CPS has filed an abuse charge against me for neglect.?

Question

I left my 3 year old alone upstairs while I check on my son downstairs I was gone 10-15 minutes. CPS says it was 20 minutes. My 3 year old was left in the livingroom blocked by gates from stairs and kitchen. In the paper the CPS worker says "No responsible person would leave a 3 year old alone for that amount of time". Parents, is this neglect in your opinion?

Answer 1

Tough call i don't really know the set up of your house but... i would have to agree that 15 minutes would be a bit long for me personally to leave my child alone in a room without being in something like a play pen.

So careless maybe but i doubt you did it with ill intent so i would say no to neglect. (again i don't know the set up of your house so i cant specifically comment.)

Answer 2

This is madness!  Why the h**l are they not going round checking on people who are doing real harm!  I would be really pissed off about this and Parkers mom you are living in a bubble!  Good luck with fighting this!

Answer 3

THAT IS COMPLETE BOLLOCKS! THAT IS A RUBBISH CHARGE! You can't be arrested for that!

Answer 4

Not if you were in the same house.  Who reported you?  Someone had to know you even went downstairs like that.  Really though if you think about it we leave children younger than that alone for longer than that in their rooms when we are trying to make them go to sleep.  I dunno just sounds like there is more to it but who knows.

Answer 5

i understand how you feel. about 2 months ago my own brother called cps on me ( fram the other side of the USA).

i admit i leave my daughter in the living room to watch movies while i rest. i work 16 hour shifts(3-11, then 11-7) in a nursing home, i need what little sleep i can get. i make sure she has food accessible, she has her own drawer and shelf in the fridge, she has her own cubboard with easy foods for her. if this is neglect and abuse, im sorry. i have the dopors locked and child proofed, my daughter is very intelligent and if anything goes on that she needs me she comes and gets me, alot of times she jut snuggles up in bed with me and tellsm e that she loves me and talks to me lik eim her kitten.

i dont believe this is neglaect at all. i was completely honest with the cps workers and they understood my schedule and how tired i am when i get home. they closed my case.

the allegsations against me included drinking, drug use, partying, living in aa trashed house, no food or clothes, no running water, no electricitya, obviously the cps lady saw that i had electricity, water and all the neccessary things for her and then some.

Answer 6

there proably alot more to this story than we know. how did CPS know to come over to your house and see your child alone? they had to of already been there for some OTHER reason or someone called them on you... hmmm so this is fishy.... and yes 10-15 mins is neglecting... DO NOT LEAVE you kid alone even if gated......

TMB (to respond back): umm yes he does sleep with me.. amd i sont dont usually take 15 mins in the bathroom i dont know about you.... but yeah i wouldnt let my son just hangout down stairs BY HIMSELF especially if i ran a day care... so dont tell me im full of **** you the one who is charged by CPS not me.... sorryyy... what you did was wrong if you ran upstairs to grab something fine but OBVIOUSLY you did not and hey you got caught.... so dont be pissed at me you posted this question to get opinions and that was mine so dont get mad that is not what you WANTED TO HEAR!!!!

get over your self.....

Mommyfaye (to respond) :

im actually not in a bubble she asked a question i told ehr my answer i dont leave my kid alone and none of my friends leave their children alone for that amount of time. yeah putting them to sleep tahts a different story, going to another floor, for what she says 15 mins and what CPS says 20, is a totaly different story.... there are plenty of things that could have happened so no need to go through the list... so dont tell me im in a bubble your in a frickin bubble for thinking tis ok... so hush...thanks.

Answer 7

I think some of these people are missing the big picture.  When you say downstairs ~ you mean you were not in the house don't you.  After thinking about it more I realized that if someone was knocking and you didn't hear them it was because you were gone.  Also you said the baby was "upstairs" and yet the person knocking could see the baby thru the window.  That means upstairs was where you lived and downstairs was somewhere else.  So YES! that is neglect and you were very foolish.  You are very lucky that they didn't show up while you were gone and take you little one away.  Even 10 minutes is too long to have left a 3 yo ALONE in your home.

If you were in the house I'd say that it was foolish, but not necessarly neglect.  However from your responces it sounds like Down stairs was outside and that is a different matter.  Because too often 5 minutes or 10 minutes turns into much longer and even in 5 minutes children can get into trouble that you would never expect.  If you are too far away to hear your child call for you or if they are crying, then you are too far away for them to be alone.  A woman I know left her twins playing in there room and she couldn't hear them without a monitor.  They turned off the monitor and 10 minutes or so later she sent her 6 yo to check on them.  The 6 yo came back screaming because his sister had wrapped rubberbands (the ones they use for her hair) around her wrist and her hand was gray.  She had been crying but no one could hear her and if the mother had waited much longer to send someone to check on her she would have lost her hand.  There are dangers lurking in your home that you would never think of.  Children climb baby gates all the time.  Hundreds of children a year die because a parent left them alone for what they claim was "just a minute" and many more are injured.  Hopefully CPS will find that this was a one time incident and they won't be too hard on you.  Think about how bad you would have felt if there was a fire or your baby started choked on something and you were gone.

Answer 8

It would appear that someone is trying to cause trouble for you. It may be a good idea to consult a lawyer and try to get to the bottom of the matter. From what you say, I woudn't have thought that your 3 year old was in any peril. A lawyer would ask to see transcripts of statements made against you and request interviews with any witnesses who are accusing you of neglect. Don't let the matter rest, this may be the start of a hate campaign.

Answer 9

THAT IS RIDICULES.

That lady who called CPS is a nut job.

Answer 10

Yes it is.  Your responsibility, as a parent, is to protect your child/children - not leave them alone.

Answer 11

hmmm. 10 mins isnt bad. 20 is pretty bad. thats almost half an hour! but i wouldnt go as far as to call it neglect. moms get caught up in stuff sometimes. my kids hide and i have to search for them through the house like a wild person and get all panicked. its chaos sometimes with little ones.

while 20 mins is pretty long i wouldnt call it neglect. if the situation is really what you say then cps will drop it. if not then you made a BIG mistake...

good luck!

Answer 12

How does CPS know how long you left your daughter, or even that you left her? If someone called on you, they cant just know right then and there that you left your daughter alone.  I dont see a prob with it if you had gates around.  I leave my 7 month old in her play pen when I take a shower and she's fine.

Answer 13

i used to let my daughter sleep while i hung out the washing ! should i have been charged ??? i hope you bloody well fight this to the end thing are going beyond a joke now with this world !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! good luck xxxxx

Answer 14

Why didn't you take the 3 year old down with you?  I'm not sure this really constitutes neglect though. To me neglect means not meeting a child's physical needs appropriately (not providing proper food and nourishment, ignoring their hygiene and not providing for their needs of proper clothing, shelter and living conditions).  It also means not providing for your child's need when they are crying or have a soiled diaper, refusing them medical care when needed etc... and leaving them ignored completely.

If I were you I'd get a lawyer and get this investigated.  I'd also find out WHO made the complaints and break all contact with them.  CPS is also stupid in this case. Why would a parent call and report themselves? Are they really that stupid to think that?!!   It also sounds like the CPS worker doesn't have kids of her own to understand what a busy parent's day is really like.

NOTE: I do know someone who was reported by doctors for neglect. In that case I can see it was probably justified to have it investigated.  In the case you described here it doesn't sound like neglect to me... but then again, I've not seen the actual reports or situation first hand as I'm sure there are many details that have been edited out for posting here.

Answer 15

I am also thinking there is more to this then you are saying.  WHY would CPS come to your house in the first place..?  

did they come over before or after the parent calling to cops cause you did not answer the door.. ?