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

an9i77

I have an 11 month old son and there's no way I'd ever leave him in the house on his own, ever. !!!!!!, it doesn't take long to put him in his buggy and he can sleep in there whilst I go to the shops so why can't this mum do that. I think the worst I've ever done is to leave my son in the car once or twice (doors locked) whilst I dash in to the newsagents for literally less than a minute to buy a paper. Even that makes me feel guilty!

Pee

It's illegal.

I think it's unlikely to be dangerous, but if there was a fire or if the child was sick it could be.

If you care about the child, I don't think social services is the way forward. It might be better to offer her some support, so that you could mind the child whilst she popped out. I think she is lulled into a sense of security because nothing ever has happened and I should think the chance of something happening would be very low, but she would be in a lot of trouble if it did...

an9i77

OP could you have a frank chat with her, tell her you are concerned and suggest that if she doesn't sort it out you may feel obliged to 'tell someone'. She will possibly be offended and never speak to you again, but it may shock her into doing something. At the end of the day, is it worth falling out with her if it means the child will be safe?

barbiedoll

This just goes to show that it's not just poor, uneducated people who end up as bad parents. There's a couple who live near me, in a nice house, with a nice car, lovely holidays etc etc. Their kids have been wandering around the streets since they were very small, their youngest daughter used to cross the main road with her (slightly) older brother, while she was still in nappies :eek:

Some people simply don't understand the dangers that children face, either that or they choose not to. Report this woman immediately, if she's happy to leave her baby alone whilst she meanders around the shops, what will she do if she fancies a night out and she can't get a babysitter? Please, please tell someone about this, it's the least that the child deserves.

p-pincher

Not read all of the responses but really posting to echo what every other poster has said, She is most definitely in the wrong. Anything could happen, kids manage to climb out of their cots, choke on something, house fire, the list could be endless. My mum said she used to do this with me when i was a baby when she took my sister to school, I was horrified, she explained it was the 70's and peoples thinkings were completely different. I asked her what she would say if id done this with either of my dd's and she admitted she would be horrified and if she had little ones again (not very likely lol) she wouldn't do it.

It does astonish me how some people think though and its not always who you expect, I have a very close friend, well educated, organic only food, very good jobs for both her and her husband and it transpires that when her son was a baby she'd leave him asleep, put the baby monitor on, go across the road to her neighbours and getting rolling drunk. WhenI asked what the hell she was doing she said a baby monitor. I replied thats all well and good if he woke up but I didnt realise that a fire made much noise not to mention the fact as your getting drunk you wouldnt be taking much notice of the monitor anyway,she only stopped when she saw what everyones reaction was, she really couldnt see anything wrong in what she was doing

samuelsmommy

an9i77 wrote: »

I have an 11 month old son and there's no way I'd ever leave him in the house on his own, ever. !!!!!!, it doesn't take long to put him in his buggy and he can sleep in there whilst I go to the shops so why can't this mum do that. I think the worst I've ever done is to leave my son in the car once or twice (doors locked) whilst I dash in to the newsagents for literally less than a minute to buy a paper. Even that makes me feel guilty!

That's illegal too, what would you have done if you came out and your car was gone? what if you tripped or fainted and your child suffocated? :eek:

Slinky

My parents used to nip off to the pub occasionally and leave us at home asleep.... That was in the 1960s. In fact I don't ever recall having a babysitter when we were children. I remember waking up once and finding them not there when the siren went off at the fire station down the road (it was the old WW2 air raid siren). Granddad lived with us for about 9 months when I was 6 and he stayed at home with us if they went out, but that's the only 'baby sitting' I ever recall.

I remember being left at home across a weekend when my brother was about 15 and I was 12.

Not saying I'd do it (I don't have kids), but we're both still here.... Things were different then.

shebangs

................

POPPYOSCAR

Slinky wrote: »

My parents used to nip off to the pub and leave us at home asleep.... That was in the 1960s. In fact I don't ever recall having a babysitter when we were children. I remember waking up once and finding them not there when the siren went off at the fire station down the road (it was the old WW2 air raid siren). Granddad lived with us for about 9 months when I was 6 and he stayed at home with us if they went out, but that's the only 'baby sitting' I ever recall.

I remember being left at home across a weekend when my brother was about 15 and I was 12.

Not saying I'd do it (I don't have kids), but we're both still here.... Things were different then.

Yes, I would never do it myself, but it did seem to be the norm years ago. What about the holiday camps such as Butlins? Didn't holidaymakers leave babies and children asleep in the chalets and an announcement come up 'baby crying in chalet number so and so' in the ballroom? We do seem a lot more protective nowadays.

an9i77

samuelsmommy wrote: »

That's illegal too, what would you have done if you came out and your car was gone? what if you tripped or fainted and your child suffocated? :eek:

The car was literally just outside the newsagents. By your logic, does that mean people shouldn't leave their kids in their car when getting petrol at a garage?