NV - Pair who left sons may face charges

Jean said:
This is a long article, but I think worth reading.

At what age can kids be left to hold the fort?--The Argus 1/9/06

http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_3384705


This from the article:

Many child development experts say they believe parents shouldn't leave their children home alone overnight until age 14 or 15, and even then they should consider the teen's experience being without their parents, such as attending sleepovers or summer camp.

Younger kids simply aren't ready developmentally to stay home alone overnight, may have trouble being alone during the day and are usually ill-equipped to care for a younger sibling, said Dr. Lane Tanner, associate director of development and behavior in the pediatrics division ofof Children's Hospital Oakland.

"A general rule of thumb is that kids under age 7 aren't capable of thinking logically and putting cause and effect together," Tanner said. "They are reliant on caregivers to structure their day."

Children between ages 7 and 10 are not generally ready to self-supervise for an extended period, but in a routine and predictable environment, such as just after school, they can manage, Tanner said. Kids 12 and 13 years old should be judged on a case-by-case basis but should not be left alone overnight.

7 YEAR OLDS LEFT ALONE AFTER SCHOOL?????? The author of that article is an idiot.
 
Thanks, Jean, for posting the article. I hadn't been following the case too closely, and the article filled in some holes. Gas fireplace, both kids had health problems, etc.

I hope Grandma can keep those kids.
 
Jeana (DP) said:
This from the article:

Many child development experts say they believe parents shouldn't leave their children home alone overnight until age 14 or 15, and even then they should consider the teen's experience being without their parents, such as attending sleepovers or summer camp.

Younger kids simply aren't ready developmentally to stay home alone overnight, may have trouble being alone during the day and are usually ill-equipped to care for a younger sibling, said Dr. Lane Tanner, associate director of development and behavior in the pediatrics division ofof Children's Hospital Oakland.

"A general rule of thumb is that kids under age 7 aren't capable of thinking logically and putting cause and effect together," Tanner said. "They are reliant on caregivers to structure their day."

Children between ages 7 and 10 are not generally ready to self-supervise for an extended period, but in a routine and predictable environment, such as just after school, they can manage, Tanner said. Kids 12 and 13 years old should be judged on a case-by-case basis but should not be left alone overnight.

7 YEAR OLDS LEFT ALONE AFTER SCHOOL?????? The author of that article is an idiot.

I agree, but many parents make their kids into latch-key kids. I think the states should have specific age limits on staying alone and enforce them.
 
I TOTALLY agree with you on this!!! :clap:
Mr. E said:
With all the horrible wicked stepmother stories being told, don't forget that the boys' natural blood father also made the decision to leave the children alone. I don't know if the stepmother has any children of her own, but he had ten years of parenthood under his belt and should have known better.

Did anybody else hear her say that she shouldn't be held as responsible as the father because she wasn't their real mother?? How terrible that someone would enter into a marriage, knowing there were children involved, and not consider herself their mother. Better not to get married at all than to take the mothering of those children so lightly.
 
This case is really bothering me...I can't believe the stepmother's attorney is saying she has no responsibility! It is just as plain as day to me that the well being of these two little boys just isn't important to their father or their stepmother.

San Ramon boys alone 'repeatedly'--Contra Costa Times--Jan 9, 2006

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/13587301.htm

Excerpts:

A San Ramon couple accused of leaving two young children alone over the New Years weekend had neglected them many times since mid-October, including once when an ambulance took the youngest to an emergency room, a prosecutor said Monday.

Since Oct. 15, the brothers spent many of their days alone, often not seeing their father and stepmother who arrived home after the children fell asleep, Cashman said.
It was de la Vega's attorney, G. Wright Morton, who on Monday raised the possibility that his client has limited responsibility for her stepchildren.

"These are not my client's children," Morton said. He declined to comment further on the case.

(Note...I read in another article that the nanny for the boys resigned from her job on Oct. 15, 2005...she couldn't handle the youngest child any longer. Anyway, I guess that is why the children have been pretty much without supervision since October.) This just really gets to me--I find it almost unbelievable.
 
Jean said:
This case is really bothering me...I can't believe the stepmother's attorney is saying she has no responsibility! It is just as plain as day to me that the well being of these two little boys just isn't important to their father or their stepmother.

