Good citizen confronts neighbor for leaving her 4 and 6-year-old kids home alone for hours at a time: 'She told me to mind my own business and my own kids.'

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Writer and Editor
May 29, 2026 8:30 PM EDT

The neighbor needs to report this mom to the authorities.

How old were you when your parents first started letting you stay home alone? I remember feeling pretty cool when I got to chill at home and eat snacks by myself in 5th grade. My parents couldn't trust me not to eat a whole jar of Nutella in one sitting, but they could trust me to keep myself alive for a couple of hours while they ran errands, and that was good enough for me to stay at home alone! Of course, this freedom came with some caveats. I was never to open the door if the doorbell rang or answer the phone. Under no circumstances could I say that my parents weren't home to anybody, and by following those strict guidelines, I was able to survive spending a couple of hours a week home alone from ages 10 to 18. 

You can't trust kids under eight to stay home alone safely. It's not like 1st graders are babies who put forks in electrical sockets, but they can't make mature decisions about their safety, even if their parents try to scare the living daylights out of them with stories of kidnapping. The average young kid is not Kevin McAllister and would buckle under the pressure of being home alone for even a couple of hours. They might leave the house, call 911, crying that they miss their mommy, or worse. The good Samaritan in this story knows that it's wrong to leave your kids home alone when they're 4 and 6 years old, but her neighbor doesn't seem to care that it's wrong. 

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  • Two little girls representing the girls in this story, who have repeatedly been left home alone by their mother, are playing outside without anyone supervising them at an extremely young age.
    via Natalia Blauth (Unsplash+)

    Two little girls representing the girls in this story, who have repeatedly been left home alone by their mother, are playing outside without anyone supervising them at an extremely young age. 

  • Am I overreacting for confronting my neighbor about leaving her 4 and 6-year-old children at home alone?

    We had a new neighbor move in a couple months ago. Our kids quickly became friends. I have a 4yo and almost 2yo. My 2yo mainly stays with me unless everyone's in the
    via u/Desperate-Hyena1934
  • backyard then she can go play outside there. I noticed pretty quickly that she would leave for 30 mins-2hours multiple times a day. At first I thought maybe
    via u/Desperate-Hyena1934
  • she was loading the kids up with her. Then I started seeing her leave by herself and hearing her kids outside while she was gone. There have been multiple occasions
    via u/Desperate-Hyena1934
  • where I'll hear her car leave then immediately after I'd hear her 4yo and 6YO playing outside. Everytime I catch them I tell them to get back in the house, or in the
    via u/Desperate-Hyena1934
  • backyard. I've seen them riding bikes in the road and not getting out the way for moving cars. She also occasionally leaves them at night time too. Her car is right by my
    via u/Desperate-Hyena1934
  • Two models riding bikes without any adults supervising them, in case a car drives by and isn't paying attention.
    via Amber Faust

    Two models riding bikes without any adults supervising them, in case a car drives by and isn't paying attention.

  • bedroom window and I'll hear her leave and hours later coming back. This last time I was standing outside watching them run in the road and ride their bikes. I
    via u/Desperate-Hyena1934
  • repeatedly asked them to go back inside or go in the backyard. As I'm out there talking to them their mama pulls back in and starts yelling and telling them they are in
    via u/Desperate-Hyena1934
  • Cheezburger Image 10634560512
    via Yunus Tuğ (Unsplash+)

    A picture of a backyard that isn't safe for a 4- and 6-year-old to play in by themselves when their mother is not home to watch them.

  • trouble. That they know they can only play in the backyard when she's gone. I politely told her they do this often even if it's just a few minutes. I told her they're 4 and 6
    via u/Desperate-Hyena1934
  • and don't have the maturity to be left home alone multiple times a day. She told me to mind my own business and my own kids. Like excuse me ma'am I'd never leave a
    via u/Desperate-Hyena1934
  • 6YO or 4yo home alone!! Am I overreacting? Should I just mind my business? Or is this grounds to get others involved as it puts the children at risk?
    via u/Desperate-Hyena1934
  • sparksgirl1223 Don't confront her Call 911 and let the authorities take care of the situation.
    via u/sparksgirl1223
  • Rough Direction8875 NOR but you should've just called CPS instead of saying something to her. Her kids are six and four years old, she that they're too young to be clearly doesn't give a f left on their own and now if CPS does show up, even if you didn't report it she's going to blame you for it because you said something to her
    via u/RoughDirection8875
  • TheWriteQuestion An adult I know was responsible for his younger siblings around age 6. He told me that his strategy was TO be outside, and to make friends with all the adult neighbors, so that there would be someone to help if something happened. It doesn't change the inappropriateness of the mom's actions, nor the dangerousness of riding bikes in the road, but there is a level of logic from a kid's perspective.
    via u/TheWriteQuestion

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neighbors Home Alone kids bad parenting outside bikes backyard mom cps police
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