Cna I just share this with whoever is interested, I cant believe what ive just seen, am sooooo **** off

[stoppinattwo]

Sorry to rant but here goes........

Was putting DD to bed earlier when I heard a van screech to a halt outside. looked out and saw the van and a bike lying on the floor. Ran outside and found a little boy (6) had been knocked off his bike on the main road outside. It didnt look to serious, his leg was quite badly scraped and few bumps and bruises. Carried him to his parent house 4 doors along and there was nobody in.I phoned an ambulance etc the little boy by this time was hysterical.

His mother and father turned up about 10 minutes later, they had both been out (at McDonalds .....please ) both got angry at each other and started to blame each other........... sorry if this is too surreal. poor van driver doesnt know what to do, poor child is still hysterical as he can now see what he has done to himself. These people have three other children who were all in the house alone, all younger than this lad. Ambulance arrives and little boy is taken with mum to the hospital. Notice she is expecting another. I try not to judge, people have problems and people have priorities but I could have been lifting a dead child from off that road and I feel like shaking that mother so hard I just dont know what to do.
The poor van driver was shaking soo hard i didnt know what to say to him for the best. The boy had ridden out of the drive way straight into his path and he had tried to stop.
If i see this boys mother or father its going to be so hard to keep my mouth shut.

Sorry to rant, I just need to calm down a bit

Just an interesting story, sort of on similar lines: When I was a student teacher living with a fellow student in London we lived next to a family we called " The Slobs". Harry Enfeild was popular at the time and the physical and vocal likeness with the said family was extraordinary. They lived in the top floor flat.
One afternoon my friend was returning home from school when she found next door's 18 month old daughter roaming the streets. She was the youngest of three, the older two being boys. The front door to their house was well and truly shut. So, she took the child to the parents' flat and rang the bell, and rang and rang. Eventually a very irate mother answered and on being shown her missing child, instead of being relieved, happy etc. she looked puzzled, went back upstairs and was hearrd to shout to her husband ( they always spoke at top volume btw)
" Is x in the flat?" ( sorry can't remember child's name). They had a little discussion about whether the child at the door could possibly belong to them and when the said child had last been seen and was she still in the flat!
Shortly the nother came down and said, and I quote " She is ours" then shut the door.
I swear this is true, but if I hadn't been witness to it I wouldn't believe it!!!!!!

stopping@2, fwiw I think you have done the best thing with ss and dealt with the situation as best you could. At the end of the day, god forbid if anything else happened to one of the children and you hadn't alerted SS, it would play on your conscience, ( if only I had done something). The parents have had a lucky escape, rightly or wrongly, they should have been around, no bloody excuses for them please. It could have been so much much worse, and there is no excuse whatsoever for leaving small children of that age unattended.

FrannyandZoey - I would let my ds (5 - 6 in September) "out to play" - so you're not the only one

Ds plays often in our (large) garden, while I am inside doing other things. (and vice versa - he often plays in the house, while I am in the garden and do not therefroe know what he is doing). I often can't see him from the window. He knows he is not supposed to go out of the driveway - and he and his wee friend, who lives across the road, will stand in their resepctive driveways - sometimes even a step or two on to the (wide) pavement - and call to each other. This is usually followed by a "Muuuuuum, can I play with x please?!". I have even started allowing him to cross the road on his own - with me checking from a distance.

BTW - for those that say children can't cross a road safely until they are at least 8 years old - I would say that in my judgement, ds is safe. I know he can't judge speed yet - but as his default is "if there is a car anywhere in the (long, straight) street, wait until it is past", I am happy with my decision to give him some freedom.

mamaduck, would you say that it would have been more acceptable if they had gone out for a good quality burger?