LEAVING CHILDREN ALONE AT HOME

There are times when it is necessary to leave your children at home because the parent has no other choice.  I will give you an example but first I will tell you about my background in law.

During the last fifteen years of the last Century and the first six years of this Century I was representing clients in civil, family and criminal courts for 21years in 12 cities in the Province of Ontario. as a court  agent. I didn’t go to a law school  but I was the assistant bailiff  of a small claims court for two years and during those years, I was in court  five days a week listening to lawyers arguing their  cases  and listening to the judge giving his decisions. I also went to college to study family law and university to study criminal law for two years. I was also asked to tutor paralegals attending college for five years on how to research previous court decisions how to prepare their cases and arguing them in courts.

The judges always accepted me in their courts with the exception of one judge. He was the stupidest judge I have ever heard conducting trials. He wasn’t conducting trials of serious crimes. He only handled minor crimes.  He hated court agents because they were not lawyers.  His last name was Hogg.

One day, I was hired to represent a mother of two children. One was six years of age and the other was a five-month old baby.

One early evening, her husband took one of their two cars to go to work. Ten minutes later, the mother discovered that she didn’t have any milk in the fridge to give to her crying baby.  She realized that she wold have to go to the store to buy the milk.

There was a problem.  The two children’s safety seats were in the car her husband was driving.  There was only one thing she could do. She would have to leave the two girls at home alone while she drove to the store.

Since the family had just moved into the area, she had difficulty finding the store and worse yet, because it was dark outside, she was lost while trying to return to her home.  

When the six-year-old daughter was concerned that her mother hadn’t returned home, she called the police and told the police that her mother hadn’t returned home.

When the mother finally returned to her home, the police were waiting for her.  The charged her with leaving the home without an adult looking after the two children.  

A report was prepared by a probation officer and a copy was given to the prosecutor and to my client.  The report stated that she hadn’t done anything wrong. I met with the prosecutor and he agreed with my proposal that she be acquitted of the charge laid against her.

My client could speak English but because she was a French citizen in Canada, she couldn’t read English so I explained to her what the report said about her. She said that she understood what I was telling her.

When her case was called, my client and I  entered the courtroom.  Judge Hogg recognized me as being a court agent and said, Mister   Batchelor, I have told you before I don’t like court agents representing people in my court.”

The Ontario Court of Appeals had previously ruled that court agents in the Province of Ontario are permitted to represent  clients in criminal courts if the crimes are non-indictable offences which in this case it   was such an offence.  This stupid judge ignored the decision of the higher court.

In any case, he asked me if my client had read the probation officer’s report. I said that she hadn’t tread t. 

This stupid judge looked at the prosecutor and said, “Now you know why I don’t want court agents in my court room.”

I then told this stupid fool that she can’t read English but she understands the spoken word in English and that I had explained to her what the report had said.

The judge then told the prosecutor to get the translator and have the translator explain what the report had said about her.

Fifteen minutes later, the judge asked my client if she still wanted me to represent her. She said that she still wanted me to represent her. Then he asked the prosecutor if he was satisfied that I was qualified to represent my client. He said that I was qualified to represent by client.

I told the judge that the prosecutor and I agreed that the charge should be dismissed. The judge also agreed.

There has been many cases where parents have left small children alone in their homes. If there is no legitimate reason for the children who are small being left alone in their homes, the children should be taken from the parents.     

Here is how one parent dealt with her need to leave young child alone in the home.

“No way would I leave an 8 year old for an hour.  We have just started leaving our home alone for a couple of hours now that he is 12.  Our eldest is 9  and  I will leave her for 5-10 minutes at home alone if I need to duck into the shop down the road but not for anything longer and  I won't leave her for hours in the care of her older brother either.  We made sure the kids knew how to use the phone and I tested them to be sure.  They also know what neighbors they can go to if needed and they are not allowed to answer the door.  The first time we left our oldest child home alone my neighbor knocked on the front door and even though she is like a second mum to him he didn't answer the door.”

One day years ago when I was a process server serving court documents, I knocked on a door and a young girl answered the door. She had previously phoned her mother with the phone she had in her hand. Her mother was on the other line. I told the mother who I was and that I had a court document to give to her. She asked me to go to her home the following evening. Then her  daughter closed the door.

Having the daughter phone her mother first before opening the door was a smart move. 

If the maturity of the child is considered, then  an   eight years old might seem young, but if heor shed  knows how to dial 911 the number of the phone  to reach the parents and how to cook, it’s not completely unreasonable for him or her  to be in the house alone.

In one case, the parents left their apartment to go gambling one evening and  left no food or instructions for their children. The kids actually called the police for assistance,

Depending on the severity of the case, a parent found guilty of child neglect could end up being sent to prison or having the child taken away permanently especially if the child suffers from a serious injury. 

Leaving an immature child alone at home is a sign of parental immaturity and the child should be removed from the parent.