Would you leave your baby in a hotel room alone sleeping while you hang out in the hotel bar and periodically?

Question

go up and check on the baby? What about your own house ... would you leave your baby sleeping in your house and go two houses down to hang out and hang out with another couple? If no, would you do it with a baby monitor?

Just wondering because I know people who do just this type of thing on a regular basis, and I think it's asking for trouble. Even with a monitor, how would you protect your child if someone broke in, or if the house caught fire, or if your child had a medical emergency? The whole McCann thing is a huge example of this.

I'm interested in other people's opinions.

Answer 1

I would never do this. I may not like children all that much, but I would never neglect them that way. They could be hurt or worse killed.

Answer 2

No and No! You're right, it's asking for trouble. For the reasons you gave (break in, fire, medical emergency) and more, the parent should be close by. To leave your baby alone in a hotel room or in the house is neglect plain and simple. A baby monitor is okay say if you're walking to the mailbox or doing yard work, but not to go hang out 2 houses down. There are too many things that could happen.

Answer 3

In a hotel - no way -- too many people. I live in the country so no I wouldn't go one or two houses down from my own home with a baby monitor. Even when I lived in the city I wouldn't go any further than my porch. The farthest away from my baby I am willing to go today with a baby monitor is within my own yard (with an eye on her room and the front door locked) and that is as far as the monitor is willing to go

Answer 4

I haven't followed the McCann thing, so I'm not even commenting on it. Let's put it into a different context.

You are a single mother in your own home OR the wife of a military guy in Iraq or even just a mom whose husband works all day. You have to mow the lawn. You can't afford to hire someone to mow your lawn, so you gotta do it yourself. Where are you going to put the baby, who is napping? It's dangerous to have the baby anywhere near a running lawn mower. Maybe it's winter? Maybe you need to use the snowblower? Is it neglect to leave the sleeping baby in the locked house? checking the baby every 20 minutes or so.

Next, consider that you grow a garden of vegetables. It is crucial to keep this garden going because your finances depend on keeping the groceries low in the summer. You have to water and weed daily, yet with so many mosquitoes, it isn't wise to have the child outside at this time (encephalitis, West Nile, oh..and it's tick season, so Lyme Disease). I'm not certain a monitor works that far, but let's say it does not. Would leaving the baby in the locked house and walking to the garden (about 100 feet from house) be considered neglect? checking the baby every 20 minutes or so.

You have to think about what is reasonable and what is not. Some folks version of reasonable is way out of whack with others. Some people just have different versions of reality or fear (i.e. live in country, live in city, victim of crime, never victim of crime, etc). Even judges and social workers don't agree.

I want to comment about fires. Sadly, most children who die in fires in homes die while their parents are IN THE HOME. They are often in rooms that the parent(s) are not in and can't be gotten to fast enough. My friend's 3 siblings died before her birth in just such an instance.

Answer 5

I won't even walk around the corner to get the mail when the kids are napping. If I go to the basement to do laundry when they are sleeping I take the baby monitor. I don't understand the McCann thing either. But I pray for the safe return of their daughter.You just never know.

Answer 6

I would never leave her alone for any reason, especially not for my own selfish reasons. I don't even send her to baby sitters outside of the family. Call me over protective but there is too much going on in this world to leave your children alone for any amount of time. I feel sorry for the McCann family but you have to think what were they thinking doing this? I agree with you it is asking for trouble, our kids are too precious and it only takes a minute and all things can change. I would hope that parents learned a lesson from this, and think twice before leaving their children alone.

Answer 7

Hell no. I would be by their side 24/7, especially if we were somewhere other than home. The McCann case really bothered me, I don't even feel sorry for them, I feel sorry for their kids.That little girl didn't deserve to be basically deserted by her parents in a hotel away from home. I don't care if they went and checked on them every 15 minutes, alone is alone no matter how long. Imagine going through life having to think "If I wouldn't have HAD to go to that party/dinner my child would more than likely be safe." If I just had to go somewhere, my kids would be with me or I wouldn't go, period.

Answer 8

No, I would not leave an infant, or a small child alone. I would be loathe to leave any child alone in a hotel room and would not trust a baby monitor to keep track. I also know people that do these things and it is only by dumb luck that their children are not hurt.

Answer 9

Br "periodically" you mean every 1/2 hour or so. Things can happen to a child in seconds, so no, as you already know. So they check and all is OK, then 30 seconds after they leave, the kid falls and cuts himself, or something, that means he lies there bleeding for 30 minutes before the next "periodical" check. Great parenting!

Answer 10

While all you scenarios are possible they are improbable The difference shows when your kids grow up, have they learned to fear the worst that can happen, or just enjoy their life until the sky falls The age, and the individual situation make the difference The "McCann thing " shows how far in time and distance you have to go to find an example. Maybe I am old and remember a time before seat belts...

Answer 11

Absolutley not. Anything can go wrong and it only takes a few seconds to become life threatening. Yet appalling as it is, a lot of parents do this. Personally, I cant stand to be too far away from my babies, I like to check on them especially when their asleep. How parents can sleep at night knowing that something could have gone wrong whilst they were gone is beyond me. They need an attitude adjustment.