Mother Says “No” When Two Neighbor Boys Ask If They Can Hang Out With Her 2-Year-Old Son, Their Mom Comes Banging At Her Door
When moving into a new home, you never know exactly what your neighbors will be like. They might be extremely friendly and bring you a casserole upon moving in, or they might be aloof and not say anything to you until you have been in the neighborhood for a year. One easy way to make friends with your neighbors is if your children can all play together, but that generally works best when the kids are around the same age.
One mother, however, recently shared on MumsNet that she was confused as to why her neighbors that are much older than her son insist on playing with him. She wanted to know if she was being unreasonable for refusing to let the neighbor boys take her two-year-old out, so below, you can read the full story and decide what you think. Let us know in the comments how you would have responded in this situation, and then if you’re interested in another Bored Panda article featuring neighbor drama, check out this story next.
This mom reached out online to see if she was being unreasonable for refusing to let her new neighbor’s sons play with her two-year-old
Image credits: Chelsea Aaron (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Kelli McClintock (not the actual photo)
Image credits: WednesdayAddams94
A parent can never be too careful when protecting their children. Especially when a kid is only two years old, they likely cannot speak very well, so they definitely need a parent or guardian around who can understand them. Two pre-teen boys probably do not have very much experience with small children either. Toddlers require a lot of attention, and according to many parents, they should be legally required to have supervision.
One survey conducted by Reason found that 83% of adults believe 6-year-olds should be supervised at public parks. 82% also believe that 9-year-olds require a guardian at parks, and even 63% say 12-year-olds should have supervision. So I don’t think an 11 and 12-year-old would be sufficient to watch over a two-year-old who they don’t even know.
Some of the comments on this post also mentioned how their minds went straight to Jamie Bulger. Horrifically tortured and murdered by two ten-year-old boys in England in 1993, Jamie Bulger was also only two-years-old when he was kidnapped. While that was a tragic and uncommon situation, a parent can never be too careful. It is much better to be safe and offend a neighbor than to have something unspeakable happen to your child.
We all want to avoid conflict with our neighbors as much as possible, but sometimes you have to choose your battles. If ensuring that your child is safe causes a rift between tenants, so be it. How would you respond to the neighbors in this situation? We would love to hear your thoughts down below, whether you are a parent or not.
Readers have reassured the mother that she is justified in being cautious
I know it's extreme but I actually thought about Jamie Bulger too. 😳 Older boys with behavioral problems who demand to be alone with a toddler they don't even know sound super creepy and as if they have some very bad idea of a game/prank in mind.
This is more than creepy, it's scary. This mother should file an incident report with her local PD, just to have a record in case this situation escalates.
And looking into what she might need for a restraining order would be another good idea.
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My mind went to Jamie Bulger, and I think a lot of people's did. Maybe they genuinely love children, but boys who are acting out and doing mean pranks, and want to get a toddler alone? If I was *their* mother, I would be horrified. Of course you won't let them play with him unsupervised. If they genuinely have no ill intent, and are just impatient at having to wait for the adult, then little harm was done. If they were planning some sort of prank, it could have gone so, so wrong. If they were looking for a victim, this could have been a tragedy. Certainly I would report this to other parents in the building, to make sure no one is letting small children play unwatched. It doesn't have to be 'potential Jamie Bulger' to be a danger. 'Prank requiring a small child' is also an unacceptable risk.
Yeah, the alone part is really problematic for me. I enjoyed playing with my baby brothers when I was around that age, but that they objected to the mom wanting to be along is very creepy.
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I know it's extreme but I actually thought about Jamie Bulger too. 😳 Older boys with behavioral problems who demand to be alone with a toddler they don't even know sound super creepy and as if they have some very bad idea of a game/prank in mind.
This is more than creepy, it's scary. This mother should file an incident report with her local PD, just to have a record in case this situation escalates.
And looking into what she might need for a restraining order would be another good idea.
Load More Replies... My mind went to Jamie Bulger, and I think a lot of people's did. Maybe they genuinely love children, but boys who are acting out and doing mean pranks, and want to get a toddler alone? If I was *their* mother, I would be horrified. Of course you won't let them play with him unsupervised. If they genuinely have no ill intent, and are just impatient at having to wait for the adult, then little harm was done. If they were planning some sort of prank, it could have gone so, so wrong. If they were looking for a victim, this could have been a tragedy. Certainly I would report this to other parents in the building, to make sure no one is letting small children play unwatched. It doesn't have to be 'potential Jamie Bulger' to be a danger. 'Prank requiring a small child' is also an unacceptable risk.
Yeah, the alone part is really problematic for me. I enjoyed playing with my baby brothers when I was around that age, but that they objected to the mom wanting to be along is very creepy.
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