Little boy flashed me yesterday - aibu to tell his mum?

[allgoodindahood]

So I'm walking home from the shops yesterday when I heard a knock on a window. I ignored it and kept walking but then it knocked again. I turned round to see a little boy standing in his front room window with his trousers round his ankles shaking his 'tinkle' at me. Wtf! I turned round, marched straight to his front door and started knocking. And then it got really wierd.

Said boy answered the door and started apologising, physically shaking with fear and begging me not to tell his mum. So I explained to him how naughty that was and asked him where his parents were. He said they were upstairs but plleeeeaaassse dont tell them. I was about to leave it and told him to 'watch it, cos I know where you live' but then someone from upstairs shouted down asking him who was at the door.

Well, then he changed his tune completely and shouted up that its just some 'silly woman asking stupid questions...go away silly lady and dont knock here again!' and slammed the door in my face.

So then I got really annoyed and started knocking again. After three attempts of knocking he finally answered the door and told me he 'hadnt done nuffink' and he's really sorry, he 'just had an itch'.

I was baffled and shocked by his ability to lie and act. Would I be unreasonable to knock on the door and have a word with his parents? Although the lady upstairs was his nan so maybe he lives with her?

Ffs -y ds's have both been known to whip theirs out, ds2 quite recently. He also whips it out when it is erect as if it uncomfortable. And yes I do say not too, he is 4. Droid isn't sexualised, he has no concept of what sex is. He's just a little boy who likes to show his willy off. If I don't have boys and know many of ds's friends have done similar to their parents the. I might be concerned. But this doesn't strike me as warranting SS involvement.

Fucking iPhone.

Not droid and can't remember what I meant to type but basically ds behaviour isn't sexualised, he's a little boy and that often what boys do.

"I'm sure your spider senses would have tingled when ds2 (4 years) was telling postie thro letter box mummy can't answer the door. I was feeding a nearly asleep baby and no way was I gong to wake her to get a parcel."

Actually yes, I would check with your ds that you were ok and not ill/injured and passed out somewhere - is it really that unusual to show concern for other peoples situations?

I think the sign outside saying " baby sleeping, please do not ring doorbell" served as a huge clue.

I think re OP the fact the adult called down showed someone was home but probably as prev posters said, busy.aybe having a poo, changing a younger child's nappy.

Yes MM, but i'm sure you would be concerned enough to give them some guidance if they were surepticiously (oops - sp) seeking out strangers to flash at, no?

How the hell do we know this boy was "surreptitiously" seeking out stranger to flash at. For all we know, he saw a nosy old bat staring at his window and thought it would be funny to waggle his willy. What is the big deal? It's a child willy being waggled by a child who knew he probably shouldn't.

Well that's not the situation you gave originally is it? I'm not sure why you're been quite so defensive about my apparently inappropriate phrase borrowed off spiderman

I've already stated that yes, kids do indulge in a bit of flashing, but I'd want to know in this situation and I don't think the OP was in the wrong for wanting to speak to the adult in the house about it.

Lol at defensive against your spider senses not at all. I don't like spiders much through. ( Especially as living next to woodland, all the freshly hatched baby spiders have invaded my home. Evil little bastards. )

Lol at bewildered mums ds "I thought she'd like to see it"

Noooo Spiders are good luck!!!

That's why I never win the lottery - bloody cats keep snacking on them

I need a cat

There's no need to say the OP is probably a nosey old bat - he had to knock to get her attention and then he opened the door to her.
A sw would not immediately think this child has been abused, but abusers do have radar for vulnerable children and this wee guy might put himself at risk if he's unaware of 'stranger danger'.

Sorry i haven't read all of the thread but there were some posters who seem to really know their stuff on potential abuse. If it was me and i had been told that i would contact nspcc for further advice as i couldn't live with myself if that did turn out to be the reason.

Being brutally honest, I'd do nothing about it. But I would watch the house and the kid. I would worry that either nothing or too much would happen if I involved an authority, I'd be afraid of a backlash if I was wrong (yes, I'm a wimp who doesn't like confrontation). I'd struggle over it for a while, particularly as I really don't know how social services operate, I've never had them in my life. I've heard the horror stories about families being needlessly split up, but I've also heard the opposite where abuse has gone undetected for years despite numerous reports.

I appreciate this isn't advice, and that the general consensus here is that you ought to report this incident for the sake of the child who cannot be held responsible for his actions. It's got me thinking and I've decided I'm too ignorant to know how to proceed. I've also weighed up the risks based on what I know about how cases like this are dealt with (which is very little) and I'm still torn between whether I'd be doing right by the child or not.

I know I shouldn't be posting at all if I'm only going to sit on the fence, but I do wonder if there are others out there who would struggle over the same situation whether due to ignorance or some other reason, and it would be nice - no - important that they and I should know which route to take.

MN will put me right :)