Hi everyone,
I feel really stuck and could use some advice. We have neighbours we genuinely like — they’re friendly and have lovely children (all under 11), one of whom is severely disabled and around 4 years old.
We live in a very “put-together” area, so this sort of situation really stands out and I hate feeling nosy or judgmental. But I’ve been increasingly worried about their kids for a while now. The parents drink every day. One of them works, but I honestly have no idea how they’re managing financially — not that it’s any of my business, but it does make me wonder how stable things are for the children.
The kids are often up until midnight, sometimes later, and seem to mostly look after themselves. They’re sweet kids — polite and lovely — but clearly left to their own devices. This weekend, they haven’t been out at all for at least 3 days, and we haven’t seen or heard anything from them, which is unusual.
One of the parents sometimes sends me loads of messages when they’re drunk, and occasionally invites my kids round. Once, I showed up and they were vomiting. That really shook me — it just doesn’t feel safe.
I don’t want to overstep or cause the kids to be taken away from their parents, but I also can’t ignore the feeling that they’re not getting the care they need. I think the children are already showing signs of being affected by the home situation.
Has anyone been in a similar position? What did you do? I’m really torn between wanting to protect those children and not wanting to destroy their family. But my gut says something isn’t right.