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Original poster

What were DS (9) and DS (7) doing outside at 2.30am?

197 replies

TroublesomeTrucks · 11/04/2022 10:25

My DSs aged 9&7 are in serious trouble this morning. Background: our front door is set back from the road and the house is long and narrow along the road. DSs bedroom (shared by their own choice) is at one end almost above the front door.

Last night at 2.30am the door bell camera caught the pair of them going out of the front door and walking round to the front of the house, I would guess to approximately where their bedroom window on the front of the house is, before coming back in about 30 seconds later (staying inside the front garden, so nowhere near the road or pavement). They were empty handed so if they’d thrown or droppedsomething out of the window they didn’t find it. They claim they ‘wanted some fresh air’Hmm

I don’t know if it’s connected, but they were already in trouble because when it came to handing over their chrome books at bedtime, they told me they couldn’t find them (not unusual) but then I caught them using them under the bed covers.

What the hell were they up to????!

OP posts:
ronjobbins · 11/04/2022 13:08

@Georgeskitchen

Back in the day I would have said its kids on a dare However these days of instant communication I would be looking a little deeper just to check they aren't communicating with someone dodgy
This
ANUsernam · 11/04/2022 13:20

At that age, having a little adventure!

Not sure what you're suggesting with the link to the chrome books - what do they have on them. I assume you have all the parental controls on them and check them regularly so really that's just the modern day equivalent of reading under the covers with a torch.

My guess is they decided to have an adventure, then either like a pp said got bored/cold or scared of the dark/ being caught and came back in.

I'd be 'angry' with them, but actually find it quite funny.

Natsku · 11/04/2022 13:32

Probably wanting to go on a little adventure but best to try and make sure it was nothing more. When my DD was 7, she had a friend round for a sleepover and the two of them decided to sneak out around 1am and go for a walk to the park, teddies in hand. The first thing the social workers asked (someone driving past saw them and called the police so police reported to social services) was were they planning on meeting someone.

And talk to them about how serious it is to sneak out of the house at night and give suitable consequences. DD was grounded for 3 weeks but being picked up by the police was probably the bigger consequence for her, definitely scared her out of doing anything like that again!

OfstedOffred · 11/04/2022 13:39

Why were they awake at 2.30am?

I dont think that's normal at all. My niece and nephew are exactly those ages, not paragons of perfect behaviour, and could easily be up to something naughty in daylight hours but simply are never awake at that hour.

OfstedOffred · 11/04/2022 13:41

And I dont think it's normal at all for 7/9 year olds to go on an "adventure" at 2.30am.

11 & 13 maybe but not 7& 9.

impossible · 11/04/2022 13:43

They were probably stealing a little bit of freedom - playing some sort of game, perhaps a dare, just enjoying being outside so late.

DCs today are so restricted in their physical lives and yet exposed to all sorts of stuff online - perhaps you could shift the balance. I would check their histories in case it's something sinister but other than that give them some real life (laptop free) adventures.

VerifiedBot2351 · 11/04/2022 13:45

That is not ‘cute’ as a pp calls it! It’s dangerous.

What if they didn’t lock the door properly on their way back in? I’d be reading them the riot act. Those chrome books would be confiscated for a while now too.

FourChimneys · 11/04/2022 13:48

Too much Enid Blyton probably. My next door but one neighbour and I had an adventure to a field in the middle of the night once, from a sleepover at her house. No harm done and I don't think the parents ever knew.

But not so safe nowadays as in the 1970s.

BlingLoving · 11/04/2022 13:49

Obviously it's not good and they need a serious chat, but agree, it sounds like they just thought it would be fun. I bet they came back so quick because they were terrified! Grin. They could have dropped something out the window or left a light on upstairs and wanted to see if it was visible from outside. Any number of things.

Triffid1 · 11/04/2022 13:50

I was older, admittedly, but BFF and I still laugh about the time we had to throw ourselves into a bush at the side of my house because my dad came out with the bloody dog. How the DOG didn't sniff us out I'll never know.....

BeforeGodAndAllTheFish · 11/04/2022 13:56

Oh, come on. They're 7 and 9. They're just having an adventure. They went out, walked the the front and walked back. That's adventurous for little kids in the dark.

