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manda59 -> 7yr old left in charge of 3yr old (8/4/2008 11:16:06 PM)
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I had just given a ride home to a young man who my husband and I are helping; I was driving away when I saw a very small boy pushing a stroller with a toddler in it, crossing the road. I was shocked to see him doing this as he was quite small himself, but fully expected to see a parent somewhere nearby. (This is quite a rough area, so you often see a few things you might not normally see).
But there was no mother, no father, no older child, no teen. I stopped my car and called out to the boy "does mummy know you're taking the baby out?" (I thought maybe he'd sneaked out or something). The boy replied "oh he's not a baby, he's 3, and mummy said I could take him to the shop". I said "how old are you?" and he replied "7". I said "have you been to the shop then?", and he replied "yes"; I said "are you going home now?" and he said "yes". So I drove away (just a small distance) and watched. I heard the 7yr old say to the 3yr old "at least we've got our lemonade". (Note: the nearest shop was half a mile away, so he'd walked half a mile there and half a mile back)
I followed in my car from a distance, and made sure I saw the house where they went. I drove past it, to get the address, intending to call Social Services the next day; but then I heard the 7 yr old call out "Mummy we're back!" No-one came to the door. I parked my car across the way, far enough to be not immediately in view, but close enough to be able to see the children. They remained outside the house, no-one let them in. I heard the 7yr old say loudly "we've got our lemonade" and then saw him pour some out for the 3yr old. Ten minutes later, they were still on their own. I called the Police, told them what I'd witnessed, and they said they'd be on their way.
After another ten minutes, a man came out of the house, fetched a sweater from a car parked outside, and went back in, leaving the children shut outside. I called the Police again with an update.
I stayed there till the Police squad car came, and then I went home.
I called Police Enquiries just now in order to get the Incident Number, so that I could give it to Social Services in the morning. (Our Police and Social Services do share information, when it concerns a child, but it can take time for all the paperwork to be done). But when I called, they gave me not an Incident Number, but a Crime Number (I could tell by the length and format of the number). I was desperately sad for the children, but felt absolutely right to have "interfered" and called the Police.
That sweet little boy's face and voice has stayed with me, especially with the way he took care of his little brother. I could hear bravery mixed with fear, as he reassured him about the lemonade.
It broke my heart; he was clearly trying so hard to be a good boy.
I don't know whether I will find out what happened. I will call Social Services tomorrow with the Incident Number and see if they've already been told. They probably won't give much away, but they might drop a hint.
It's always the children who suffer the most. [&:]
(Btw, I don't know if it's the normal course of action to call the Police in cases like this, but Social Services here in the UK have told me before that if a child is at risk, it is the best thing to call the Police, as they can then mobilise Social Services far quicker than if just Social Services were called - if that makes sense)
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