother out in the garden in his pram one day.
She could see him from the kitchen window and she was preparing dinner at the time. When she next looked out of the window, she saw the two kids who lived next door, racing up the garden, pushing the pram. She rushed outside at the same time as their mum, to stop them. The kids often climbed over the fence, to play with me, they said that they didn't realise that the baby was in the pram, as the hood was up and there was a net over it, it's quite feasible. The poor kids got a real rollicking from their mum and my mum never left my brother out there again! :eek:

Toomuchdebt

never ever ever ever ever!!! My friend left her 2 children alone once aged 3 and 18 months-was out for an hour-I was horrified when she told me.

Mojisola

daska wrote: »

The difference now is that there is less neighbourliness than there was. Be honest, how often do you go down a street and see women at the doors nattering while their kids play?

I know it's unusual because with DS1 I lived in an street where this still happened because we had a lot of young children and front gardens - everyone played their part in supervising all our children - at least one, preferably two parents outside while the others were free to get on with other things, a constant ebb and flow of parents taking turns with barely a word to organise it. But I've never encountered this anywhere else, literally nowhere, and I've lived in a good few places from inner city to rural.

This is a big part of the change in the way parenting is done now. It used to be said that a village (or neighbourhood) rather than the parents raised the children.

When we were all mucking about in the street - very little traffic to worry about - any of the neighbours would comfort us if we were crying or tell us off if we were too noisy. Anyone who does that now is likely to get a mouthful from the parents. It's been said on these forums - how dare someone else tell my child how to behave!

georgiesmum

I always left mine in the garden in the pram. it was quite normal then. I have also slipped out to the nearby shop when the baby has been asleep. One of them was a constant crier and it was dreadful to take him out as he was always screaming.
It's a bit over the top to call the SS. A very mean move. Once she has these people on her back she will never get rid of them. She probably feels quilty anyway. If you are so concerned why don't you offer to babysit while she slips to the shops, she is obviously on her own without any help, you have your husband to help.

poet123

Not acceptable to do this, particularly given the age she is and the resources she appears to have to hand. It is just easier, well, easier is not always better or right. The child is at risk, and she needs to know that it is not the way to do things.

judderman62

and Britain gets Chavier by the second.

This country is now so ****ed people don't even so what's wrong with things they are doing that are just so not acceptable.

daska

Mojisola wrote: »

This is a big part of the change in the way parenting is done now. It used to be said that a village (or neighbourhood) rather than the parents raised the children.

When we were all mucking about in the street - very little traffic to worry about - any of the neighbours would comfort us if we were crying or tell us off if we were too noisy. Anyone who does that now is likely to get a mouthful from the parents. It's been said on these forums - how dare someone else tell my child how to behave!

I think this was it, we were a private cul-de-sac, 20 houses only on one side of the road, close to the centre of town but not a short cut to anywhere. We stopped off a couple of years ago to visit friends and the whole nature of the street had changed (in less than 10 years). It was a beautiful sunny day and there were no children and no-one was socialising, that would have been unheard of when I lived there. We used to get home from work and spontaneously congregate in each others gardens bringing out food and drink and sharing it around while the kids dug in my garden or played in a paddling pool in another. Never organised anything in advance, it just happened. I really miss it, life is far less fun when everyone shuts themselves behind their front door.

Misstress

I've been a single mum all my dd 9 years of life and have a shop at the end of the road, one minute walk away, and i have NEVER popped there leaving her home alone.

Yes being a single mum is hard at times but there is NO reason to leave a child home alone for any amount of time!

Seeing as common sense has totally gone out the window, WE NEED a law to say that it IS illegal to leave a child home alone. End of. Then there would be no need for discussions on this subject.

hostertlady

judderman62 wrote: »

and Britain gets Chavier by the second.

This country is now so ****ed people don't even so what's wrong with things they are doing that are just so not acceptable.

i totally agree with you there!

and NO NO NO...... not acceptable, i would tell her my thoughts exactly!! it makes me ill to even think of it..
what if she never came back from the shop( got run over or something else) no-one would know there was a baby- home alone.....

i am not happy about this situation at all..... what next???? a night out with the girls?? " o it's ok the baby is asleep"
OUT OF ORDER.........................
i would phone the police and leave it to them and if she found out it was me that told on her ...........tough luck.......... she is not someone i would want in my life anyway......................................

milliebear00001

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1207153/Couple-left-children-home-house-caught-escape-jail.html

If that isn't enough, ask her what would happen to her baby if she (the mother) had an accident while popping out and was unable to return/tell someone about the baby alone at home...