Why you should never leave a small child home alone (even for a short period of time)

[PumpkinPatty]

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/7677383.stm

Thank goodness the little boy was ok.

Why you should never go out in a car:

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/2217951/Parents-of-mother-killed-in-car-crash-pay-tribute.html

Why you shouldn't have a pond:

news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/4365151.stm

Poor boy and poor mum too. Imagine how guilty she must be feeling.

I leave my five year old home alone for ten mins at most while ai pop to the shop at the top of our street if she doesnt want to come with me. She knows if there is a fire to leave the house and come to the shop (there would be no roads to cross) and she knows not to touch anything.

You aren't going to be arrested for neglect by going out in a car though are you?
Or for having a pond

Eeeek, we have a pond that DH promised he would cover with that stuff kids can walk on and not fall thru before we moved in. We have been here now for nearly 3 nths and he still hasn't done it, it really freaks me out.

i read another report of this story which said he was found in a locked room

poor boy. hope he is ok.

I think the point she was making is accidents can happen anywhere at anytime regardless of wether you are with your children. and you could get arrested for neglect if you knowingly allowed your non swimming toddler to play unsupervised near pond.

Scrletlilybug - whilsti see the point thatyou are trying to make, that accidents can happen at any time or place. But as a parent it is your job and sole responsibility to limit the risk of an accident occuring with your child.

By leaving a child unattended is grounds for neglect charges to be drawn.
Whilst there is no legal guidance (which ffs i wish there was) it would be deemed inapropriate for a 3 year old to be left in a house alone at night.

HRH does it depend on your social standing though?
or are docters immune from negleg charges?

I share your feelings on that.
It would seem that according to british law if yoru a single mum in Butlins, the child is at risk. if your a Gp in some swanky resort but choose not to use the childminding facility then thats ok. but thats a whole other flaming debate

I knew you would get it

i'm pretty sure the death or disappearance of your child is going to teach a better lesson than being arrested for neglect, no matter who you are or what your status is.

Ponds are one of my big worries. I treated a boy (18 month old) who was resuscitated after drowning in his grandmothers pond. He sustained severe brain damage from the lack of oxygen and from the fungal growths in his brain (as a result of the pond water). He had just slipped out of her sight for a second.
Ponds are never suitable around children.

SheSells- why would you leave your DC? I can't think of one good reason why you would take that risk.

You just wouldn't leave a 3 year old alone would you??

Can't imagine doing that ever

Poor little boy.

interstella71 spooky I was just about to post about a freind of dd's who this happened to.

BoM It's a lesson that shouldn't need teaching IMO. Common sense says that you don't leave a child/ren home alone or in a holiday apartment blah blah blah...

There have been numerious times that it would have been really handy to leave DD (4.5) alone for just 5 mins, ie when I have needed a lift home literally 3 mins away in the car late at night etc.

BUT I just wouldn't.. EVER.. for whatever reason....

Tis just common sense to me. Even though I know the changes are very very slim of anything going wrong. DD is asleep, she would be on her own for 5 mins, I am not willing to take that chance...

agree with solo its common sense.there was a huge thread here a while ago asking if it was ok to leave child unattended .loads of people said was ok(loads disagreeed)-i just 'dont get it'.

Ponds make me shudder. They can be so dangerous.

Poor little boy, imagine being left at home alone at that age - even at 7 or 8 I wouldnt leave a child alone in a house.

Glad he was ok and hopefully he will be kept safe in the future by social services.

I think I'm a fairly emotionally robust person in general, but I lose sleep over drowning accidents - ponds and swimming pools.

Poor little boy

I'd never leave a child alone, or by a pond, or in a bath for that matter (friends Uncle died as a baby left in batha s she answered door)

You just don't do it.

YOu can't anticipate everything but you can do your best and some accidents are far easier to rpedict than others.

We had the older 2 as toddlers near a canal and they were taught to swim; we cannot even get ds3 into water and I don't like that.