"While on vacation in Rehoboth Beach, DE, Susan Terrillion, 55, of Maryland left her 8- and 9-year-old kids in their getaway rental when she went to pick up food five miles away. The action resulted in her arrest, USA Today reports. She was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of her children."
A stranger discovered her children were home alone when the family dogs ran in front of his car and he got out to help the kids secure the pets. The witness called the police to report the incident, stating that the kids had been left alone for 45 minutes. Neither the children or dogs were injured, and the mother was later released on $500 bail."
Depends on the state? - (
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Link - ( New Window )
Some parents look to the law for help in deciding when it is appropriate to leave a child home alone. Many States’ child protection laws classify “failing to provide adequate supervision of a child” as child neglect, but most of these States do not provide any detail on what is considered “adequate supervision.” In some States, it is considered neglect when a child has been left without supervision at an inappropriate age or in inappropriate circumstances, after considering factors such as the child’s age, mental ability, physical condition, the length of the parent’s absence, or the homeenvironment—any combination of factors
that creates a situation that puts the child at risk of harm.
Only three States currently have laws regarding a minimum age for leaving a child home alone. Illinois law requires children to be 14 years old before being left alone; in Maryland, the minimum age is 8, while in Oregon, children must be 10 before being left home alone."
some age disparity - ( New Window )
It's just a criminalization of parenting. Totally out of control and ridiculous.
Unless there are clear signs of abuse, authorities should allow parents to be parents, however they see fit.
My first reaction is this was not worthy of an arrest but not sure why it took her over 45 mins to get food 5 miles away so maybe she was up to other things.
There's not 1 right answer.
My first reaction is this was not worthy of an arrest but not sure why it took her over 45 mins to get food 5 miles away so maybe she was up to other things.
Clearly you missed dep's thread about grocery shopping with the wife.
My first reaction is this was not worthy of an arrest but not sure why it took her over 45 mins to get food 5 miles away so maybe she was up to other things.
Ever heard of a busy pizzeria/restaurant/deli/etc?
My first reaction is this was not worthy of an arrest but not sure why it took her over 45 mins to get food 5 miles away so maybe she was up to other things.
Maybe she is like my wife and takes ten minutes to make a decision. Lol.
but that was out of necessity.
What I did out of convenience vs necessity was when my kids turned 10 we gave them opportunities to stay home alone in very short increments to see how they did and gradually extended it as they proved they could handle it.
Yeah it does depend on the kids, probably 11 or 12 for extended periods.
I'd probably be ok with leaving a (responsible) 8 and 9 year old home alone for a short errand (< 30 minutes), but I'm not sure my wife would be OK with that.
Rehoboth has many delivery places and not just pizza.
Not related to the age of the children, but the whole thing could have been avoided if she only had the food delivered.
Yeah it does depend on the kids, probably 11 or 12 for extended periods.
up hill both ways in snow barefoot.
I'd probably be ok with leaving a (responsible) 8 and 9 year old home alone for a short errand (< 30 minutes), but I'm not sure my wife would be OK with that.
That is a good point. I would be much more willing to leave my kids home alone at my house where they know all the neighbors and they know us in case anything happens than at a vacation house
I was 13, my brother 11 and sister 8 and I was doing it all the time. Again, with neighbors around if there was an emergency.
My first reaction is this was not worthy of an arrest but not sure why it took her over 45 mins to get food 5 miles away so maybe she was up to other things.
In a shore town like Rehoboth? I'm surprised it only took 45 minutes. The roads are mobbed all day every day. And the stores are mobbed all day every day.
By the time I was 9 I babysat my little sister at 4 years old never an issue. Now granted at that age I was working pt in my mother’s restaurant and had proven reasonability and capable of taking direction. I took it as a personal challenge to prove myself to my parents. I always had emergency numbers to call just in case and in all honesty no one knew about 911 at the time being it just started in the early 70’s.
Every family and child is different and has to be treated as such. Case in point I have a 6 year old nephew who I love dearly and I do not see his parents nor I leaving him alone for a second until he is at least 18.
I do not believe the mother in question should have been arrested here and IMO the police felt the same having a 500.00 bail for her but being it was called in felt something had to be done?
10 I believe is a sold number obviously depending on the parent and trust in the child all kids are different. With that said many parents should be charged, currently have a mother arrested down here in NC left four kids alone for 6 hours oldest 8 looking after her 3 and 1 year old siblings. And she never picked up her 5 year old at the bus stop. Well she needs to be locked up imo.
Quote:
But I think 8 and 9 year old should be fine to leave for a short errand.
My first reaction is this was not worthy of an arrest but not sure why it took her over 45 mins to get food 5 miles away so maybe she was up to other things.
In a shore town like Rehoboth? I'm surprised it only took 45 minutes. The roads are mobbed all day every day. And the stores are mobbed all day every day.
Very true, 45 mins is actually pretty quick for a 10 mile round trip in a beach town
However, if you are blessed with kids who would never seek adventure by being bad - I'd say around 13, if your child is mature. Putting an age on something is stupid. I know 12 years olds with twice the maturity of 19 year olds, and 15 year olds you can't take your eyes off for a second or they are causing trouble.
It's like the rape laws in different states. Age is an arbitrary number snatched out of the air. Maturity and age are not the same thing, yet laws require some bureaucrats sitting around a conference table to stick a number on the laws.
1970s 10
1980s 12
1990s 14
2000s 16
2010s 18
or,
But Your Honor, I didn't want to put the kids in the car because I was probably already a little to drunk to drive and I didn't want to endanger them.
or,
But Your Honor, the little hellions cause such a ruckus in the back of the car that it distracts my driving so I thought it was best not to take them along. Besides, who would take care of the dogs?
I was babysitting my 2 y/o sister when I was 10, and at 11-12 I frequently watched my sister as well as my cousins who were 4-5 and 2-3 at the time.
In the 80's we were latch key kids at 6 and 7 years old. If anything problems arrived we had neighbors home.
until I was 56. If that helps...
If it were up to my wife, I wouldn't do it at all, but that's a different story.
Also, we are reasonably familiar with the neighbors and other kids on the block, so there is plenty of help around.
Mom is only a call away