.jpg "Is It Ever Safe to Leave Your Child Alone?")
Lenore Skenazy - Can you ever leave your child alone, even for a minute? It's certainly a subject of great debate, as you can see from these stories:
1. A mom had just gotten her three pre-school aged sons seated in a surprisingly uncrowded Ikea cafeteria when she realized: she forgot to pack lunch! So she told the boys to
stay put and left them at the table, watching a movie on a nearby screen, while she got them food. A few minutes later she was back - and pounced upon by an older woman. "I've been watching your kids," the woman announced. "Several people passed by looking at them. They could have been gone just like that."
2. Another mom was in the children's room of the local library with her 5-year-old daughter. They only had a few minutes before they had to leave, so the mom said, "I have to go upstairs to check out a book in the adult room. Do you want to stay here or come with me?" The girl, busy with a felt board, said, "Stay here." The mom told the librarian -- the only other person in the room -- "I'll be back in three minutes." To which the librarian replied: "Fine. But the dangers of the world do not stop at the library door." Slightly unnerved, the mom nonetheless sprinted upstairs. When she returned, right on schedule, the girl was still at her felt board. (The librarian was still alive, too.)
