mom leaves baby home alone?

Question

My neighbor has a 9 month old son and about once a week...I see her go out for about 20 minutes...without the baby. she is going to the cornor grocery store cause when she comes back, she has bags from that shopping center. I know the baby naps during a certain time and it is in that time slot that she goes out so she is leaving the baby asleep alone for 20 minutes...should i call the cops or leave it alone?

Is it called neglect...to me she is a good mother o her son. she is always playing with him in the backyard..this is a small detail i have a problem with though and i do not want to confront her with it

plus size diva...I can not help her out...I have my own kids...8 and 1 yrs old....and during that time frame, my son is sleeping as well...I can't very well disturb his sleep cuz of this mother who leaves. It's not my responsibilty...my kids are!!!

Answer 1

You know, I used to do that. I did that about 4 or 5 times when my kid was asleep and once, I ran down quick when she was watching t.v. Honestly, I didn't see the harm. I am a single mom and taking out a kid just for milk for cereal seemed like such a big deal... we live in a cold country... the car needs to be unplugged, then boots, mitts, hoods, jackets... then the dog. It is easier to just walk out. I am betting she doesn't know that it is now considered neglect. i didn't know. My mom said something to me about it and until then, I honestly didn't think it was a big deal. I remember when I was 3 and my brother was 1 1/2, we were left in the house while our parents went out to do farm chores.. and that can take a long time. My mom was also raised by farmers and when it was chore time, or time to go to the field... my mom cried herself to sleep by the front door. That is just how life was...now things are different, if our kids are asleep we are not allowed to go out expect to take out the garbages and shovel the snow (which for the record, takes way longer then going to get milk). Anyway, it is now neglect... and I bet to her, it is just not thought of. You should mention it to her. Like this :"I admire your parenting skills... but I did notice (and no, I wasn't spying).. that you leave for a few minutes when your child is probably napping. I think you are really cool and wouldnt' want trouble for you and so I thought I'd just let you know that some people will actaully report partents for that under the name of neglect. Now I know you aren't neglectful, but if some nosy person finds out... I would just like to warn you that is really looked down on in this day and age and even taken seriously. I hope you aren't mad at me... I just think you are an amazing mohter.. but not everyone understands nowadays'

Answer 2

Yes, you should call the cops or children's protective services. I understand you believe she is a good mom otherwise, but this is a very serious issue. If she was a good mom except she drove drunk with her child in the car once a week would that be different? Some people think that since the baby is asleep it is fine, but too many things could happen. Think of all the times you have seen people on the news "I was only away for a few minutes", "he was asleep so I thought it was OK" or other such tragic situations. How would you feel if something DID happen to this child and you had done nothing? If you think that is harsh then speak to the mother about it first and express your concerns. If she continues then you must call the police. In some states it is actually illegal not to report situations like this that endanger children.

Answer 3

If you notice that she is leaving baby home then the chance that some sicko could notice also is pretty high....they could watch her leave and then go in and take the baby.I would try and help by being subtle.Go and tell her to keep a close eye on her kids because you heard there is a person trying to take kids a couple towns over when there parents are not watching.Maybe it will shake her awake and she will realize what she is doing.If this continues and she really is that neglectful to leave her child alone than definately call and ask someone to check it out...a childs life is the most important thing here.

Answer 4

It would be horrible if something did happen to the baby, but it is much more likely that calling the cops on her will cause serious troubles and family upsets then leaving the baby alone. The mother and child could be seperated. And the foster home may truly be an abusive place, as it so often is.
Having said that, i also have a nine month old and i never leave her alone. But, my husband helps me out when i need to do things such as shopping. If she is a single mom or has no help then she may feel this is her only way out. It can be hard taking babies this age out. So, offer to help her.

Answer 5

Thats a tough one. I mean...she really shouldn't be leaving the baby alone, but if you see her leave the kid once a week for about 20 minutes and you have a problem with it, talk to her about it first. Even offer to come over and watch the baby until she gets back. If the baby is happy, healthy and safe, its technically not neglect, but it could be argued that she is being neglectful.

