Is it illegal to lock a child in their bedroom over night?

Question

My daughter has friend and says their friends mum locks her son in his room at night till morning cause he misbehaves if the door is left open

Answer 1

1 thats impisament

2 it dangurus

3 its TOTALY stupid!!

yes it probaly is iglgal i live in england (sorry dont no where yuo live)

but i say thats not right what if theres a fire in the childs room and how do she expect to get them out.

if i where you i would have  a quite word with her so shes not too embarased and mabey youl kncok some sence into her!

good luck !

Answer 2

Well one way to find out is to call the health & welfare office.  There isn't a reason she should be locking him in there all night-its dangerous and cruel.

Answer 3

I don't think that is illegal, depending on how long the door is locked; i.e. the child is unsupervised. it doesn't seem like a very responsible way to handle a disobedient child, though.

this is why i believe all students should be taught parenting classes, beginning in middle school, through high school.

Answer 4

Yes that is very illegal and you darn well no it and should be ashamed of  yourself.

Have someone lock you in your room and find out!!!!!!!

Answer 5

Not yes but hel* yes it's illegal.  Some help group needs to intervene and hopefully teach mom better ways to handle her child.  Otherwise the child could end up an orphan...

Answer 6

Well i agree with the fact that it could be very dangerous!!! And I feel that the parents should try a different approach with the son.

Answer 7

if you are truly concerned go hang out for a couple of days keep notes and collect a list of wrong doings.  Remember be descrete and acuate. Unfortunatly it takes a lot for cps to get involved and half the time they do half of what they should.  Sometimes I think they froget who they are protecting.  But if you can get other friends and neighbors to keep and I out to incase something bad is happening.

Another alternative is to use that group or just yourself and confornt the women with your concerns.  I'm a parent with a special needs child.  It's a lot harder than you think.  She maybe at the end of her rope and not have a good support system.  Sometimes the emotional end is harder to deal with than people let on.  Go out on a limb and ask.

Keep in mind if there is a truly bad moment call the cops if you feel the child is in danger. it is better to be hated than to have anything tragic happen.

Answer 8

It's call unlawfull imprisonment and it is illegal.

Answer 9

It's a bit abusive. Your "friend" would be better off to teach her child to behave rather than locking him in rooms.  What would happen if a fire broke out in their home or they had an emergency and that lock cost them the seconds or minutes that were between life or death?

Your friend sounds like a nut.... and I don't mean in a good way.

Answer 10

Not sure if locking children in is unlawful, it might fall under child endangerment.   It is certainly dangerous.  If the child fell ill, or heaven forbid, if the room caught fire, the child would not be able to seek help or escape.

DCFS might be interested.

Of course, this is only hearsay, and we don't know all the cuircumstances.

Answer 11

what if there is a fire ?

what if the child needs the toilet ?

come on think about it is child abuse  no matter how you look at it no kids should be locked in a room for that lengh of time not even  for a second  your daughters friends mum needs to be reported or told

Answer 12

It is not illegal but it is dangerous because of a fire, nightmare, etc.

I would suggest that the child be locked for a long time during the day when an emergency call will easily be heard.

Answer 13

Fire hazards. Unless other measures are in place to prevent it. He may endanger himself if left to do what he pleases.

Answer 14

You have a choice.......1- Just think about your children. 2- Phone social services.

Personally I would go for option 2............................

Answer 15

If it's strictly for the use of discipline, then I think it's alright, but the child needs access to food, water, and a bathroom.

I wonder if that got out, it would cause problems for that mom.

Answer 16

well maybe she could try only locking it until he falls asleep then unlock it and open the door.......... because other wise it is a big big fire hazard

Answer 17

hummm.....may not be illegal, but it sure sounds like neglect.

this could cause problems...what if there were a fire and the child couldn't get out because of the locked door...??  or what if the child has an medical emergency & can't get out in time???

how old is this child?

Answer 18

If she had raised that child the way that he should be raised then she would not have to be training him to get use to jail.

When he grows up to be use to be locked away @ night then

he would be very comfortable in jail even before he grows up.

She should be able to speak to him and he here what she say

not to do, or to do.

She his Mother she speak to him & if he do not listened to her

then she SPANKED his behind and send him to his room with the door open & he does not leave out of that room until

she say so, but she did not do that, so now she is raising him

for the Police, District Atturney, Parole Officer, Prison Gards,

Judgeses, Cooks, and  hundreds of other people who that one person his son will be giving a JOB, That's a d**n shame. She should be arested and charged with child abused  but that woun't happened because the public servants are very glad for her training that she is given  her child

because she is helping them very good!.

Answer 19

How old is the child?

If he's under the age of 10, that's like damaging a child. The door needs to be left open or closed, but not locked and the mom needs to let him screaqm it out.

Answer 20

I don't know if it is illegal, but it is definately wierd. That parent might want to look at some alternative methods of teaching her child.

Answer 21

It may not be illegal, but it's irresponsible.

I would think the better solution is to work with the kid to modify his behavior. Locking him in his room does nothing. It's just lazy parenting.

This is why I can't understand why anyone can have a kid, but you have to get a freaking license to have a dog.

Some people should just say no.

GURU:

Wrong answer, my friend. Who's place is it? If you know someone's doing something wrong, you have an obligation to take action. Otherwise, that kid keeps "misbehaving" until a lock isn't enough,and a toss down the stairs does the trick. Takes a village, you know...

Answer 22

i dont think its really wrong... but its not really right either. sometimes, some children need to be locked in, other children dont. it depends on how the child acts

Answer 23

it's not illegal, but bad parenting... what does he do when he has to use the potty? thirsty?

sometimes i can't sleep if i don't use the bathroom or get a glass to drink

Answer 24

it is illegal to lock your kid in the room. you need to be the parent not the kid.

Answer 25

if you think the child may harm themselves i see nothing wrong with it ( like get out of the house) but you would have to be a light sleeper and sleep really close.

Answer 26

Could be a problem if the house caught fire and the kid couldn't get out!  I hope the kid is old enough to get outside the window by him/herself.  

I don't know if it's illegal, but maybe a bit unethical.  Maybe the mom could open the door after the child falls asleep.  

Also, just curious - how old is the child?

Answer 27

I don't know the laws where you are, but I think its extremely dangerous to lock a child in a bedroom overnight. It also shows that she has no discipline over the child, and should go to parenting classes, quite frankly. Maybe she should get to know her son and find out why he misbehaves. It could be an attention seeking thing.

Answer 28

Make an anonymous call (from a payphone, cause nothing is anonymous anymore!) in the night to the police to their house to check on the kids. Maybe they'll see something and be able to get the ball rolling. If not then see if the mom needs a break or something. It is hard raising kids and if she is to the point where she is locking them in because she can't deal with them she needs some help. Reach out and be that help.

Answer 29

Not sure what the laws are where you live, but if it's not illegal, it darn well should be!  What happens if there is a fire?

Answer 30

I am not sure wether its illegal or not but I know its not a normal  thing to do, and I think its dangerous any thing could happen.

Answer 31

Forget illegal for a moment.Why would anyone  want to do that ? How can the child make the intellectual or emotional connection between being locked in and being "naughty" . Anyone who claims to be a parent should be able to do much better than that.