To think he should take his own child to school?

[ApplesandOrangesandPears]

I have a neighbour who's child is my daughters class, every day this past week this child has showed up at my door unaccompanied to go to school with us - this would be fine but my child has ADHD and mornings are chaotic and difficult. I don't have this child's parents phone numbers, and don't know exactly where they live! However I just saw the parent in their car driving away as I was trying to bundle all 3 children across the car park.....this child is very young and so I don't feel comfortable sending them home alone and clearly the parent isn't waiting for them to get home before leaving themselves! I don't have any contact with these parents so if something were to happen I wouldn't be able to let them know, we are also going away soon and won't be able to take him to school! AIBU to think this is really cheeky of the parents and that you shouldn't just assume another parent will take yours to school with no prior conversation at all!

The hard truth is you're facilitating this. Who is to say that these parents aren't doing this to others, or leaving their child unsupervised in other settings? While I understand that it is not your intention to endanger the other child and you feel that you need to protect them by continuing this, the child could end up in a much worse position because you are helping their parents to engage in a unsafe practice. Leave earlier, or tell the child that you are not responsible for bringing them to school, but leave. This is the only way to break the cycle. You have no prior agreement with the parents. God forbid the child had an accident in your home, and fell and broke their arm while you were looking after them? Or claimed that something inappropriate happened under your care? How would insurance/the police look at that? You need to protect yourself and your family.

@Begratefulfor
I’m also annoyed at your posts. You seem to have gone off on a tangent about people with ADHD. Your posts are insensitive. Hence why they have since been deleted by MN.

We’re currently awaiting a ADHD?/Autism? diagnosis for our 7yo DC. Our DC has lots of friends, a busy social life, is intelligent and has sharp wit, etc but mornings before school are still often stressful. You need to stop with the stereotyping and offending pp with children who have ADHD.

When I was 8 I used to call for my friend that lived further down the street and we walk to school together that was just down the road. There was a lolly pop lady that would see us across the road. I don't find anything wrong with it myself. If my friends wasn't ready or I had turned up early i would wait outside in the garden until my friend was ready. I loved the freedom of being a child and doing that.

How far away do you live from the school? My own children were walking on their own at that age, and would knock for friends on the way. Maybe the parents don’t realise that you’re taking your own child and think the kids are just walking together. If it bothers you (and I understand why it would, in your position) ask the school teacher to contact the parents and explain that it’s not convenient to you.

I find this thread bizarre 🤨..Here I am struggling with my child , trying to get them ready for school, there's a knock on the door , I open the door to find a random kid standing on my doorstep, I just bundle him up together my own children and just take them all to school 🤣. Don't know why he is on my door step , don't know where his parents are really , i dont worry if i'll be accused of all sorts later on as i really dont know what this child is like and if he has a propensity to lie /make things up, i dont worry if there are safeguarding issues with this child , nope, i dont worry about any of that, i just sing la-di-la and continue taking this random child to school everyday 😂 . The only thing I am pissed off about is that this random child's parent isn't taking him to school instead of me 🤣🤣🤣. I mean, is this for real or DM/Mirror is that you? 🤭

I mean, is the dad a single parent? Is he perhaps struggling to get kid to school and himself to work on time and he's suggested he walks with a neighbouring school mum who he feels the kids safe with. I know it's absolutely not responsible but maybe just worth a chat with the guy to see whats going on. The suggestions of taken the kid to the police station atr just bizzare...

What else would OP do, leave a young child alone on the road?

You need to realise how strange this situation is! Honestly... Big Red Flags all over the place here. Poor kid. You need to sort this out NOW. I can't Believe the parents haven't even had a conversation with you. This child may need to go into care? If this is the level or lack there of on the parenting front.