Lock your door properly and take the keys to bed.

When I was that age, my bedroom was at the back of the house. We had a single story extension on the back so my bedroom looked over the roof of the extension. My "fire escape" was to go out my window, walk along the roof and then jump down to the grass. Only meant to do that if there was a fire and it was my only way out. I used to take my keys and do it at night just for fun. Then let myself back in. So stupid and dangerous but nothing sinister. Just being an idiot kid.

Just talk to your kids about how it is dangerous to be going out in the dark like that etc and lock the door. Dont look for some sinister reason.

JustJoinedRightNow · 11/04/2022 13:59

Sorry but the posters saying it’s a case of them reading too much Enid Blyton - are you being serious? My children are around the same age and would not read Enid Blyton books, much to my dismay. I honestly don’t think OP’s kids are reading Enid Blyton and deciding to sneak out for an adventure.

I would be confiscating the tablets for the foreseeable future - they must have used them to set an alarm to wake up.

SleepingStandingUp · 11/04/2022 14:00

Thankfully the doorbell cam has a motion sensor, which is how I discovered they’d gone out in the first place. i think the point was it would wake you up if you got a door alarm so you'd know they were outside and could get up to bollock them. Esp as next time they'll just avoid the camera.

At that age, so not on SM etc i'd assume "dicking about" would cover it.

SunnySomer · 11/04/2022 14:00

We occasionally sneaked out for “midnight walks” - just to see what everywhere looked like in the middle of the night. Probably only did it once or twice, during sleepovers. (1970s).
However, your mention of chromebooks puts me on immediate red alert - are they chatting to anyone at all that they don’t personally know? It’s worth checking their browser histories.

Lazzaroni · 11/04/2022 14:00

If it's any consolation, OP, I remember going on 'night adventures' when I was that sort of age (normally when sleeping in tents in friends' gardens - it was the 70s). We all loved Enid Blyton, and imagined we were the Secret Seven.

LowlandLucky · 11/04/2022 14:03

I think most children have done this, every one of my friends when i was little done this.

Obelisk · 11/04/2022 14:07

Would seriously advise against locking the door in such a way that they can't get out- unbelievably dangerous.

StoppinBy · 11/04/2022 14:07

Sounds like a dare to me too.

I would not be happy at all if that was my kids but I would guess it wasn't anything serious.

Check any phones etc for messages though just in case.

Snoopsnoggysnog · 11/04/2022 14:11

Gosh I’ve done this too because of Enid Blyton.

My DC are not remotely interested in Enid Blyton though. If they had done this I would be checking their internet history and asking a LOT of questions - sadly our world is not the same now.

DoctorSnortles · 11/04/2022 14:13

I’d be furious with them. It’s a massive safeguarding issue.

WhackingPhoenix · 11/04/2022 14:13

@BeforeGodAndAllTheFish

Oh, come on. They're 7 and 9. They're just having an adventure. They went out, walked the the front and walked back. That's adventurous for little kids in the dark.

Lock your door properly and take the keys to bed.

When I was that age, my bedroom was at the back of the house. We had a single story extension on the back so my bedroom looked over the roof of the extension. My "fire escape" was to go out my window, walk along the roof and then jump down to the grass. Only meant to do that if there was a fire and it was my only way out. I used to take my keys and do it at night just for fun. Then let myself back in. So stupid and dangerous but nothing sinister. Just being an idiot kid.

Just talk to your kids about how it is dangerous to be going out in the dark like that etc and lock the door. Dont look for some sinister reason.

Lock the door and take the keys to bed? And how do you propose the children (or anyone) escape in the event of a fire? What a dangerous suggestion Confused
fairylightsandwaxmelts · 11/04/2022 14:15

Lock your door properly and take the keys to bed.

Taking the keys to bed with you is a really bad idea. What happens if there's a fire and you can't get back upstairs to the keys?

Fluffruff · 11/04/2022 14:16

My brother and I quite often escaped the house at night. It was a bit of mischievous fun! There was no danger really as we lived abroad in a house surrounded by high wall and gate. Just silly fun.

TigerLilyTail · 11/04/2022 14:16

I agree that it just sounds like they were messing about.

Mamabear12 · 11/04/2022 14:18

What they heck are they doing up at 2:30am?!