Kid barged in my house

[Ontobetterthings]

I wfh today. I had a load of banging on the door. I answered it thinking it was a delivery. There was a boy there about 12. I thought maybe he come round to see my son though I didn't know him. My son is at sports camp today though

Before I could even say anything he ran in my house and barged past me and tried to get up the stairs. I grabbed him by the arm and asked him what he was doing. I was worried as my daughter was in bed and didn't want anyone I don't know upstairs.

I asked him repeatedly what he was doing and he wouldn't answer
He just kept trying to get up the stairs. I said you don't barge into people's houses. Eventually he said toilet. I was thinking perhaps he could go to my downstairs toilet but he ran off. I don't think English was his first language. I noticed he wasn't wearing any shoes either.

I just feel very shaken by the whole thing.

Lots of kids are used to rob peoples houses. It's both incredibly naive and privileged that you are fortunate enough to not know anything about that.

This is in fact what happened.

@Wabberjockey

i think it's a response from a hurt, scared & worried parent of a child with SEN. It's understandable.

was your post necessary??

So that's why everybody who was concerned about him said to phone the police. Everybody. Phone the police and let them find out whether he was a vulnerable child (which he was) or a thief/criminally exploited child (which was possible but not the case in this instance). Nobody is being naive. Whatever he was it was a job for the Police and social services.

I'm glad this didn't happen in the US he would probably have been shot by some of you.

Something very similar happened to me like this (though he didn’t enter the house), I did have to call the police as it was at night and he wouldn’t communicate with me.
it was incredibly unnerving and even the police who turned up were a bit shaken.

(it turned out he’d got out of he home while parents were in bed).

Obviously in this case the lack of shoes was a giveaway that this was a vulnerable child but there was a spate of kids barging into houses on my estate recently. They were just doing it to scare people. Almost got me except I clocked them coming up my garden path, I'd just got home and the door was unlocked, 5 minutes later they barged into an elderly neighbours house almost giving him a heart attack. Keep your doors locked!

Is it a social housing estate?

Just trying to ascertain whether its two tier policing.

I'd be more tempted to buy it if you read the post before mine where OP says she is putting a chain on the door to prevent a known-to-be autistic child who is clearly very vulnerable from coming in and rather than offering support and keeping the child safe from getting run over or being abused if they run in the wrong house. This is not about whether children are groomed into commiting crimes; having worked with children who have in the past im not as naive as you may wish to think.

Why is one poster making this a 'the UK is going to hell in a handbasket' thread 😂

I am putting a chain on my door as sometimes I go shopping and my teenage daughter or son could be alone after school
Also I have a dog which could hurt. It's not me being heartless.

I also didn't have my phone on me and was completely taken off guard. I do sympathise with the situation but need to protect my kids. Also the dog could have bitten him.

I would question how the police know this child is genuinely non verbal and autistic.

Even if he is, that’s not to say he’s not being exploited by others with bad intentions.

Definitely tell the the police. The boy didn't speak English had no shoes on and needed the toilet. It's strange and I hope he's ok

People are taken right through the country not just kept in port areas.

I can completely believe this. My friends DS has done similar and is non-verbal and autistic. T

I understand that you will champion the SEN child. It is your job after all. I however refuse to give in to the continuous stream of virtue signalling inverted leftism that is destroying the fabric of our country and I won’t be bullied into the constant misguided BS that is spewed out on here.
We are in trouble. So is Europe. I see it. I live it. I work in it.
The minority is heard
Now what??

I’ve lived in really questionable places, most likely more so than you, and I would still not think a child who couldn’t speak English and had no shoes on was trying to rob me.

Speaks more to your privilege than mine. Privilege people usually just assume everyone is trying to rob them, even vulnerable looking kids.

No but the community the children were from shortly moved on after being given an eviction notice...

this is the best thing to be doing.

I thought this. Phone the police.

They're not safe walking into other peoples houses either. The boy who came into my house went down my stairs at such a fast speed I was convinced he was going to fall down them. If he'd come in the day before, when there was diy tools lying on the floor, he'd absolutely have grabbed one. He was grabbing at anything he could.

I agree it’s not really safe for a vulnerable child with complex SEN to be in a strangers house, but potentially it is safer than being outdoors as most will have no awareness of safety around roads, open water or other major hazards. Unfortunately children with complex needs can and do come into serious harm when they abscond, such as this young boy with complex needs who recently fell into a river and drowned: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-68056079.amp

That said I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the OP to want to put a chain on her door, I can see why she was shaken up by this (and the scaremongering on the thread has no doubt added to that fear) and it’s probably reasonable to want to safeguard yourself and your own children above those of strangers.

It might be a good idea to get a ring door bell or similar so you can see who’s at the door before opening? I know this boy was probably totally harmless but also understand that people won’t want him charging through their houses.

Ummm..... because it is.