to bit a little shocked

[maypole1]

to day i was shocked

me and my mate were dropping her daughter off to nursery at lunch time
and on the way walking back their is a row of shops which include a betting shop

we saw a boy in his school uniform with no coat on shivering, we all know how cold it is today standing out side he must of been 6 or 7

i remarked to my mate that he looks really cold she joked his dad is probably having a bet so i asked the boy were his parent was he pointed to the betting shop and said i am cold.

now i wanted to go in and call the parent out
1- it was freezing and the boy had no coat or even jumper
2-leaving a child out side while you place bets is a bit hmmm
3- why was he not at school for pittys sake

i don't care if people want to bet or what ever but i do think people who leave their kids outside pubs to drink or betting shops to gamble are highly questionable

my mate told me i shouldnt go in so i didnt but i wanted to who was right

the thing that's strange to me why wouldn't he of dropped the boy to school first then gone betting

the school is about 5 minutes walk from the row of shops like i said my mates daughter goes to the nursery bit

their is just something very sad about seeing a child waiting outside a pub or betting shop in the cold not a memory i would ever want my children to have

I wouldn't have said anything myself, you don't know what the situation was, for all you know he could have done a runner from school without his coat?

YABU to think parents who leave their kids outside betting shops to gamble are 'questionable' how long do you think it takes to place a bet? I don't see a difference between that and a normal shop! If the kid is trustworthy, it's daylight and safe it's fine IMO!

Pub, granted, is different

lebof

i am now using my pc which has a programme which helps me with my spelling and such

last night i had a couple of glasses of wine and was using my i pad
which dose not have the programme my oh has installed on the pc

wine and my poor spelling is not a good combination for being understood

boy might have been there only for a shortwhile.

father may out again in a shortwhile.

Mother may be at home, in work, shopping, dead.

You saw a snapshot, you made a judgement about the betting shop.
I went into a betting shop to shelter from the rain with my friend who had a baby in a sling. Had you seen that what might you have imagined.

Incidentally we were thrown out because as I said earlier, children are not allowed in betting shops.

In my dad you had to sit outside the pub, with a packet of salt'n shake and a bottle of coke with a straw.

Day not dad of course

some of my happiest memories involve being outside a pub with a bottle of coke and a packet of crisps.

butter cup
when the boy indicated to his parent their was a group of men standing together cant be sure actually which one his dad was but they were clearly watching some kind of race on a screen

so he may of just got caught up but i really hope he hadn't been standing their while his dad took in the whole race

sometimes I think we should make judgements, even if we don't get it right all the time

This is why there is no community now, No one cares enough to ask the questions or to challenge something they think isn't right. If everyone just minded their own beeswax how many children would suffer, my motto is to talk to the concerned party nicely and at least then you have said something, instead of just walking on by....just my opinion, before anyone starts!

you right just saw a snapshot as i said i didn't do anything apart form ask the boy were his parent was nut just wondered what every one else thought

agree nannipigg

dam wish i didnt listen to my mate now, but you just dont no if you step in your told your being judgy if you don't and a child gets harmed or is neglected you feel awful

I don't think the fact that it is a betting shop is really relevant. A lot of you seem to have a very old fashioned idea of betting shop clientele. Yes, there are some drunks etc but also a lot of responsible parents, lovely old men, WOMEN! (I worked In a betting shop for years).

The issue here is a child being left unattended, without a coat. Is this ever acceptable? If parent nips in to a toilet? Is it ok then? It doesn't matter if the child is outside Buckingham palace if it is not old enough to be alone

I agree with nannipig although admit to being a bit of a chicken. I also agree with zoo about sometimes it's ok to judge and other peoples' choices.

Well worst case scenario is you get scolded off the parent normally or maybe a bop on the hooter, but how would you feel if it was something much worse than just standing out in the cold....I would always step in whether it be animal, Children or those too weak to defend themselves! A totally different matter if it was just say two blokes going at it, I would just leave it then
Hope this helps, just keep an eye out for him next time! Hopefully it was just a one off

• and question other's choices

beak out.

If some old busybody were to go around the streets questioning my parenting, they would get extremely short shrift, I can tell you....

that's such a horrible attitude, Cupofbrown. Really depressing.

Yeah but most people wouldn't dream of leaving a 6 year old outside with no coat in the cold unattended.......the unattended thing is my bug bare, cos I know what kids are like with coats sometimes, I have the same problem with gloves with my 3 year old

Poor kid, its far too cold to be outside without something warm on. :(

The parent really shouldn't have gone into the betting shop whilst he had the child with him, since the child is not allowed in and would have to wait outside in the cold. I'm not about to make a judgement on his parenting skills based entirely on one tiny snapshot, but he really should have waited until another time to go to the bookies.

If it was someone sane I would say you should have gone in but since this is probably some kind of made up hallucination I'm just imagining a drunken loon stumbling into Ladbrokes and bashing a man about the head with her handbag and a copy of the Daily mail alternately while screaming incoherently, and it's distracting me from working ffs. Can you get your pal to video it on her phone if you ever do? Thanks.

If I see a young child on their own standing about, shivering or not, I always ask them if they are ok. In case they're not.