When my 10YO twin daughters recently watched the 'Home Alone' movie for the first time, they were genuinely surprised - why didn’t Kevin just text his parents in a messenger that they forgot him? Yes, it’s hard for modern kids to get a movie that’s almost forty years old, but that’s not the point now.
Remember how the policeman who was called to check the house didn’t show excessive zeal in searching for the boy? And the story we’re going to tell you today is somewhat similar to that one. Here, too, there’s a technician, a kid answering the door - but here the service guy decided to play safe just in case.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post is a technician and they once came to one of their clients' house on work purposes
Image credits: Marcus Neto / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The person who answered the door was a 4 or 5 year-old boy in a soiled diaper and he told there were no adults at home
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Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The author got worried about this situation so they tried to get in touch with the client himself - but to no avail
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Image credits: Erik Mclean / Pexels (not the actual photo)
The homeowner also didn't have any additional ways to reach out so the author called to Children Protect Service, and then reported the case to police
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Image credits: pch.vector / Freepik (not the actual photo)
After the policeman arrived the author left for another houses on their route but then got an angry call from that very client
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The livid dad claimed it was none of the technician's business, but the author decided to seek advice online, just in case
So, the Original Poster (OP) tells us that they work on checking houses for termites, and this time they came to another house on their schedule. The door was opened by a little boy who looked like he was about four or five years old, and in a soiled diaper.
When the author asked if there were any adults at home, the kid said that no one was home and that his dad was at work. After that, he closed the door. Many people in the OP’s place would have simply gotten to work - especially since the specifics of their job didn't involve being inside the house. But something in the author's soul was uneasy.
They tried to call the client, but he didn't answer. They contacted the homeowner, but they also had no alternative ways to get in touch with this tenant. After thinking about it, they decided to call Children Protect Service and report this situation, about a child possibly left at home alone. There, in turn, they said to report to the police.
So the author did, and only when they saw a cop driving up to the house, did they go to the next house on their route. At least, as they thought, now the policeman would definitely make sure that everything was okay with the kid. However, they were not destined to work peacefully that day...
After some time, the OP received a wrathful call from the same tenant, the boy's dad, and got pounced with accusations and even insults. The angry parent said that he had been at home the whole time, and that all this was actually none of the author's business. In turn, the OP decided to ask the netizens' opinions just in case.
Image credits: prostooleh / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Well, if we look at the regulations, different states allow different ages for leaving a child home alone. The lowest limit is in Kansas and it's 6 years old. But, for example, in Illinois this limit is 14 years. However, 37 states still do not set specific limits, leaving it to the common sense of parents.
However, most states have their own guidlines on this matter, and there's no doubt that a toddler in a diaper is not the case when you can leave a kid home alone. "At approximately 10 years old, a child who is responsible may be left for 30 minutes, but no longer than one hour," Children's Trust of South Carolina website quotes Deborah Greenhouse, MD. So you can now understand the original poster's concern.
People in the comments to the post also mostly stood up for them, claiming that they were in no way overreacting here. "A 4-5 year old kid shouldn’t be answering by the door PERIOD. Red flags from the jump. You did the right thing!" one of the responders categorically stated.
As for the parent's behavior in this situation, according to people, he simply tried to shift his undoubted guilt onto the technician, compensating for this feeling with pure aggression. "You did the right thing. A 5 year old running around in a full diaper is still strange," another commenter summed up. And what do you, our dear readers, think about this tale? Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below.
People in the comments however, mostly sided with the author, praising them for being watchful here
