to think neglect or poor parenting

[Turkeytwizzlertonight]

Morning,

I live in a block of flats, flats vary from studios to 3 bedroom. Privately owned, some rented.

My next door neighbour's live in a studio, so one room, and a separate bathroom. They are a couple in their late 30's, one is self employed and the other unemployed. No children, privately rent.

Since March they have had a male friend over every weekend who brings his son, a toddler, 2 or 3 years old at a guess. They all sleep there till Sunday night/Monday.

Issue is that they keep the kid up till midnight or later every night, whilst they drink and smoke weed, I can hear the child crying

I'm guessing its a shared custody arrangement or something, don't know for sure, but it seems a poor environment for a child that young

WWYD? Keep your nose out or do something but what?

Absolutely no suggestion of abuse, more just poor parenting

Neglect for sure !! I’d report them

It is abuse. Neglect is abuse. Being high on drugs or heavily drunk in charge of a toddler is neglectful.

Thank you, but who to?

You could call the police next time you hear them and smell the weed.

You could call social services and tell them you’re concerned about a child you see regularly.

My DS is adopted. This is a lot of what happened to him before he was eventually removed (obviously other stuff as well) but inconsistent parenting was a big part of it. A neighbour reported a very similar situation on more than one occasion and said the child sounded distressed. And he was. The impact of those couple of years are still causing repercussions 20 years later.

Report to social services.

I will, will SS be able to do anything as the child is only there Friday to Sunday/Monday, I don't know where he or his father are for the rest of the week?

@Turkeytwizzlertonight

If you call the police then they will automatically refer to social services.

Definitely report x

Definitely call the police.Its also really concerning that three adults and one child are all sleeping over in a studio apartment.

I'd ring 999 next time this happens. The problem with reporting to SS is that unless the OP has the name and address for the actual parent, they wouldn't be able to investigate. She could ring them but I'd doubt they would come over on a Saturday night to do anything. They also may live in another borough which would complicate communication between SS teams. I may be wrong and I'm glad to stand corrected

You can call NSPCC and get specific advice that's confidential they will tell you what you can do to help.