Parenting: 6 - 9 Months Community

I'm sorry, your husband is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. You should NEVER have done that beause of exactly what your husband said. You have no control over certain things and do not know what could have happened. The most horrible thoughts that go thru my head on a daily basis are what if something were to happen to me while DH was at work and the kids were here alone and scared until he got home from work. That's with me being in the house. I can't even imagine thinking of how scared they would be if I wasn't even in the house and something happened to me and I didn't come back. I think the thing that you always need to think about when you make parenting decision is: "can I live with the consequences of this decision?" If you answer "no" then don't ever do it.

I am sorry, but I would have to agree with him. I don't think I'd go as far as calling it neglect since you weren't gone that long, but still, anything could happen and imagine trying to explain to the police or fire dept. that you only left him home alone for a few minutes. I don't mean to sound ugly about it but I don't think you should do that under any circumstances. Either take him or wait for DH to get home then go to the store.

I totally agree with your husband. I can't even fathom doing that. I don't think hes overreacting at all. If I was him I would be questioning your ability to keep my child safe. And your poor judgment would scare the hell out of me. I also know in our state you could be charged with neglect. Be grateful you guys aren't divorcing because it would be great amnuition for custody. I was really freaked out by "no harm no foul LOL" Wow that blows my mind! You asked

Well, I am probably going to be voice of dissent in the bizillion replies you get. I don't think it was that big of a deal. Something could have happened, sure. But, something could always happen. If you were that close to the store and were back in 15 minutes, I don't see anything wrong with that. I am assuming you locked the doors and didn't leave water boiling on the stove.. lol The thing is, you can play the what if game all day with all different types of scenarios. What if you took him with you and got into an accident and he was hurt or got all wet in the rain and got a cold or you slipped in the wet parking lot and dropped him.... I mean, it can go either way. If I over-thought everything I did, I would never leave the house with or without DS. I have never left DS alone in the apartment myself and I don't see myself having any reason to, but I also I don't have anywhere I could go and be back in 15 minutes. Especially since I don't drive.

I'm not going to attack or anything but I'll have to agree with DH on this one. Not that I haven't *thought* about how easy it would be to go the 1/2 block to the post office while DS sleeps, I have. And while it is a *huge* pain sometimes to have to pack them up and bundle them in their gear, it's just part of the deal I guess. I've been having a tough time getting used to how much my life has changed since becoming a mom and how much more difficult it is to do simple things, like go to the store. It's a big adjustment that we all make but we also make mistakes along the way. Just chalk this one up to a mistake if you see it that way and don't do it again. That's the best you can do at this point. HTH!

Laura, you are correct that living life is always a chance BUT there is calculated risk and common sense. I would like to see her use your logic with the police or CPS and see if that flies... As PP said, the lack of judgement is scary... You don't ever need anything so bad as to take that chance.

Thanks for the answers, I knew there were gonna be replies that completely agreed with DH and thats fine. I'm still fine with what I did. When we lived at our other apartment (we just moved) we had to go to the laundry room to do clothes and there where times we would be gone 20 - 30 minutes folding clothes, while DS was in the apartment playing in his p-n-p. There were a bunch of things that could have happened while we were out then, but we were so close to the apartment and it didn't seem like a big deal (to DH either). I guess I just didn't see a big difference. Like I said, obviously this isn't normal behavior for me. It was an isolated thing and in the moment seemed okay. Will I do it again? Probably not. But like PP said, there are a dozen other what-if's had I taken him. A couple weeks ago I was turning into a parking lot and this car - apparently not paying attention - lurches forward and nearly hits me on the very side that DS was! Life is full of what ifs and under the circumstances, I am still okay with my decision. I don't think it warrants me being investigated for child neglect or that DH should worry about my ability to protect my child. I knew he would be fine. LoL, I knew there would be a little debate, but its all good, the boards were a little drama - less this morning! :goofy:

I have to agree with your husband as well. I think that you used very poor judgment. The store would have still been there when your child woke up from his nap. There is nothing at the store that was worth you needing to run out like that even if your child was sleeping. Being a mom means that sometimes you have to wait around and have "inconviences". There are so many things that *could* have happened and I can almost gaurntee that you would not be able to deal with it if something did happen.

Its not only dangerous to leave him alone in the house or apartment its also illegal. If a neighbor or someone who knows you stay home with him saw you leave and had a hunch he was still in the house were to call the police it would easily lead to a CPS investigation and probably charges of child endangerment. I'm not trying to be dramatic but its true. Is it really worth the convenience of not bringing him with to risk his safety?

