Leaving Children without Adult Supervison

jinkybhoy

Hi

This is the scenario - Married couple, now seperated. He takes 2 children (ages 10, 5) for 5 days. They spend 2 days in a hotel.

When Mum gets children back, she finds out that Dad had left the children in the hotel room for several hours (at least 4) on their own, only with the instructions that if there is a problem to press 0 on the phone.

Not sure if he remained on the hotel premises or if he left but I'd assume it was off premises as children were never checked on.

My question is - Is this a criminal offence?

Little CuChulainn

Possible offence of child neglect. Of course, if a prosecution is brought under those circumstances there'd be a lot of nervous parents out there.

GalwayGirl26

Unless something happened to the kids you're wasting your time.

Ash.J.Williams

i'd call that serious

jinkybhoy

GalwayGirl26 wrote: »

Unless something happened to the kids you're wasting your time.

What if it was happening all the time - even if nothing happened, i'd have thought that would be of concern?

I just think it's wrong to leave a child of 10 in charge of a 5 year old in a hotel. I've seen kids getting out of hotel rooms when parents are in it - imagine if a 5 year old got out and was wandering round - most times they would come across an adult/staff member that would help but then there are sickos all over the place.

GerardKeating

jinkybhoy wrote: »

What if it was happening all the time - even if nothing happened, i'd have thought that would be of concern?

I just think it's wrong to leave a child of 10 in charge of a 5 year old in a hotel. I've seen kids getting out of hotel rooms when parents are in it - imagine if a 5 year old got out and was wandering round - most times they would come across an adult/staff member that would help but then there are sickos all over the place.

Same here, I get worried about my kids in a hotel, when I am in the room with them, many hotels bedrooms are positively kid hostile, even in "family" hotels, Windows that cannot be locked are my big fear

GalwayGirl26

jinkybhoy wrote: »

What if it was happening all the time - even if nothing happened, i'd have thought that would be of concern?

I just think it's wrong to leave a child of 10 in charge of a 5 year old in a hotel.

Don't get me wrong, he was an idiot and he shouldn't have done/be doing it, but from a legal perspective there's nothing in it.

mrsbyrne

If your genuinely concerned for these kids you should report this incident to s social worker.

Pro Hoc Vice

GalwayGirl26 wrote: »

Don't get me wrong, he was an idiot and he shouldn't have done/be doing it, but from a legal perspective there's nothing in it.

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2001/en/act/pub/0024/sec0246.html#sec246

246.—(1) It shall be an offence for any person who has the custody, charge or care of a child wilfully to assault, ill-treat, neglect, abandon or expose the child, or cause or procure or allow the child to be assaulted, ill-treated, neglected, abandoned or exposed, in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to the child's health or seriously to affect his or her wellbeing.

Now the issue was the child or children abandoned, for all we know the father could have been downstairs having dinner in a small hotel, with the phone on baby sitting monitoring.

But to leave the hotel with out any proper services in place could be a serious breech, but with out full facts no one can say either way.

I have seen prosecutions of parents who went down to the shops leaving children in the house.

jinkybhoy

Pro Hoc Vice wrote: »

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2001/en/act/pub/0024/sec0246.html#sec246

246.—(1) It shall be an offence for any person who has the custody, charge or care of a child wilfully to assault, ill-treat, neglect, abandon or expose the child, or cause or procure or allow the child to be assaulted, ill-treated, neglected, abandoned or exposed, in a manner likely to cause unnecessary suffering or injury to the child's health or seriously to affect his or her wellbeing.

Now the issue was the child or children abandoned, for all we know the father could have been downstairs having dinner in a small hotel, with the phone on baby sitting monitoring.

But to leave the hotel with out any proper services in place could be a serious breech, but with out full facts no one can say either way.

I have seen prosecutions of parents who went down to the shops leaving children in the house.

yeah - no way of knowing if he left premises or not but child said that only way if there was a problem was to call reception - he didn't leave a mobile with them or a contact number.

Pro Hoc Vice

jinkybhoy wrote: »

yeah - no way of knowing if he left premises or not but child said that only way if there was a problem was to call reception - he didn't leave a mobile with them or a contact number.

Again we don't know, in small hotels it would be normal for parents to put children to bed and go to bar for a drink and or bite to eat, also normal to inform reception that if child rings where they are. Now personally I would have asked hotel to arrange baby sitter or installed a baby monitor, which some may see as over the top with a 10 and 5 year old.