Strange Neighbor

[Anonymous]

Well I nearly killed this child while backing out of my driveway. The dad was no where in sight, and as I was going up the street, he casually steps out of his front door. I rolled down the window and said where the child was.

If I didn't have to run into work for a few minutes, I would have tried to have a talk with him right then and there.

[Anonymous]

OP - this sounds a bit serious. Someone needs to talk to the parents. I would do this on Sat or Sunday. Just go do it and get it out of the way. This will either be useful info to the Dad but more probably the Mom. If that is the way they do things, your mentioning it will help them realize that people are watching and they need to get their house in order.

I don't like the sound of this father. I can't tell if he is just plain irresponsible or just doesn't care. Anyway, go with your husband and talk to them.

[Anonymous]

Is it really ok to take your child to the park naked? If a police officer happened to be there on other business they wouldn't say anything? Naked kids in public are really ok? I've never seen one so that in itself is weird to me.

[Anonymous]

my mother would laugh at the op. these things happen when you have children. running across the street is dangerous and a concern but i'm sure it doesn't happen daily. i'm sure we have all had our children in dangerous situations before and made mistakes. you are the nosiest neighbori have ever heard of. if it bugs you that much, say something to them. drop it. now you've given out this family's entire business to the whole listserve which really isn't that small of a community. it doesn't take much to figure it out. you child may take off his clothes, as my child just started doing this lately out of the blue as we are walking down the street. i live in a really snobby and conservative neighborhood so i was completely dismayed but it was either have a total meltdown in the middle of the neighborhood while i am attending to our baby or just get through it. gosh, your judgemental and need to focus on your own kids and life. as for the attire and hair style, that is NONE of your business! they can dress their kids as they please! this poor man seems overwhelmed to me! parenting is hard, especially with three, and i hate to say this, but especially for some men. my husband gets completely overwhelmed when trying to juggle our children alone. i guess this makes me have a "soft" spot for this poor guy. unless the kid is in the street daily, i'd but out and leave it alone.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Well I nearly killed this child while backing out of my driveway. The dad was no where in sight, and as I was going up the street, he casually steps out of his front door. I rolled down the window and said where the child was.

If I didn't have to run into work for a few minutes, I would have tried to have a talk with him right then and there.

I'd want to know these things about my child.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:my mother would laugh at the op. these things happen when you have children. running across the street is dangerous and a concern but i'm sure it doesn't happen daily. i'm sure we have all had our children in dangerous situations before and made mistakes. you are the nosiest neighbori have ever heard of. if it bugs you that much, say something to them. drop it. now you've given out this family's entire business to the whole listserve which really isn't that small of a community. it doesn't take much to figure it out. you child may take off his clothes, as my child just started doing this lately out of the blue as we are walking down the street. i live in a really snobby and conservative neighborhood so i was completely dismayed but it was either have a total meltdown in the middle of the neighborhood while i am attending to our baby or just get through it. gosh, your judgemental and need to focus on your own kids and life. as for the attire and hair style, that is NONE of your business! they can dress their kids as they please! this poor man seems overwhelmed to me! parenting is hard, especially with three, and i hate to say this, but especially for some men. my husband gets completely overwhelmed when trying to juggle our children alone. i guess this makes me have a "soft" spot for this poor guy. unless the kid is in the street daily, i'd but out and leave it alone.

But it does happen daily. The kid often plays in the street. You hear the big wheel, and wonder if the kid is in the middle of the road, or on the side walk, and where the dad is.

I am not that nosey, really. It's not as if I am waiting around all day to see what the dad could be messing up next.


I think that after nearly killing the kid, I am going to have a talk with them tomorrow. I would have done it today, but I was out at a festival with the kids all day.

[Anonymous]

OP can you just talk to them soon? Stop with the excuses; if it bothers you, say something rather than keep posting about how you had something else to do. Please don't post with some other excuse tomorrow. Thanks much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP can you just talk to them soon? Stop with the excuses; if it bothers you, say something rather than keep posting about how you had something else to do. Please don't post with some other excuse tomorrow. Thanks much.

What is your problem?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP can you just talk to them soon? Stop with the excuses; if it bothers you, say something rather than keep posting about how you had something else to do. Please don't post with some other excuse tomorrow. Thanks much.

What is your problem?

I'm kind of with PP here. OP has now been posting about this family for 2 and a half days.

[Anonymous]

I am also surprised by suggestions to "mind your own business". I took the initial post to be one of genuine concern and not one of a gossiping or judgemental neighbor. I would probably chat with other neighbors and see if there are similar concerns. If you're comfortable talking with the parents, that's one way to go. I would also go as far as to call child protective services about the child going to the park naked. In this day and age, that's just absurd! In addition, there is something unusual....and possibly alarming....about one child seemingly being treated so much differently than her siblings. CPS may very well say there is nothing they can do but they will document the concern. For all you know, other concerns could have been brought up before by other neighbors or by the school of the older children. I'm a "better safe than sorry" type of person.

[Anonymous]

Now that you almost ran over this child I absolutely agree that you need to speak to the parents. Tell them how terribly scary it was. You can do this in a delicate way without criticizing them-- your feelings are sincere and you're still thinking about it days later. They'll see you're shaken up and concerned for their child's safety.

[Anonymous]

btw please let us know how it goes! good luck!

[Anonymous]

I can't imagine that the mother doesn't know about her DH "free parenting style". But it's worth talking to her anyway. As fas as CPS goes, they won't respond to anything as minor as this. I know this because I work with neglected and abused kids and have seen parents who burn their kids with cigarettes and beat them severely all the time and get "parenting classes". I don't mean to sound callous, but it's true. You'd be better off trying to help as much as you feel comfortable doing on your own. Having the girl over to play with your kids more, where she can be fed, be encouraged to wash up, etc. There's no easy solution, but it does take a village sometimes and we all have a moral obligation to help a child in need. There could be severe mental health issues in this family and I don't know that there is an easy solution. Good luck, what ever you decide to do.

[Anonymous]

To 11:43 Poster: I also work with children and have had very frustrating experiences with CPS so I agree that they would not react to this concern in isolation. My point was that a call in itself provides documentation in case there have been other, more serious reports.

[Anonymous]

i can't believe you are even considering calling cps! i would never do that unless i thought their was abuse. this is ridiculous. talk to them before doing something like that.