Not sure if this is the right thread but I could really use some impartial advice.
A very close family member has 5 children under 8, is only 25 she is married to a man 13 years older. Social services took the children away 2 years ago and they lived with their Nanny for 8 months. We have only heard information second hand as to why the kids were taken away. Supposedly the nursery reported them as one of the children told them worker that the parents were hitting them. I have never seen evidence of this, but I have always wondered if there was more to the story, as the action SS took seemed extreme for one report.
They had to attend visitation sessions which were quite frequently missed, she also had a baby during this time which was immediately taken away,but she was allowed under supervision to feed the baby at night, again this was frequently missed. They got the children back and everything seemed to be a lot more settled.
Recently the mother has gone off the rails. Staying out all night drinking, taking drugs and from what we hear sleeping around. The father is staying home with the children but is bringing “unsavoury” people into the house in the evening and when the mother gets back at 6 am they argue and fight in front of the children, which I think at times has got physical.
I know that she has drunk drove with the kids in the car and I am absolutely terrified that something is going to happen to the children.
If the children were taken away again their nana absolutely could not take of them. Unfortunately we have a extremely sick family member who has takes up the majority of her time with constant hospital visits. The only option would be foster care.
The only things I have see first hand is a complete lack of home cooked food, they only seem to eat sausage rolls, the kids only tried blueberries for the first when we visited last as my daughter had some. The youngest baby being strapped in the pram all day, being extremely behind with crawling sitting up and walking. She has a major flat head. Lack of car seats, rotting teeth, the 4 year old had almost all his teeth removed. The toddlers are very whiney and clingy. The older ones are starting to become aggressive. The children escaping from an open back door and the parents not realising till a stranger bought them back from a very busy main road. We do not spend a lot of time directly with the children or the mother as we don’t live in the same area.
Would I be wrong to report them just on second hand information. Are children better off with their parents or foster care?