nosy neighbor called cps?

Question

I have a 7 month old daughter, who is crawling and starting to pull up on EVERYTHING. A few days ago she bumped her face when she toppled over and had a small bruise on her cheek. The next day i was taking my daughter for a walk around the neighborhood and stopped to talk to my neighbor. She commented on the bruise on Rosie's cheek, i told her what happened. The next afternoon, CPS came knocking on my door, wanting to inspect my home and child, because there had been a call about possible child abuse. The CPS investigators decided that my home was perfectly safe and that I wasn't abusing my daughter. I am so freaking angry at my neighbor and would love to confront her about it. Any advice about what I should do?

my neighbor is a little on the crazy side. Should i just let this go?

i know it was her because she was the only person who saw the bruise after it happened. it was too hot to go very far...we were on our way to our mailbox when we stopped to talk.

Answer 1

yeah i would let it go, you dont want him to keep causing trouble, but i understand your urge to abuse... the neighbor that is, im sure your a great mom

Answer 2

I'm sure she was just acting in the best interest of your child, however illfounded the accusatons were. There is really nothing that can be done. I would just let it go and avoid the neighbor. If she ever asks you why she never sees you anymore, tell her you were very HURT that she called CPS and made accusations that you could ever hurt your child. I'm sure she would deny it and the reports are anonymous, so there's no way you could prove it was her. Does she go to daycare or did she see anyone else that would be a mandated reporter--doctor, teacher, nurse, etc. Mandated reporters have to report any thing that is suspicious for abuse. Now, as a nurse, I would not think your daughter was abused b/c of a bruise on her cheek. Several bruises in various stages of healing w/ suspicious patterns, i.e. finger marks, shape of spoon or other household objects, etc would be more indicative of abuse. Let it blow over, it's really not worth it.

Answer 3

I think you should tell her, since you do notice that she is a little crazy then I would assume that her intentions were good and probably thought she was helping. Just approach her in a claim manner and tell her that the cops and cps had inspected your house and concluded that your child isn't being abused. Also explain that this experience was serious and they could have taken your child for no reason and this would have cause your family great pain. Her actions were over the top,this was an inconvenience for your family, and your trust towards her is gone. If she denies the call then simple say that you were very angry about what happened.

Answer 4

Just let it go. Confronting her will only make the situation worse - she will be on the lookout for a way to get back to you.

CPS is obligated to check out all leads, but on the bright side... they have to see so many ugly things, if your neighbor reports you a lot, they will probably have smiles of relief when they knock on your door. They will get to know that you have a safe and loving home, but they still have to do their jobs.

BTW, I know exactly what you mean about toppling over and getting bruises... it seems my daughter ALWAYS has an ugly bruise somewhere on her face.

Answer 5

Did CPS actually tell you it was your neighbor? You should at least make sure it was her before pointing a finger. If it was her, maybe you could peacefully let her know the damage that she might have caused over nothing. But if she's 'crazy' like you said, and you think she will not understand, then it may be best to let it go. If it happens again, you should let the agency know that your neighbor is missing a few marbles. Eventually they'll see that your child is loved and safe, and disregard her calls. Good luck!

Answer 6

Well...I'd be pissed too. Now, rational thinking is that, it's nice to have a neighbor that is concerned about the health and welfare of your child. She asked and you answered and unless they felt uneasy about the way you spoke, she overreacted. Keep your cool for now and just avoid the neighbor until you can breathe safely in their direction.

Kids get hurt, that's what they do. Heck, CPS would have been at our door everyday during my childhood because of teh amount of bruises, scrapes and bumps we had. We didn't sit in front of the tv as youngins, we were outside falling out of things.

Answer 7

While I do think it was a bit premature to call CPS for something of that sort, it wouldn't do any good to confront her. Some people feel better safe than sorry. And in a situation involving children, it's not always the worst way to think. Just be grateful they didn't find anything and keep your distance from the neighbor.

Answer 8

I definately would say something, as it's already been pointed out, there are far worse kids who are slid by and she calls in right away, what if your daughter low and hehold gets another bruise (which she will!), will she call again? I'd say nip it in the bud and broach the neighbour!! Set that nosy bat in her place. You don't need to be friends with neighbours-that's why there are fences!

Answer 9

I could understand if everytime you saw her there was another bruise or broken bone on your child. She probably had good intentions but I would still be ticked. There is nothing that you CAN really do about it. Retaliation could begin a world of trouble.

Answer 10

I have a problem with a crazy neighbor too. I was really really sweet to her and now she just ignores me. I would just leave it alone. If she talks to you again just act really nice and she will hopefully be ashamed of her behavior.