Page 2 | Toddler left alone - is this acceptable?

NamechangeApril2025 · 2025-04-07T16:37:59+00:00

A newly walking 14 month old left alone in a room while sole adult went out (for maybe a few minutes) to the garden on the other side of the house. Room has a baby gate but is not a babyproofed room.

NuffSaidSam · 07/04/2025 20:24

It depends on the exact circumstances.

If you and this other adult are both competent people with the child's best interests at heart and you disagree then it's probably a grey area.

If you have heavy furniture that can be easily pulled down by a toddler you should get this fixed to the wall. They're far more likely to pull it down on themselves at 2/3/4 years old and that's the age where you're more likely to leave them alone in the room.

Suzuki76 · 07/04/2025 20:23

MerryBeret · 07/04/2025 20:05

😂

Sorry, OP, but literally no point in asking us to judge a situation if you won't actually reveal what the situation was.

Show quote history

Agreed. I suppose it is outing to say you were watering the plants. Only one person has those.

Dramatic · 07/04/2025 20:19

My sil once left my baby outside on her own at the same age, she climbed on to a chair and tipped over the back of it face first on to concrete, I was absolutely furious. So I'd say it does depend how hazardous the room is and how likely your child is to put themselves in danger. My youngest (the injured child) was a climber and couldn't be left at all, other kids would stay on the floor and be absolutely fine.

ThinWomansBrain · 07/04/2025 20:14

A few minutes in the garden?
Not a weekend in Paris or out partying 'til 3am?

mumofoneAlonebutokay · 07/04/2025 20:11

My dd would follow me 😭, but I'd go out to empty the bins, about 2m from the front door when she was that age

MerryBeret · 07/04/2025 20:05

Polistock · 07/04/2025 19:25

Absolutely love these threads. More than 2 but less than 10, harder than putting the bins out but easier than evicting an angry badger from the house, can't say what as too outing but think we run the only residential water mill in the three counties region.

😂

Sorry, OP, but literally no point in asking us to judge a situation if you won't actually reveal what the situation was.

MajorCarolDanvers · 07/04/2025 20:03

Without knowing the layout it’s hard to say but in our house it would be fine.

luckybugger · 07/04/2025 20:00

Who are you annoyed with? I definitely left my toddlers unattended for a few minutes back in the day when parents were generally more relaxed 🤷‍♀️
I would always have been within screaming distance though.

hobnobs4life · 07/04/2025 19:56

Probably being a bit precious imo. I'd likely have jumped in the shower for 5 mins when mine were that age if they were watching a TV show and in a childproofed room they couldn't get out of.

Nonametonight · 07/04/2025 19:54

If this is your house, you need to baby proof all the rooms
Toddlers don't accept just staying where they're supposed to

Justformenow · 07/04/2025 19:54

I’d say fine to be honest. Mine didn’t walk until 16 months and I couldn’t really carry her everywhere.

MuffinsOrCake · 07/04/2025 19:54

Put them in the pram and take them for fresh air while you hang the washing out

WheresYourSnickers · 07/04/2025 19:48

My house is small enough that this wouldn't be an issue!

kalso · 07/04/2025 19:43

I would have been fine with that, although in our house I tended to take mine with me, because if I was going to another room it was usually on another floor (townhouse), until they were comfortable with stairs. I had no problems with leaving them in a room on their own. Never had dcs pulling over furniture and we weren't strict about baby proofing.

SpringIsSpringing25 · 07/04/2025 19:25

Personally, I wouldn't leave a just walking 14 month old alone in the room, where they could pull heavy things onto themselves.

Who is this you're pissed off with?

Your Nanny?? Your DH?? Grandparents??

Hopefully a conversation about it will sort it all out, I assume your toddler wasn't hurt otherwise you'd have said, which I agree maybe just good luck, but there's really no advantage in having a go about it and causing bad feeling no matter who it was.

If this is just one thing in a series of bad judgements then maybe you need to look at who is doing the childcare and maybe changing that?!

Polistock · 07/04/2025 19:25

Absolutely love these threads. More than 2 but less than 10, harder than putting the bins out but easier than evicting an angry badger from the house, can't say what as too outing but think we run the only residential water mill in the three counties region.

Original poster

NamechangeApril2025 · 07/04/2025 19:16

I don't want to go into loads of detail but toddler wouldn't have been heard from the garden. There are heavy things that could have been pulled over but nothing glass or hot.

Adult was going to do something more involved and that would take longer than putting something in the bin but wasn't going out for 10 minutes.

Interested by some of the responses here, thanks.

OP posts:

kidditsonyou · 07/04/2025 19:14

Do people carry their toddlers round everywhere? No different than going to the toilet, getting a drink/snack.

Mummyoflittledragon · 07/04/2025 19:02

What does that mean not baby proofed? Glass or heavy objects in easy reach to pull down/over themselves, absolutely not. If it’s just that things could be climbed on, this isn’t likely to happen to a just walking toddler.

Gogogo12345 · 07/04/2025 18:41

bettydavieseyes · 07/04/2025 18:19

It depends. I went outside last week because our Gazebo was being blown around and it needed tying down properly. I was less than 5 minutes and while I was gone my 8 year old managed to smash a plate and cut her foot. I'm not sure you can ever be too careful at any age but a few minutes in earshot is normal surely?

And she could've done the same while you are in the room.

Id have popped a 14 month old in playpen

bettydavieseyes · 07/04/2025 18:19

It depends. I went outside last week because our Gazebo was being blown around and it needed tying down properly. I was less than 5 minutes and while I was gone my 8 year old managed to smash a plate and cut her foot. I'm not sure you can ever be too careful at any age but a few minutes in earshot is normal surely?

Caterina99 · 07/04/2025 18:02

Depends on the room. My own house which is pretty much got nothing at toddler level and definitely nothing dangerous -it’s fine!

My parents house where I am now and I can spot several potential things to either break, make a huge mess or be injured by - not so fine!

So it depends a lot on your definition of not a baby proofed room!

SaladSandwichesForTea · 07/04/2025 17:49

It's fine assuming the basics are in order like babyproofing and checking for hot cups of tea and locked doors.

DinoLil · 07/04/2025 17:49

At 14m old, mine would have been toddling about after me.

Shetlands · 07/04/2025 17:48

"Not a baby-proofed room"

This is the crucial piece of info - what sort of things might have happened in that room while the adult was elsewhere?