#577 Kids Alone Till 6pm — Is It OK?

Niall opens the lines for a deeply divisive and emotional discussion sparked by an email from a worried listener.

She says her next-door neighbour — a single mother of two young children, aged around 11 and 7 — leaves them home alone every weekday while she goes to work, sometimes not returning until after 6pm.

The children come home from school, let themselves in, and stay unsupervised for hours. The listener says she tries to keep an eye on them when she can, but she works too. When she approached the mother, hoping for a friendly conversation, she was met with anger and told to “mind your own business.”

Now she’s torn.
Is this neglect, or just a mother doing her best in impossible circumstances?
Should she call the Gardaí — or would that only make things worse?

Niall speaks to callers on every side of the debate:

Some say children that young should never be left alone, and the Gardaí or social services must be told before something goes wrong.

Others argue that childcare is unaffordable, single parents are under huge pressure, and reporting her might destroy a family already struggling.

Some callers share their own childhood stories of being left alone and insist it made them independent.

Others share chilling experiences where it didn’t end well.

And many question the neighbour’s role: Is she being responsible — or interfering?

It’s a topic that hits close to home for many families, and today’s callers don’t hold back.

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