It’s a fact that every child deserves a parent, but not every parent deserves a child. Some folks treat their kids like an afterthought, which can make you wonder why they even decided to have them in the first place.
One grocery store worker turned to an online community wondering if she did the right thing or wrecked someone’s family after reporting a coworker to CPS for what looked a lot like child neglect. Now netizens are weighing in with their opinions.
Some people have kids without getting to grips with the fact that it’s a serious commitment and lifelong responsibility
Image credits: Wavebreak Media / Freepik (not the actual photo)
One woman, who works at a grocery store, was shocked when one of her coworkers kept bringing her 9-year-old to work, leaving him to languish on a bench outside
Image credits: freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Concerned about the kid’s welfare, she let her coworker know that it really wasn’t safe to leave her kid alone outside the store, but the coworker basically just shrugged her off
Image credits: rawpixel.com / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Things came to a head one night when the woman spotted the kid on the bench again, this time asleep in the cold, so she called CPS to report the situation
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The next week CPS came to the coworker’s apartment and took her kids away, so now, racked with guilt, the woman has asked netizens whether or not she did the right thing
The original poster (OP,) a 20-year-old grocery store worker, says she never expected to feel like a villain for doing what felt right. Her coworker, a 29-year-old single mom of three, was known for chaos: constant lateness, tears in the break room, and endless shift swaps. OP, however, tried to stay compassionate, knowing life is hard for everyone.
Things shifted, though, when she noticed her coworker’s oldest child, a kid around nine, lingering outside the store for hours. Sometimes he wandered inside looking for his mom, while she took smoke breaks out back. OP warned her it was unsafe, especially at night, but the woman just brushed her off.
After closing one night, OP found the boy asleep on a bench close to midnight, cold, alone, hoodie pulled over his face. Inside, his mother just laughed with coworkers. Panicked, OP called the non-emergency line about an unsupervised child, never naming names, just asking what to do, convinced something terrible might happen to the kid.
The fallout was devastating. CPS came by, an investigation followed, and the coworker arrived at work sobbing, saying her kids had been temporarily taken away from her. OP stayed silent, crushed by guilt yet haunted by what might have happened to the child. Now she’s turned to netizens to ask whether or not she did the right thing.
Image credits: EyeEm / Freepik (not the actual photo)
To be honest, what else was OP supposed to do? She’d already tried speaking to the kid’s mom, but the woman clearly couldn’t be bothered about her concerns. So, what actually qualifies as child neglect? And what happens when you call CPS anyway? We went in search of the facts.
The experts at FindLaw say child neglect is the most common form of child maltreatment in the United States. In 2021, 76% of child maltreatment victims suffered mistreatment. Surviving victims can experience many psychological issues, from attention and language deficits to reduced mental function and lower academic success.
The circumstances associated with child neglect can be complicated, but the most common forms include physical, educational, psychological or emotional, exploitative, and medical. Additionally, some accepted practices from the past could also border on maltreatment by today’s standards.
According to the Be The Village YouTube channel, even though reporting a concerning situation to CPS is anonymous, it might be obvious who it is, so if you’re the one making the call, be prepared for some fallout. Ideally, CPS will bring in services aimed at maintaining or supporting the family, so know that you’re ultimately doing the right thing.
All things considered, OP was put in a very difficult situation, so you can’t really blame her for taking action. Perhaps this will be a wake-up call for the neglectful mom, but here’s hoping the family can be reunited once all the facts are on the table.
What’s your take? Do you think OP did the right thing by calling CPS, or should she have given the mom a break? Drop your thoughts in the comments!
In the comments, readers supported the woman’s decision to alert the authorities and also added that CPS doesn’t just take kids away unless the circumstances are serious
