I am the PP with the 5yo. It was ridiculously cold and I made a judgment call. DD was sitting on the couch with her tablet. It would never occur to her to touch the stove or pick up matches ( which are hidden away anyway) We all know our own kids and I felt comfortable leaving her for less than 10 mins. Its not something I make a habit of doing. |
| If you're a mandatory reporter, you have an obligation to call CPS. Also, the teenager sounds like he needs help. He's a budding arsonist. I would say that this mom checked out years ago. |
CPS is overloaded and have much more serious cases to deal with. Calling CPS in this situation is RIDICULOUS. Nothing will happen on top of it. I’m not sure what the OP can do other than tell them Mom she’s coming 10 minutes later than she will arrive so she’s already there when Mom leaves or quit. I assure you that CPS will most likely not even investigate this and even if they did, nothing would happen. |
I agree with you, and I now a 3 year old who was critically burned by food on the stove. |
You know it is illegal and you should have been reported. Also, you do not know what your child could no in the ten minutes you left her alone. |
| It’s not illegal inmost states. Only a few states have any actual law about how old a child must be to stay home alone. Most states just have a “guideline” for what age. Google it. So no law is most likely even being broken. |
What if you were in an accident? Seriously, think about that for a moment. What if you were critically injured? Unconscious? ANYTHING can happen in a second! And I’m not one to go overboard and be judgmental about what people do with their children, but ANYTHING could have happened. Then you would likely be fighting to regain custody of your child, which would be terribly sad. |
Just because cps is overloaded doesn’t mean the nanny shouldn’t report this just to be on the safe side. The mother is reckless |