Okay, let me clarify real quick. Our old apartment was in the gated in pool area (1 of 4 other apartments in this area). The laundry room was maybe 20 feet from our apartment door (it was also in this gated part of the pool area. We would take the monitor with us so we could hear if DS was getting upset. Just to give you an idea, from our balcony, I could spit and hit the laundry room. Granted the grocery store is a bit further than that and I'm not saying that anytime its raining and DS is asleep I'm going to leave him home (unless someone is here). And I am certainly not one of those demented wackadoos that you see on the evening news who left her baby at home to go to the bar (which a lady actually did in our area and I think she is a moron). Anyone who actually knows me, would never put me in the same category as that lady. If any of you knew me "in real life", you wouldn't either. You might tell me to use better judgment next time, but you wouldn't report me to child services. What I did may not have been the smartest thing in the world, but it doesn't warrant me having my kid taken away (there are kids out there that are actually being neglected.... my son isn't one of them). When I said "Will I do it again? Probably not" - There is a giant emphasis on the "not". Like I said, it was an isolated incident, I don't think I'm mentally unstable because of it. I definitely understand all the reasoning behind why I should have just woken him up and taken him with me, but I didn't. I can't undo it, and I'm not going to beat myself up over it, I'm just going to move on and not do it again. Next time, I will just have DH stop by the store on his way home and if it's some I need right then, well, then DS will just come with (which is what I do anyway - except this one time).

Sorry Steph, but totally not okay! My husband has mentioned (in a joking way) that he left the kids to run and get something to eat or when I ask where the kids are when I'm at work and I hear him in the car, he'll say Oh I left them at home and Emma's watching everything til I get back. Even though I KNOW he is just joshing me, it still ticks me off for a split second to even think about my kids home alone. He is a pretty irresponsible father sometimes but would never actually be as (sorry) dumb and careless to really leave. I agree that nothing is worth the risk of leaving your kids. If it honestly was that important to have to go and get at that minute, then you should have just bundled him up and took him... or just wait! You mentioned you KNEW he would be ok, but the truth is, you didn't KNOW. You may have thought and hoped he was sleeping soundly but you had no way to know when you aren't there. Thank God he was unharmed but IF something would have happened, could you ever forgive yourself? And the fact that you and DH both went frequently to the laundry room at your other apt while he played in the PNP... I wouldn't ever do that as well. PNP's are not meant to be baby sitters. There is something pretty scary about this whole ordeal. It only takes one time for things like this to destroy your whole life whether it be CPS taking your baby, which I know you don't think it's neglect or grounds for you child to be taken away but you're mistaken, or loosing your baby forever because of one of the many "what if's". I know some of these responses are harsh tough love and maybe just humorous drama for you, but hopefully you gain some perspective from all of this!

I wouldn't have done the laundry room thing either. That's not ok either IMO. You just can't leave a baby alone like that. Every aspect of my life is so much more complicated with a baby, even just chores like laundry. But you have to cope in ways that don't involve leaving a baby alone in the house, or apt. or whatever.

Im not going to lie, i have THOUGHT about how easy it would be to run to the store and back while DS was sleeping but the logical part of my brain stepped in and said "Don't do that". When i had DS#1, I went to get the mail and locked myself out of the apartment. DS was in the living room buckled in his car seat ( we had just gotten home), so I know he was ok but i started freaking out. I could hear him crying for me and it took the maintenance man 20 minutes to get the door unlocked! That was the LONGEST 20 minutes of my life. After that, my kids are attached to my hip. Please don't leave you son alone. What if some stranger was waiting around the corner to rob you as soon as you left?? Your poor son would have been there all alone. I think you get the idea now. I wasn't trying to be mean. Hope you have a good week. :smile:

I don't think this is humorous drama, I know that you all firmly believe in what you are saying and I get it, I really do. But does that mean I'm going to take Cameron with me every time I go down to check the mail? Nope, in the PNP he will go. We actually have a washer and dryer in this apartment so the other issue is a thing of the past - folding laundry was the longest part and usually we just took it back upstairs because we didn't want to leave Cameron alone for that long, but sometimes when he was sleeping we did it in the laundry room. My parents were very laid back when it came to us. I remember being 4 and 5 and walking to the grocery store. I remember babysitting my little brother after he was born (I was 7 when he was born) while my parents were at work. My parents are very religious and really have the attitude that God will protect us, we actually lived in a house that had no locks on the doors, for years (they still live there). It's not a nice neighborhood and we actually had someone break in one time and steal my little brothers dirt bike, I wish that they would get locks now because that area isn't that nice anymore. So maybe my laid back attitude is because of how I was raised, maybe I should be more upset about what I did. Sorry that I'm not, but I can say that I won't do it again.