WWYD - ?

[elmofan]

ds's friend is moving house tomorrow , his parents have gone to see how their new house is coming along & left their ds (10) playing outside & told my ds also (10) to mind him , that was at one o' clock today , i only found all this out at 4pm when i called my ds in for dinner , i then offered this child dinner but he is not allowed to eat in any one's house (he is a foreign child) it is now starting to get dark outside & cold , and he is out side with no coat, hungry but every time i invite him inside for food he says no thanks . two years ago his father asked me to mind him while he took his wie to work (30 mins drive away) & i ended up minding the child for 4 hours & it was 10pm when he knocked in to collect him with no explanation what so ever , in fact he did not even speak just smiled at me when i opened the door & yes he can speak very good English as dh has spoken to him before ,the boy says his house is locked up & he does not know his parents mobile phone numbers , not sure what to do now but my ds cant stay out there much longer , any advice please ?

Abbie, God yes, I DID I suppose take advantage of the kids at the hotel. If it's any excuse, I was 20, backpacking, and only stayed one night. It wasn't until I was harangued in the morning by the 2 little girls to buy ALL the extras the hotel had to offer - extra melon, avocado, nuts - plus settle up the bill with them while they changed the sheets - not to mention give them all my biros - that I realised they were actually in charge.
Of course I don't condone it. It is very sad to be working for a living at nine.
Anyway I still think this situation isn't as bad as outright abuse of kids which does go on in our culture all too often, eg Baby P. These parents aren't deliberately cruel or evil but to our individualistic ways they are relying VERY heavily on the village (ie poor Elmo) to raise their child.
Elmo you are a star by the way, I hope you are polishing your halo and catching up on your sleep.