Really think though-- if you do call the cops, she may lose her child to the foster care system. You could end up ruining her life and possibly the babies life. Offer to watch the baby when she goes out, then there's no problem.

Personally, I'd talk to her about it. Other than that, leave her alone.

Answer 6

I'm sorry, but I don't agree with her just wanting some alone time. You don't leave a baby alone period. Never! Why do people get in trouble for leaving their baby in the car??? Because it's wrong, anything could happen- sames goes for the home. I don't care if you need some alone time- if you do, you get a friend or family to help watch your baby. I have a hard time getting alone time myself because we don't really have family or too many friends close by... so it can be tough... but I 'd NEVER NEVER leave my baby alone! This baby is 9 months, more mobile... what if one time she was out he fell out of the crib and something terrible happened to him? ANYTHING can happen, and honestly, I'd say something to her. Let her know it's not safe no matter what, and if she needs some help going to the store, offer to go for her. But let her know it's dangerous, and if she keeps it up, you have to step up and do something. It's not about YOU once you have a baby- it's about that baby. and if you don't ever wanna feel that way, then don't have a baby is what I say. I'm sorry for being a little harsh, but your baby's life could be at risk if you leave without the baby. They are so curious about the world, and learning so much in this first year- can put anything small into their mouth, learn out to walk, crawl, so you always have to be prepared. I know you said you don't want to say anything to her, but please do. Let her know you care, otherwise someone else might call the cops on her if they see that.

Answer 7

If you can, offer to watch him so she can get a few groceries so that she can schedule it. You really must say something to her. My next door neighbors had a 3 month old son. Dad worked only 5 minutes down the road and Mom would just run him down there and come back. She had thought it was the same as leaving the baby to sleep and taking a bath (which for most of us can be even longer than the ten-minute trip). One horrible day they were killed in an accident and the baby was home alone. No one knew for almost 6 hours. They found the baby unable to cry he was so hoarse from screaming, he had a terrible diaper rash and had thrown-up all over himself. She needs to understand that it isn't the 20 minutes, its the horrible things that can happen in them, fire, tornado, murder, accident, or some other disaster. Thanks for caring enough about the baby to say something.

Answer 8

maybe if she had a baby monitor with her and a neighbor to call and check on the baby if she hears it crying it would be not so big of a deal since its 5 minutes down the road while the baby naps, not something i would do but not quit neglect, but to leave the baby with no one and no way of knowing if the baby is okay or not is not okay. i would go talk to the mom and make sure that there isnt any misunderstanding, like theres actually a sitter or the babies with someone else that day and if the case is that she is leaving the baby alone, i would inform her on all of the things that could happen and tell her that if it happens again, im reporting it.

Answer 9

Can you be for certain that the baby is there? Are you standing by the window not taking care of your own children 24 hours a day watching her house KNOWING that the child is not inside? Instead of being such a nosy neighbor like Gladys Kravitz (Bewitched) , why don't you offer to watch her child if she needs to run any errands in the daytime without actually confronting her about leaving her kid alone. If she refuses, then maybe you ask her about it then, put it out there so she knows and that stands for a chance of you letting authorities know about it. Since you're so concerned try being part of the solution instead of causing a problem... for all you know the baby isn't there and you contacting the police is going to be a big stink if the information you give them is turned out to be false.

...and if your 1 year-old is sleeping at that time too, then offer to watch her kid around 10am so she can run some errands. You don't want to get your hands dirty about the situation by confronting her or helping, but you would jump on the phone and tell the police or God who knows when you're not 100 percent certain... that's fabulous. I would LOVE to have a neighbor like you around. :::sarcasm dripping from my words:::

Answer 10

All I can say in this situation is, any thing can happen in twenty minutes.

I guess your answer is could you deal with it if something was to happen and you neglected to do some thing.

If your are absolutely sure the baby is alone. You need to say something to the mother. first maybe you could offer to keep an eye on the baby rather than call the police.

I can't tell you what to do in this situation but I know that I would definitely do something