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Original poster

Leaving kids for 5 minute late night walk?

212 replies

OneOliveOtter · 26/06/2026 23:22

Husband and wife went out for a quick walk an hour ago whilst kids were sleeping (3 and 5). Gone for just over five minutes. Unreasonable or not?

OP posts:
Sherararara · 27/06/2026 12:24

OneOliveOtter · 26/06/2026 23:32

It was to walk an animal. That had been walked already twice today. I wondered if I was being overly pearl clutchy in finding it a bit worrying…

Not the point of the thread but “Walk an animal”? You mean a dog? Interested to know what animal if otherwise..

BlondeAussie · 27/06/2026 12:23

OneOliveOtter · 26/06/2026 23:22

Husband and wife went out for a quick walk an hour ago whilst kids were sleeping (3 and 5). Gone for just over five minutes. Unreasonable or not?

"Just over 5 minutes".

Is that genuine minutes, or "washing machine minutes"??

Either way, there was no necessity for BOTH adults to take the creature for a walk when two young children were in the house.

WellThatIsABitMad · 27/06/2026 12:23

Very silly. One of them could have walked the dog. My main concern would be a house fire - knew someone who lost four kids in a fire when parents went to the pub (in the 1960s mind you).

VickyEadie · 27/06/2026 12:13

OneOliveOtter · 26/06/2026 23:32

It was to walk an animal. That had been walked already twice today. I wondered if I was being overly pearl clutchy in finding it a bit worrying…

That one of the pair could have walked on their own, for longer if they liked.

Kelz40 · 27/06/2026 12:09

And what happens if they’re hit by a car or something happens to the house. 5 minutes turns into 10, 10 to 20, 20 to 30 and so on.
Totally unacceptable.

Iwantaircon · 27/06/2026 11:52

Unreasonable. No way.unless there was another adult looking after them?

Justveryveryangry · 27/06/2026 11:51

I don’t think what the parents did was right, but there’s a lot of over catastrophising in this thread. What the parents did was wrong but hardly “unforgivable” or “gross negligence”.

LiuBei · 27/06/2026 11:29

ThatSourGobstopper · 27/06/2026 04:21

You talk nonsense.
Of course people should think about what happened to Madeleine McCann when thinking about leaving young children alone.
Not only that, what if one of the children suffered a medical emergency. A choking fit or anaphylaxis? A wasp or a bee is somewhere indoors and stings a child? A fall, a convulsion etc, etc. What if one has a nightmare and wakes up in distress and in doing so frightens the other child? It’s completely irresponsible to leave young children at home on their own even if it is just for 5 minutes or so.

Show quote history

I think you can have bad reasons for correct outcomes. A risk of a fall is an excellent reason to not leave a child unattended. It is not that rare. (In my post i specifically said I'm not arguing for leaving children unattended)

What happened to Madelaine McCann is not a good reason. When making a decision, you should weight both severity and probability in your decision making. Of course Madelaine McCann is about as severe as it gets, but also so so so improbable.

AgnesMcDoo · 27/06/2026 10:48

Not acceptable at that age

But how do you know there wasn’t a third adult in the house?

Yetone · 27/06/2026 10:45

You don’t know that Granny hadn’t just popped over.

There are no circumstances that I would have left home and left my children when they were tiny. My husband used to work away from home Monday to Friday when mine were young and this was before online deliveries. A dog can be let out into the garden.

Newusername0 · 27/06/2026 10:35

We used to live next door to a corner shop. And I mean next to, we shared a wall 😆
When I ran out of milk, or nappies, I would often wonder if it would be ok to nip in there. I’d be far less than 5 minutes, probably 3 minutes max. And I still didn’t do that. So, no! I don’t think it’s reasonable to go for a completely unnecessary walk for 5 minutes whilst you have 2 very small children alone at home.

CeciliaMars · 27/06/2026 10:23

Why on earth wouldn't one go and one stay with the kids? This is awful - I would never do this.

Flowerlovinglady · 27/06/2026 09:55

I'd be careful with assumptions - there may have been another adult in the house that the couple were only too pleased to get away from for five minutes to have a private chat.

MargaretThursday · 27/06/2026 09:50

OneOliveOtter · 26/06/2026 23:41

Yes, I don’t know them very well though. They live down the bottom of the cul de sac. I was out sorting out my roses (battered in this heat!). Only know them to say hello to or nod really.

In that case you have no idea whether they had a visitor they left them with, or that the children weren't staying at Granny's overnight.

GardenCovent · 27/06/2026 09:43

Before being able to say either way, are you 100% sure there wasn’t anyone else in the house?

Kaidaia · 27/06/2026 09:31

You don’t know the children are on their own! They may have a grandparent staying or another relative

TY78910 · 27/06/2026 09:11

Stompythedinosaur · 26/06/2026 23:53

I would say that's neglectful. You can't just leave young dc unsupervised.

Well, technically speaking if something had happened then the court would be trying them for child neglect

labubu1 · 27/06/2026 09:05

It’s absolutely not ok. Remember the mum who did this and her children died in a fire. She went to prison.

mamaduckbone · 27/06/2026 09:02

Of course unreasonable at that age.

Sahara123 · 27/06/2026 09:01

Thoughtlife · 27/06/2026 00:22

The parent inside the house wouldn't know a child was doing that unless the child fell, and even then they may not hear what happened.

Let's face it, the child's bedroom window opening to an amount where a child can fall through it is a far more immediate and ongoing concern than parents going out of the house for 5 minutes. Yet that doesn't seem to bother you. I wonder why.

Edited
Show quote history

This was my thought. I’d be extremely worried that there was an open window , a child could fall out of that in seconds, regardless of whether anyone was in the house or not.

OriginalSkang · 27/06/2026 09:00

What if they were both hit by a drunk driver while they were out

ByOpalPear · 27/06/2026 08:58

Imagine the kids woke up to find their parents gone or worse, they woke up to someone at the door or the smoke alarm going off or they woke up unwell. Awful, selfish, neglectful and completely unnecessary.

moonshineandsun · 27/06/2026 08:55

RampantIvy · 27/06/2026 08:52

Literally five minutes I think is fine

No, it isn't

nothing is more likely to happen during those five mins than at any other time

Yes it could.

😠

The government guidelines in the UK are that young children should never be left alone even for a few minutes and parents can be charged with criminal neglect if children are placed at risk.

I find it so interesting (and disheartening) that when someone awful happens to a child, everyone asks why didn’t someone notice and report, but when concerning behaviours are noticed, people seem to try justify and say to mind your own business.

LooksLikeIPickedTheWrongWeekToQuitDrinking · 27/06/2026 08:53

OP still hasn’t clarified how - if these are neighbours she barely speaks to at the end of her street - she knows exactly who was or wasn’t in the house, how long the couple were out, or how she knows how many walks the dog had already had that day!

If this thread is real, OP is obviously the worst sort of busybody curtain-twitcher!

RampantIvy · 27/06/2026 08:52

Literally five minutes I think is fine

No, it isn't

nothing is more likely to happen during those five mins than at any other time

Yes it could.

😠