Police on Wednesday evening arrested a 45-year-old Cecil Place woman and charged her with risk of injury to a child.
At about 3:15 p.m. on Aug. 23, the woman contacted police to report that her 8-year-old child was home alone and had cut their head and was bleeding, officials said. The woman indicated to police that the child had sustained the cut and then contacted her mother via telephone to tell her about the injury, according to a police report. After contacting the woman, the child went to a neighbor’s house for help, the report said.
New Canaan Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene to treat the child and ended up taking the child to Stamford Hospital for treatment, the report said.
Through an investigation, police found that the woman had left the 8-year-old at home alone while transporting another child to Darien for sports practice, the report said. Based on its investigation, an arrest warrant was obtained on the felony offense, police said.
The woman turned herself in to police at 5:31 p.m. She was released after promising to appear Sept. 13 in state Superior Court.
Did the mother do anything wrong here other than leave an 8-year-old unattended at home for a short time? At 8 years old, I was a latchkey kid and came home from school to an empty house. My parents were not charged with a felony. And children are perfectly capable of injuring themselves when parents are home. Is there more to this story? Because this reads as an unfortunate accident, not as criminal negligence.
I agree, although I think an 8yo should not be left unattended for more than 30 minutes, what if the house caught fire, or someone broke in. But to just run another child 10 minutes away, should not be a felony. Arresting her mom for a felony is going too far. I can understand if mom left her to go to the bar drinking, but trust she was not putting her daughter in any danger. I believe the parent is having her own nightmare about not being there when she got hurt, but I dont see this as any neglect, and defianetly not a felony. I pray this child doesn’t believe that her mother would ever put her in danger, although the N.C. police believe she has. Mom, don’t let this hurt you in any way. It all went the way it should have. You called police and sent her to the neighbors. You did the right thing. It’s too bad your being punished for it and hopefully you can find a good lawyer to Knock the charges Down to a misdameter at least, if not dropped. 🙏
Renee don’t be a total moron. It’s illegal to leave a child that age home alone for en a minute! What is wrong with you, you idiot!
Jane, don’t drink & comment.
Don’t be a total moron. It’s illegal to leave a child that age home alone, you idiot. I hope to God you aren’t a parent.
This is an outrageous interpretation of CGS 53-21. It criminalizes motherhood.
I do not see anything wrong with what happened here. A mom leaves her smart and savvy daughter at home, who is more than capable of calling her mom and seeking help from a neighbor. What is the message from this article? Don’t call the police for help in fear of being chastised??
As moms (and dads) in this day and age, we feel pressure to not only be multiple places at once for multiple kids but to also somehow be responsible for homework, giving time back to the schools, family dinner, work, keeping house, taking care of ailing parents and in-laws all while trying to instill values and kindness in our kids so they are well-balanced. I think everybody can agree that it’s A LOT, and we do our best. I know for a fact that this mom does all of the above and more with love and vibrancy. She dedicates herself to her family and is raising incredible kids. She does not deserve to be treated this way and put on blast! My guess is that all who read this article think to themselves, “I’ve done that” or “I leave my 8-year-old all the time”. Possibly why there aren’t more comments. I hope more parents band together and shout out on behalf of this wonderful mom!
Is this why the NCPD needs $25MM for another sallyport? Simply seems like an expansion of the war on families which the teachers’ union began a while back. And let’s be honest – if the injury were severe, Stamford Hospital is probably pretty low on the list of possible places to receive top-notch medical care. Who made that decision?
There is no set age prescribed by law on when you can leave children home unattended in CT. It comes down to a judgment call on the part of parents. The child was taught well as she contacted her parents and sought help from the neighbors. Unless there is something more to this, seems extreme.
https://portal.ct.gov/DCF/Families/Leaving-your-child-alone
I agree with the comments above. Unless there is more to this story, the police were out of line when they arrested the mother. Our job as parents is to help our children become responsible, capable adults. There are always risks associated with allowing your kids to take on new responsibilities but that is an essential part of the process. We do our best to teach kids to be careful and how to handle problems when they arise. It sounds like this 8-year old handled the situation beautifully. We should be celebrating with the mother not punishing her.
I agree with comments above as well.
This is a terrible thing to put this Mom through.
The mature child knew what to do in this situation and her Mom knew she could trust her.
Lets move on.