Any mother that leaves two kids alone for that period of time wants stoning, or worse if thats possible. 5+6 is to young to be left alone for a period of time.

579 that is genuinely nasty. It's already pretty much agreed that it was not a good choice but in the scale of parental choices I've seen and heard of far worse.

If the kid's were asleep it's a very minor safety risk with a chance of them being upset if they wake and find that a parent is not there. Far better than parents who continue to feed kid's junk food, those who won't reach their kid's basic life skills, those who constantly attack their children's self esteem etc.

R0bert

Thank you R0bert, I do not need defending in an online forum, I do appreciate it though. It is normal human behavior, completely understandable. I am not upset. The only ones who can upset me are my kids. I have a very high tolerance level. I don't see how you managed to assume that.
This charges are the least of my worries right now. The only thing it is for me is that it's going to be a waste of time going in and out of courts when I already have so much to do. I'm sure it will be a good learning experience as well.

It is my choice to choose what to share and not to share. I have learnt that by not dealing with a problem and trying to pretend it's not there does not solve anything. I know the consequences of putting out my personal information. It's ok. I've been subjected to so much defaming over the internet and with the departments here, this time I'm not going to sit back and let the problem fix itself, because I know it won't.

579: Kukluxklan would describe you well. So the last 2 days taking the kids to school and back I've seen quite a few kids under 12 yrs old, as young as 7, walking alone to school, at least 5-10 mins aways from school. Wanna go stone their parents? Wow, your thinking just entertains my brain. What era do you live in again? I'm surprised you even know how to use a computer ;) no offense.. it's just hard to put 2 n 2 together with humans that still have these kinda mindset.

I suppose you think you're jesus reborn? Never don't anything wrong in your life and have somekinda right over other lifeform?

jinny, I'd not be real comfortable with my choices if I challenged you over perceived double standards but chose to stay quiet about such a nasty post which was not part of an ongoing exchange. Nothing you have said here warrants such a vile attack. I don't always make the right choices about what to respond to but the sentiments expressed in that post really bothered me.

I've been thinking about :getting charged for leaving children at home alone" and comments which have flowed out of recent discussions.

I wonder when the last time a parent was charged for knowingly allowing children to ride a bike on the road without a helmet (and plenty do). I wonder when the last time a parent was charged for contributing to their child's obesity. When was the last time a parent was charged for not getting their child away from the games machine and out for some exercise often enough. When was the last time a parent was charged for not doing a any of the basics that are part of being a responsible parent.

I struggle to see any valid case for leaving sleeping children unattended in a secure place for a period being a chargeable offense while much more dangerous failings are not acted on.

R0bert

look jinny, this thread has got totally boring and as the Cash for Comment job of our Forum Fuhrer is to "sex it up" if it drags, I can help out

It is totally obvious to me that all Tony Abbott's problems stem [npi] from being left alone by his mum Mother Abbott when he was a kid.

Had it not been for that [as reported by the Aust Institute of Family Studies] he would never have considered sleeping "top-and-tail" [or Catholic 69ers] with fellow Catholic creeps [and Germaine Greer?] back in those University days.

Who can forget the "DNA Kid case" as reported

"Vatican roulette

Twenty-seven years ago, Kathy McDonald, as she was known then, shared a flat with Bill from arts school.

"Someone was sleeping in my room and the only room that was free was Bill's room and that's where I crashed," she said. [ED: sounds a bit 3 Bearish]

"A few hours later Bill came in. It's not totally unusual for flatmates to top-and-tail if you've got extras staying over.

"We didn't top-and-tail, we were intimate and the next morning we both got up and said 'oh God'.

"We were good friends, flatmates, we realised that was something just not to be repeated."

Mrs Donnelly said she had always thought the child she adopted out was Mr Abbott's because they had not used contraception, while she and Bill had.

"Tony and I, because we were trying not to be sexual - that was the year Tony was thinking about entering the priesthood - we were playing Vatican roulette," she said.

Funny mob

Mrs Donnelly said Bill wanted to remain private. His family only learnt the news as it broke in the media on Monday.

"That's not to say Bill's not a terrific person, he is a terrific person, but in an oddball kind of way we've been a dysfunctional little family."

Funny mob indeed, but now Tony and the whole family are destined to stand on their heads all because Tony was a disfunctional Catholic because his mum didn't mind him proper - THE END

RObert, "I struggle to see any valid case for leaving sleeping children unattended in a secure place for a period being a chargeable offense while much more dangerous failings are not acted on."

Two wrongs don't make a right. This is not an example of the Nanny State being unduly concerned about a low risk. It is medium to high risk overall risk: medium (at least) likelihood that something could go wrong and the consequences of the common risks are medium to high (ie injury or death).

Also, a poor diet is not suddenly fatal like a house fire, or playing with a hair-dryer in a wet area, just like mum. Young children cannot be relied upon to control the risks of modern living (pills, electricity and so on) and even if asleep, they do wake up (but not in response to fire alarms some might add).

I called the fire brigade and rushed in my work car to the home of a staff member who was unlucky enough that her two school-age sons (6 and 8) decided to cook some sausages after school - too much fat, a plastic plate and tea towel too close. They had never touched the stove before. I answered mum's work number and told them no worries about the house or anything, just get straight out of the house, save each other and go to the footpath. These were smart, practical kids and the biggest risk was that they wanted to save mum's precious items, some of which they couldn't find. Mum had been delayed getting a few essentials for on the way home. They might have hung up without telling me what was wrong if they had not known me.