Would you ever leave your 2 and 3 y/o children home alone while you went to dinner, even if they were sleeping? I am just shocked that those people whose daughter was kidnapped out of their vacation home were not charged with neglect.
2007-06-01 08:09:02 · 20 answers · asked by birdiegirl 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
No, I would never ever leave my son at 4 and 1/2 alone in the house, EVER. I was asking whether these parents should be charged with neglect. The kids could have choked or drown in the toliet even
2007-06-01 08:15:03 · update #1
I wouldn't wait until my child was 18 either to leave them home alone, but you can be pretty sure they will be above or around the age of 12. Of course, they will pay for this mistake for the rest of their lives, and anything could have happened to those kids in the times between checking on them. ANYTHING. Choking, falling out of bed, etc. And yes, I agree if it was a low income or minority family 1) They would not have the media attention that they are getting 2) They would be vilified by the press and public.
2007-06-01 08:50:00 · update #2
I feel exactly the way you do!!!! They should be charged with child endangerment!!!!! The fact that so many people, including the media are just ignoring the fact that this is their fault is absolutely appalling! I bet if they were a low income family they would be treated totally different....
FYI: Something I think you might find interesting is this article by John Stossel "Kidnapping Hysteria". He talks about how the media to name a few feed on our fears as parents to make their pockets nice and fat! Take a look. p.s. this is not to down-play your question at all, it's just interesting. Have a good weekend!
www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2007/03/the_kidnapping_hysteria.html
2007-06-01 08:30:24 · answer #1 · answered by Lakin J 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My mom left me and my sister home alone for 2-3 hours while she was shopping when I was like 6 years old all the time and nothing bad happened to me. However I wouldn't leave my kids home alone by themselves at all as I'd be scared of what my mother in law would do to me if she though I was neglecting her grandchildren. Plus I agree those parents should be charged with child endangerment and neglect. Apparently the local police didn't do do any investigation after Maddie was kidnapped. They didn't check the other apartments, bring in dogs, ask neighbors questions, search nearby apartments and streets, among other things. And also it's not likely that the parents will face crimminal charges for this. And the parents checked on the kids every 30 minutes and left the door unlocked the entire time they were at the dinner party according to Nancy Grace on CNN that I watched last night.
2007-06-01 13:10:59 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
The earliest age that I would leave a child alone is 9 or 10, and that is if they were extremely responsible. No way in hell would I leave my toddlers home alone - at that age they can't even use the toilet without help, if they're even out of diapers at all! Since these people still have the other babies they left alone, DSS should definitely be investigating so they don't make the same mistake again. Yes, I feel for them that something happened to their daughter, but it doesn't mean that they didn't do anything wrong.
2007-06-01 08:14:17 · answer #3 · answered by Stacy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
These people did not get in a car & drive to some restaurant. They were yards away and could see the villa--not completely. I really wonder if these people even realize how wrong what they did was? They didn't want to have some "stranger" babysit their child from the hotel. They had access to a babysitter provided by their hotel but chose to leave those 4 kids or however many there were alone. They'll pay for this mistake all of their lives.
2007-06-01 08:31:48 · answer #4 · answered by blkmiss 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OMG no I would never ever leave a child that young home alone. Its sad isn't it? I actually called the sheriffs department here in FL where I live to see what the age is to leave a child home alone and guess what? There is no legal age limit. That's just crazy!!! I have 2 boys, 9 and 11 and I will leave them if I have to run to the store or something short of an hour, but no longer than that!
2007-06-01 08:43:58 · answer #5 · answered by tulips♥77 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My daughter is almost 11, I have only left her alone 1 time. That was about a week ago when I was running to the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. I was gone for less than 10 minutes, and I thought I'd have a stroke because I was worried about it. She is begging me to leave her home some, but I'm not ready for that yet! I would never dream of leaving younger children alone at all. I won't even leave my youngest child (3) sleeping while I walk to the bus stop with my daycare kids, and I can see the house the whole way (suburban community only 3 houses away from home). I wake her up to take her with us.
2007-06-01 08:15:24 · answer #6 · answered by Daybreak 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would never leave a 2 or 3 year old home alone. I believe that is neglect. I won't wait until my kids are 18 to leave them home alone for an hour while I go out to eat though. That's just nuts.
2007-06-01 08:16:53 · answer #7 · answered by kat 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
At 2 or 3? No way!! In that case you are referring to, I wonder if the little girl didn't wake up, find her parents gone then went out looking for them. It sickens me that these people are getting so much press, meeting with the pope, etc., all for leaving their child alone while they went to dinner. What- Theey couldn't get room service?! Ridiculous!! My son's are 12 and 9 and I've only just recently gotten to where I will leave them home for short periods without supervision!!
2007-06-01 08:27:43 · answer #8 · answered by Shelley L 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I know thats crazy, I would feel uncomfortable even leaving an 11 yr old alone, but hey some ppl just have common sense and others I guess just got the shaft....
2007-06-01 08:14:05 · answer #9 · answered by 4Real 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is just a bunch of crap, I don't care what country anyone lives in it isn't normal. Anything could happen. That is the difference between good parenting and bad parenting.
2007-06-01 08:14:03 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