Unbelievable they are doing this, can you give her a note to take to her parents explains your child has ADHD and morning are difficult and you can't take their kid to school, also you are going away soon

Sorry but you have been irresponsible but I’d imagine from a place of ‘i care, look after and love my children so everyone must do. Pure nativity in a negative world at best. Let’s put it this way. They don’t know you, how you treat your children or theirs. They are leaving a very young minor with a complete stranger. Do they know what you do or say to that child before you take them to school? If they dump their child Willy nilly to fend for themselves at that age then what do they do behind closed doors? It’s the child abused, fed, cleaned etc? Are they being forced to take care of themselves or not at all? Sorry to be blunt but there are a lot of sickos and shite parents out there that don’t care if their kids live or die and even hurt them for sport. You could have be facilitating that without even realising it.

I'd be telling him to go home to mummy and daddy. If he doesn't, i'll ask him to show me hus house and ring their doorbell and hand their child back to them. If parents are not st home, I'll call the school and let them know there's a child from your school just waiting on my doorstep. No parents to be seen, and i am concerned, as I don't know who this child is , he just shown me his house, and he lives close by but i dont know his parents . If they ask me to bring him to school with me i will, once, but I will be telling them that I don't know who this child is or who his parents are and if he is loitering around my house without an adult again, I'll be calling the police or social services, and to communicate this to his parent/carer.

When he knocks on Monday, ask him to show you where he lives and then go and knock the door that evening and speak to the parents.

Well leave the group bye bye now.

Most people would ask the child to show them their house and would walk them back home.

Hold on. Must be more to that story.
No prior conversation or introduction?!
Some random (ok same class) turns up at your door and your ok with that for a whole week?!

What does the kid say when you speak to them about this?

Do think you are being reasonable by not asking the kid's parent "WTF?" ? I'd reflect on that. Go speak to the parent.

This

🤣 You've said what I want to say to all posters who are recommending contacting the school.

You also put the fear of God in me...I had to double-check my understanding (phew, I was righr). The child hasn't gone into OP's non-existent car but HAS gone into her house (I presume, as OP said; "On Wednesday again, we were running very late this time he said my dad told me to come here and so I told him he'd have to come in and wait then because we were all rushing around").

I can't believe that you even need to ask the question?! 🙄This is so bizarre and needs nipping in the bud IMMEDIATELY😡Get the child to show you where they live and either tell the parent/s to their face or put a note trough the door informing them that you CANNOT be responsible for their child and that if it happens again you will have no other recourse but to refer them to Social Services...Do NOT get dragged in to any family dramas or made to listen to any sob stories, it cannot end well if you do and you have enough on your own plate!! 😱

You clearly didn't read the OP's original post, it's not a friend it's a child from her child's class. The child's parents did not ask if it was OK, and she doesn't even know them. She has every right to not be happy about it, and actually should be reporting it to the school, as it is a safeguarding issue!

On the face of your message, I feel this is a reportable safeguarding issue, unlikely to meet threshold, but could be part of a bigger picture.
speak to the teacher if you’re not comfortable making a report.
Good luck.

It's hard to believe some of these responses, Wow! CALL THE SCHOOL, CALL THE COPS, CALL SOCIAL SERVICES!!!! At 7, the child might very well know his parents phone number. Call them, or send a note to call OP, adult to adult. I can't imagine there's anything the school can really do except pass it on to the parents that another parent is complaining about their kid coming to their house everyday, perhaps hurting the feelings of the little boy and maybe putting her own son in a bad light at school. If it's legal for a 7 yo to walk to school alone, the police won't do anything, and OP should definitely not get social services involved without knowing more. And she can only know more by talking to the parents. You must have Karen's in the UK also!

I would inform the school
It's a safeguarding issue

It's possible the child is expected to walk by themselves and they have chosen to walk with the OP

This happened years ago with DD's friend. She actually had to walk in the opposite direction down a lane with no footpath to get to us. No coat in the winter and she'd had no breakfast. Her mum apparently was still in bed.

I spoke to the school and they said they were already aware of the situation and trying to resolve. I found out later Social Services were involved.

😁 @EekGoesTheBaby sorry for any fear caused!!!

Yet still we have bright sparks like @Mumof2teens79 with their wisdom popping up....