***jennlin**

sarack

How are you doing? How is the boy? Did his mom show?

jennlin

yes, his mom showed eventually....i called her at the 45 minute mark, and she said 10 minutes. and she showed up 20 minutes later. i followed up with the school, and the counselor will call me tomorrow. unfortunately (or fortunately, who knows), the school bus driver will also be in trouble. kindegartners are not allowed to be dropped out w/o a guardian present.

when mom came, i btched her out and told her she should look into after school daycare if this is a problem. she just thought it was "funny", because her older son falls asleep sometimes after school and can't let him in....and the little kid can go to his friends house. i had to tell her this was NOT okay, and he needed something stable. she shrugged it off and said it won't happen again...but if it does, cops, right away. for now, i will keep working with the school, and hopefully they can take over...because this really is a lot of stress for me..

sarack

that is horrible. that older kkid should be in trouble! he needs to be awake when his KINDERGARTNER brother gets home..

i'm so sorry! you're such a good woman for taking care of him!

dbraulik

Her response makes me so angry. He's practically a baby... and needs more care and attention than that!!

Good for you for following up on things. And keep a log. He's so lucky to have you as his neighbor!

jennyann28

As a Kindergarten teacher, I cannot even imagine one of my kids wandering around the neighborhood, unable to get into their home.  Her response is ridiculous.  Like someone said yesterday, write down EVERYTHING that transpires (including her responses to you), so that you can turn that all over to the authorities.  This hurts my heart.  Please keep us posted.

carrieoz_76

Jenn - I just wanted to respond to again encourage you to call CPS if he's wandering around the neighborhood.  This type of issue is exactly what they intervene to address, and not always (in fact, not even most of the time) do they remove a child from their parents, if you're worried about that.  The cops will just call CPS anyways.  And most of the time your identity can be kept anonymous if you call in a report to them.  Again, that number is 1-800-END-HARM, and they are available 24/7.

KST_

**hugs** Her response is NOT acceptable!! Damn it, you know what? If he actually DOES have an older brother home, then give him a key on a string!! Yes, I agree he's too young to be a latch-key kid, but it's better than having to wander the neighborhood!!!

kinmir30

I posted on your previous post as well.

I am with carrieoz. I mentioned in the other post that I interned with CPS for a while and while I wont call myself an expert, I do know quite a bit.

You really should call CPS. It is very important. And, carrieoz said that most of the time you will be anonymous...this is not true. ALL OF THE TIME YOU WILL BE KEPT ANONYMOUS!!!! They are NOT allowed to let anyone know who reported it. In fact, when you call you don't even have to identify yourself. And every single claim, no matter how big or small, MUST be investigated within 24hrs.

This mother's behavior IS NOT acceptable and something really should be done about it. Also, like carrieoz said, they do not always take the child. They will only take the child if it is a very severe situation. Usually what they will do is over support and services to help the parent first, and if the problem persists, then they will take the child.

This mom needs to know that parenting her child is not a joke and that she needs to take some responsibility.

K. I've said my peace.

irshis20

I would suggest you contact the police. They will take a report and report it to CPS probably, but then you have it on record in case anything should happen to you for intervening. As much as it sucks, sometimes the good samaritans are threatened by families in situations like these.

And big whoop if the older brother is home. He's obviously not responsible enough to be watching his younger brother if he falls asleep (if that's even true!), and the ultimate responsibility lies with the mother, not her kids. Shame on her for putting the blame on one of her kids!