Just walked out on kids

[patiencehasgone]

Just that, really.

9 and 12 years old. Constantly fucking bickering.

Do not listened to me when I ask them to stop. Or listen full stop really.

They started arguing over a fucking face towel, so I said ‘nope, not having this be my life’ grabbed my bag and keys, got in my car and have driven round the corner and parked up.

not really sure what I do from here really.

Yes, I know - I still wouldn't walk out on a 9yo without saying where I was going or what I was doing.

That's good. At least they can be sent to their respective rooms.

There’s no law about the age you can leave children.

Safeguarding wouldn’t be initiated unless they were neglected or at risk.

Nice try at being smuggity smugface though!

I’m not entirely sure I agree. My parents were calm, reasonable and patient. They believed in talking things through and I can’t really remember them raising their voices. They were also firm and carried through with the consequences.

In a big family you can get different personalities and regardless of what was modelled, encouraged and rewarded, 3 of us would get into it. My parents despaired, we ruined it for the others on more than one occasion. Did we care, nope. What did we learn, not much.

Can't you make the bickering into a joke. I mean a face towel is not a heavy duty argument

Deep breathes op. They were being twats and you needed a moment's peace and sanity. When you are ready go back in there. xxx

That’s genius.

I'm guessing this is the straw.......

Their dad needs to read them the riot act when they get home. You need a completely united front.

How did you manage that? Mine would have followed me out the front door and stood in the driveway asking where I was going without them.

Ah victim blaming of primary school age children.

Are you honestly saying that 2 primary school age children should be blamed for the actions a grown adult screaming, shouting, door slamming, locking us in and leaving us scared and alone for over hour? Just because we were bickering?

Children aren't adults. Children often aren't capable of emotional regulation or stopping fighting with siblings.

The grown adult is capable of not screaming and shouting and abandoning children.

The grown adult is capable of behaving better.

Im disgusted by your comment and really hope youre not a parent.

Put a smile on her face? What just completely invalidate her own feelings and experiences and suck up being treated like shit? Absolutely not, that’s how entitled little pricks are bred. I personally level with my kids, if they’re being dicks, I tell them they’re being dicks, I don’t tolerate being made to feel shit by my kids any more than I would my husband or anyone else. People should have boundaries and expectations. Being a mother does not mean being a doormat.

Nope, if you leave your child with someone under 18 you retain responsibility for their safety and welfare, so if something happened you’d be accountable but there’s no lower age to leave children alone.

Your life is supremely privileged if you never got over this. Surely you can see as an adult you’d pushed her to her limits and rather than do something stupid (as in lash out at you), she removed herself from the situation. I grew up in an abusive home so I have to say, you need to give your mum a break if this is the worst thing she did to you. Try having a mum who lets her boyfriend beat you up.

You are misunderstanding probably on purpose but just in case, If you are terrified of something (your word) you don't actively seek it out.

It’s safeguarding guidelines within the NSPCC which is used as part of Education. The reason you won’t find fixed ages within law is because it’s dependant on the individual. For example if it was written into law that ALL children from secondary school age could be left alone then you allow no grey area for those with additional needs/disabilities/illness etc. Because of this there are frameworks and safeguarding guidelines used by agencies.

The parent has the ability to use their own discretion as to the right age for independence however it has to be reasonable AND you cannot leave an older child in charge of a younger child until they are 14. That’s why babysitters are fourteen and over.

If you can be proved to be unreasonable, say you leave your eleven year old at home all day in the summer holidays and they set the house on fire accidentally, then you can be prosecuted. You can’t rely on a piece of law to say, ‘oh they said eleven was fine.’ It’s your judgement at that point and for some people eleven seems reasonable for being home alone and for others that might wait until the child is sixteen.

How have you just proved me incorrect? 🤭

... especially not if they are arguing...

Wow. Do you ? Have you met my mother?

I literally had yearly KCSIE training convering this lol. No smugness here at all.

Well done you!

Hopefully the message will stick this time.

It is useful for children to be reminded that their parents are people, too.

Mine fall out over heavy duty issues like breathing

So there's more than this one off situation?

Do you really believe that? There are many that are just left to get on with it. We live in a real world not one that is wrapped in a rose tinted hue.

More rubbish.

The NSPcC government document clearly states if you leave a child at home with someone under 16 your are responsible for their welfare.

Nothing about 14 or a law.

You seriously need to STOP posting bollocks as fact.