one of my mindees mum leaves her baby alone...what should i do

[woahthere]

her baby is under 1 year and the other day she brought her round quite late, I was surprised because she walks directly past my house to take her 5 year old to the school bus stop and usually drops on the way. Turns out she'd left baby at home because she was still asleep, I find this quite worrying because it means she would have left her alone for at least 15 minutes, it was totally unecessary too, she could have lifted her asleep and dropped her with me, no problem, anything rather than leave her. Its something Im very uneasy with but I dont know if its neglectful, in every other way she is a very good Mum and the children are very happy and well turned out. Am i overreacting?

Was her DH at home when she went on the school run?

If the baby WAS alone in the house then that is neglectful.

is the bus stop in the same street as her house maybe just along the road

no she lives alone, the bus stop, i know is not on the same street which is why i know she would have been at least 15 minutes. She said that the baby was asleep all the time and obviously noone came to harm, I know she also regularly leaves the 5 year old too, like when she comes to pick baby up from me, however, i am only a minute walk away.

what if the house had caught fire? or the mum got knock down by a car god forbid? yes its neglectful and maybe she needs reminding that these things can and do happen!?

There are times when it is acceptable to leave a baby or a child alone without it being classed as neglect. For example, a single parent leaving a sleeping baby to nip out for essentials like medicines which only takes a few minutes.
Don't think the situation the op describes would be classed as acceptable.
As a childminder you will have legal obligations under the safeguarding section of the EYFS. These obligations do not just relate to the time the baby spends with you. I would be inclined to make a note of your concerns and raise the concern with the mother too. But, you don't actually know that there was noone in the house minding the baby. I would be inclined to mention, in a jokey way, that you saw her and panicked that you thought the baby was left on it's own, but you know that she would never do anything so neglectful. Once she knows that you know, then she might stop doing it.

i do know purepurple, she told me! All I could say when she said baby was on her own was..'oh no!' so she knows I dont htink its right. I was a bit shocked, I think if it happens again I will make a lot more of an issue of it.

I second purepurple.

If she continues leaving her babe at home alone, then you will have to take further action.

Also, note this and everything you say or do.

I think you need to be clear with her that she should not leave the baby like this. Clearly everybody leaves their babies whilst downstairs/ in a garden/ putting the bins out but that is very different from leaving a baby or young child alone in a house whilst you move away from it for any amount of time. Have a frank discussion with her - you have a responsibility to ensure this child's safety. This is not a safe thing for her to do and if she does it again in your place I would ring social services to report it as potential neglect. I know she doesn't want to harm the baby - but this is not ok.

I really don't think it is acceptable for any young child to be left alone, getting medicines or not .

This really does come under Safeguarding. Do raise your concerns and keep a log. If you raise your concerns with her and she continues, then you are obligated to contact SS.

no i dont think its ok either. Its so hard isnt it, you dont want to get anyone in trouble, but at the same time its so frightening sometimes to think you are responsible for the safeguarding of so many little people. Boy oh boy, we really dont get paid enough for all the stress!

oh that is shocking, she admits it freely and is not concerned that you know?
I would be contacting social services for advice.
Or even reporting her through the NSPCC.
I would be worried that she might be leaving them alone in the evenings if she goes out.

Bollocks to getting them into trouble.

Your priority has to be the child as they clearly have a mother who takes risks so needs someone to speak for them and look out for them.

she does seem a bit free and easy about it all. I dont think she leaves them on their own at night, however, over the Christmas period she was saying, oh baby didnt sleep till 3 last night, Id be shocked 'why' and shed say, oh it was my 5 year old keeping her up dancing, I didnt realise because I was sleeping on the sofa. That I found more shocking to be honest.

there are no good reasons why you leave a baby/children alone in the house - getting medicine or not- you wake up/put in buggy etc and take with you

op- you need to mention your concerns to the mum and if she continues then report her

would you be able to live with yourself if the mum continues and then something happens to the baby/chokes/fire etc and you did nothing!!!!

I don't see how it is ever ok to leave a sleeping baby in a house in order to go out to get 'essentials'

Taking the bin to the end of the drive or getting something out of the car is one thing, going to the school/bus stop/shops/neighbour's house for a cup of tea is quite another.

