Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to see a mum leave her 2 young children at park alone?

70 replies

Blondeshavemorefun · 12/06/2009 17:14

went to the park this afternoon with my temp job

its a quite large one, and we were the only ones there.

about 5mins later a lady comes with maybe a 10mth who was crawling and a 3yr

we didnt speak to each other as at other end of park, then after about 10mins she goes out of gate leaving her 2 children on their own

baby started to cry, and after a few seconds i went over and picked him up - 3yr was happily playing

she was gone 8mins (and yes i timed it) and returned with a take out coffee from starbucks [hmmm]

she stormed over to me and SNATCHED her crying baby from me and then started to have a go at me at picking her child up!!

I replied that she was an unfit mother and didnt deserve to have children if she LEAVES them ALONE

and i then walked off

wibu to say that?

OP posts:
Himbo · 12/06/2009 17:18

OMG - what if anybody had been watching! Apart from that the crawling baby could have put anything in its mouth.

You are most definately not BU.

Thats shocking

stripeypineapple · 12/06/2009 17:20

No, you weren't being UR and thank goodness it was you that picked up the baby and not some child molesting murderer.

Can you see the playground from the starbucks? Not that that would be OK, the kids were far, far too young to be left anywhere but just trying to think why she would have thought it was OK.

chickydee · 12/06/2009 17:20

she's bloody lucky it was you who picked him up and not peter pervert!!
I would have been furios and said alot more to her, stupid irresponsible woman.
YANBU!!

HecatesTwopenceworth · 12/06/2009 17:21

No actually, I don't think you were unreasonable.

Did she yell anything after you?

Baisey · 12/06/2009 17:21

Wow.

Have they barred children from starbucks without my knowledge?

Stupid woman.

hf128219 · 12/06/2009 17:21

That is serious. I saw a woman get a warning from a police officer for leaving her two dc's (about age 5/6) outside Boots the other day for about 5 mins.

alittlebitshy · 12/06/2009 17:22

scary!!! (her doing it, not you kindly looking out for her kids)

Original poster
Blondeshavemorefun · 12/06/2009 17:22

no, the nearest starbucks is a good 5mins away,in town

OP posts:
traceybath · 12/06/2009 17:24

Good lord! She was definitely unreasonable - i mean they were more likely to get hurt than abducted but how stupid of her.

I suspect she was aggressive with you because she knew she was in the wrong.

dizietsma · 12/06/2009 17:28

YANBU

Poor little baby You did the right thing by picking up the baby and cuddling it!

TheCrackFox · 12/06/2009 17:34

She's bloody lucky you didn't call the police. Anything could have happened to her DCs.

YANBU

Original poster
Blondeshavemorefun · 12/06/2009 17:38

part of me wishes i had said more, but i had 2 young children with me and who knows what this lady might do

i was tempted to take both children and call police but i didnt - wouldnt want to be accused of abuction myself!!

tbh i thought she may have popped to toilets (about mins walk at other end) and even though I still wouldnt do this - children come with me if i need a wee, i have seen other mums do this ( or they could be cm/nannys - you never know tbh) but to come back with a take out coffee seems crazy to me

OP posts:
screamingabdab · 12/06/2009 17:40

YANBU

Unbelievable behaviour (but I don't think there are child-molesting murderers round every corner).

hedgiemum · 12/06/2009 21:38

yanby. I would have phoned the police.

hedgiemum · 12/06/2009 21:38

I mean yanbu, of course.

ByTheSea · 12/06/2009 21:42

YANBU -- I'm outraged just reading this.

kel4mum · 12/06/2009 21:45

YANBU, I too would of phoned the police.

willowthewispa · 12/06/2009 21:47

Crazy! I can understand that you're just too shocked at the time but I bet you wish now you'd called the police!

duchesse · 12/06/2009 21:59

Jeez, the crawling baby could have picked up, swallowed and choked on any number of things in that time. Far more likely an occurrence than being snatched by a pervert or mad person.

The 3 yr old could have decided to run after mummy and out into the road. More likely though that the 3 yr old was left "in charge" of the baby.

I really hope she gets help soon with these children if she is struggling like this.

hester · 12/06/2009 22:03

judgy judgy judgy. You don't know what kind of day she had. Maybe she needed the latte to wash down her life-saving medication. Maybe she had CCTV cameras trained on the children all the time. How do you know the older child was really 3? Maybe she was a vertically-challenged au pair.

Ok, YANBU. It makes your blood run cold to think what could of happened to the children in that time. The fact that the 3 year old carried on playing happily is particularly scary - she obviously is used to being left; my dd would freak if I went out of sight for that length of time.

Gmac2009 · 12/06/2009 22:04

You were in the right, that is terrifying.
However, maybe instead of giving her a telling off you could have had a chat and tried to let her know that's not acceptable.
Perhaps she was at the end of her tether?

Not excusing her but I have a friend who repeatedly leaves her baby alone in the house while she goes to pick up her son from nursery.
I think that's also unacceptable behaviour and have told her I can look after her DD if she wants to go out. She's never taken me up on it though...

sweetnitanitro · 12/06/2009 22:07

I can't believe someone would leave a baby and a 3 yo like that! Good on you for picking the baby up and for telling her what you thought. YA absolutely NBU.

scottishmummy · 12/06/2009 22:07

well done you for safely looking after abandoned baby.incomprehensible neglect

Rhubarb · 12/06/2009 22:09

Fecking loon!

Well done you.

MrsBonJovi · 12/06/2009 22:15

YANBU,

Gmac2009...your friend leaves a baby alone in the house. Unbelievable. I would be on the phone to social services...friend or no friend