Yes – it is sunny.
Yes – children love to go out to play in the sun.
Yes – you can’t cling on to them for ever.
These are all statements that we parents are very much aware of. Even those of us without kids will probably understand the theory behind them. There is a thin line between giving your child the opportunity to grow (experiencing life and being exposed to a few risks here and there) and taking your eye off the parenting ball to the extent where something horrific can or does happen.
I know there are freak circumstances that sometimes cause a tragedy that could never have been foreseen, but these are not the norm and could not be the basis of criticism.
Earlier this week I got a call to one of the busier parts of the division. It is a High Street on a slightly smaller scale than that in the main city centre, but still busy and close to the ring road and some local waterways. The call was an urgent one which involved speaking to a parent who had lost her two children. They were brothers aged three and five – the radio instantly became jammed with offers of assistance. Even those that were always tucked up with some urgent matter at the station were looking for keys or heading out on foot.
Its amazing the response that an immediate call like that can get – even on the busiest of shifts
Officers were sent to all the possible child-attractions and to search the local area. Surely they could not have gone far…
It was only when the first officer arrived at the home address that the full story became clear. It was now after 1030 in the morning and the children had last been seen at 0745 when their mothers [partner] had left to go back to his own house after a night out in town. The doors to the house had been left unlocked or open and there was an easy exit into the connecting alley that ran along the rear of all the houses in the terrace. Their mother had decided to stay in bed to sleep off the remains of the previous night’s drinking and so had left the kids to fend for themselves downstairs while she completed her recovery. Only when a courier hammered on the door did she get up and come downstairs to find she was alone in the house.
They could be anywhere…
The big red metaphorical balloon was inflated and sent skywards as the story developed. Dog units, bosses and search teams were called and sent to the local station to discuss tactics; friends and family were called and sent out to search; it was barely coordinated chaos.
Cutting a long story short – just under an hour later they were found. They were nearly two miles away from home and found trying to cross a busy road near the precinct. Thankfully someone saw them and scooped them up, taking them the short distance to the local station – which was unfortunately closed but that’s another story.
Needless to say, we got a call to confirm that they had been found and a town center officer collected them and brought them back to the home address.
The reunion was emotional – but surprisingly to those who were there, the emotion was anger and not tearful joy. The mother gave both a slap on the back of the legs and sent them to their bedroom! When I heard this I was dumbfounded – what kind of parent would blame a three and five-year-old child for such an incident. She accepted no blame whatsoever. It was, in her eyes, the children that had done wrong and she was not going to be cast as the offending party.
As I said, there has to be some degree of freedom for a child to experience life, but effectively abandoning them to wander out onto the roads was completely inexcusable – how this didn’t end in tragedy is a miracle.
The case is now in the hands of Social Services and hopefully there will be some degree of protective action in the near future…
It would be easy for me to rant on for ages about the lack of parenting skills and the need for children to be removed from places where such dangerous irresponsibility exists. However, I think it is safe to say that my opinion is clear and leave you to make up your own minds