OP - You are not overacting and I do sympathise.

To protect yourself as well, you need to talk to the mum so that she knows she cannot carry on like this. Refer her to your Child Protection Policy, that is, if you hear or see something that is a cause for concern, you will have to report it to social care.

Your nightmare will be (apart from the worst case scenerio of a child coming to harm) if someone else reports her, and under questioning, she says something along the lines of, "I did tell my childminder that I leave the children alone sometimes but she didn't say anything" or "I did tell my childminder that I leave the children alone sometimes, but she just said oh no and nothing else. She never said that it was wrong." or something similar IYSWIM.

Then YOU have a lot of explaning to do when OFSTED and your Early Years Team ask you if this is true.

I do sympathise: you are trying to be friendly and kind. However, make sure that parents to not land you in trouble as a result. I totally agree with you when you say "its so frightening sometimes to think you are responsible for the safeguarding of so many little people." but that's the reality of childminding.

I still stand strongly by my advice that you make a written note/record of all this now.

Phone Ofsted, NCMA (if you are a member) or your Early Years Team for advice. I'd log it on an incident sheet as well, so that you've got it written down that you followed it up.

PurePurple you are wrong - there is no acceptable times to ever leave a child alone.
Not sure where you have got your information from but its wrong. I am horrified that this information is being given out.

There is NO minimum age for a child to be left alone - however if anything was to happen to that child you the parent would be responsible.

I was given this information from the horse's mouth so to speak, when I attended a safeguarding children for nominated officers training course (level 2).
It is actually not illegal to leave a child on their own.

I have been given that information as well very recently by the 'horses mouth' too. during a level 3 safeguarding session during our degree. The 'horses' mouth' is made up of a senior NSPCC worker, a NCMA safeguarding officer and also my LA safeguarding senior team officer. I know who I would rather take notice from and besides - personal choice - I would NEVER EVER leave a child alone. Given that my brother is a fireman - his basic stories alone are enough to NEVER EVER leave a child alone for even a minute.

Whilst its not 'illegal' to leave a child alone, it is up to the parent/guardian to decide if the child is mature and responsible enough to handle that responsibility. IF something was to happen to that child it is more than likely that parent or guardian (or carer) would be prosecuted for neglect and/or more. It is an offence however, to leave that child alone where it could cause harm or put them at risk.

So would you define a young child or 6 months, 6 years or even 10 years mature and responsible enough to be left on their own in the house? I certainly wouldn't.

The 'advice' that you give is wrong and misleading - if people were to think that its ok to leave children alone - there could be all sorts of interpretations of 'acceptable'.

It is NEVER acceptable to leave a child alone.

Q. Is there a legal age at which children can be left at home alone?

A. No, there is no minimum in either Scotland or England and Wales. The law takes the view that one 13-year-old could be very mature while a 15-year-old equally immature.

Q. Does that mean a parent cannot be prosecuted for leaving their child alone?

A. Not for leaving them alone, per se, but they can be prosecuted if they did not provide enough food, warmth, entertainment or access to emergency help. Or if they were likely to come to harm.

It is also dependant on the length of time the parent is absent. So while half an hour after school might be acceptable, overnight might not.

The 1933 Children and Young Persons Act says it is wilful neglect for a parent to leave a child unsupervised "in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to health".

Q. At what age is it advisable to leave a child alone?

A. It depends on the child. But we would recommend to parents that by 16, a child is being left on his or her own as part of the preparation they need for adulthood. It should be done gradually. The most important thing is that the child is happy.

Are the stories in the news this week isolated cases?

According to a 2000 NSPCC survey, 6% of under-12s "experience a serious absence of care", including frequently going hungry, having to go school in dirty clothes, and not being taken to a doctor when ill.

The survey found 6% of parents think it is acceptable to leave a 12 or 13-year-old alone overnight.
(taken from the BBC website) NOTE that they are talking about much older children here.

www.nspcc.org.uk/help-and-advice/for-parents-and-carers/positive-parenting/leaving-children-home-alone/leaving-children-home-alone_wda72908.html