San Ramon boys alone 'repeatedly'--Contra Costa Times--Jan 9, 2006

http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/13587301.htm

Excerpts:

A San Ramon couple accused of leaving two young children alone over the New Years weekend had neglected them many times since mid-October, including once when an ambulance took the youngest to an emergency room, a prosecutor said Monday.

Since Oct. 15, the brothers spent many of their days alone, often not seeing their father and stepmother who arrived home after the children fell asleep, Cashman said.
It was de la Vega's attorney, G. Wright Morton, who on Monday raised the possibility that his client has limited responsibility for her stepchildren.

"These are not my client's children," Morton said. He declined to comment further on the case.

(Note...I read in another article that the nanny for the boys resigned from her job on Oct. 15, 2005...she couldn't handle the youngest child any longer. Anyway, I guess that is why the children have been pretty much without supervision since October.) This just really gets to me--I find it almost unbelievable.
Jean, thanks for posting this article, I missed it in today's paper. This really makes me mad!!! Who does this woman think she is???:furious: They became her legal responsibility I feel when she married their widowed father, or are these children expected to raise themselves???
 
LinasK said:
Jean, thanks for posting this article, I missed it in today's paper. This really makes me mad!!! Who does this woman think she is???:furious: They became her legal responsibility I feel when she married their widowed father, or are these children expected to raise themselves???

Your welcome, Linask. I don't know what is wrong with these people. From their actions, it seems the father and stepmother both feel the kids can be responsible for their own well being and happiness. It breaks my heart. It is bad enough that the stepmother doesn't care about them, but it's the father too. I wonder why he didn't just say--sorry honey, we can't go to Vegas, etc. because we have no one to stay with the children. PLUS, did you read earlier on in one of the articles that the boys were with the grandmother over Christmas? I wonder what the father and stepmother were doing then--having Christmas with just each other!!

I think the father should have been doing everything possible to find a responsible adult to take care of his children immediately after the nanny resigned in mid October. He should have taken off of work and spent 12 hours a day looking for someone trustworthy to take care of his children.

I really believe the children would be much better off with their maternal grandmother rather than their father and stepmother. I bet if they go back to the father and stepmother, we will be hearing more bad news about this family in the future.
 
Jean said:
Your welcome, Linask. I don't know what is wrong with these people. From their actions, it seems the father and stepmother both feel the kids can be responsible for their own well being and happiness. It breaks my heart. It is bad enough that the stepmother doesn't care about them, but it's the father too. I wonder why he didn't just say--sorry honey, we can't go to Vegas, etc. because we have no one to stay with the children. PLUS, did you read earlier on in one of the articles that the boys were with the grandmother over Christmas? I wonder what the father and stepmother were doing then--having Christmas with just each other!!

I think the father should have been doing everything possible to find a responsible adult to take care of his children immediately after the nanny resigned in mid October. He should have taken off of work and spent 12 hours a day looking for someone trustworthy to take care of his children.

I really believe the children would be much better off with their maternal grandmother rather than their father and stepmother. I bet if they go back to the father and stepmother, we will be hearing more bad news about this family in the future.
I totally agree with you Jean, and I'll keep you posted because they only lived 10-15 min. away from me.
Apparently this father from what I previously read, was used to having a nanny watch the kids and assumed the wife made arrangements with the grandmother, but the grandmother had previously told her that she had to work over New Year's and wasn't available. Also his own sister claims he's irresponsible and puts his own needs first. Too bad the grandmother couldn't have gotten permanent custody sooner! How selfish can this couple be???:banghead:
 
"These are not my client's children," Morton said. He declined to comment further on the case.
:furious: This just makes me so angry. It breaks my heart to think about children out there who are being raised by single parents who enter into a relationship and even GET MARRIED to a partner who cares nothing about the children!!!! Where is the sense in that????

My husband and I have a will which states what should happen to our children in the event of our deaths. This case is really making me think we should have some sort of document drawn up that states what should happen with the kids if just one of us dies. I'd hate to think of my children being raised by a heartless, mean, b*tch like this woman. Then again, I'd like to think my own husband loves his children enough never to remarry a cold, unloving woman like this!
 
Yeah, I see this all as the husband's fault - the kids were his. He married a woman who didn't want to be a parent to them, then didn't care enough to be a parent to them himself!

The step-mom - well, she should have known that she'd have to be a mom, but it wasn't part of the wedding vows, and if the husband didn't make that clear to her, I can see her thinking he'd take care of them as they were his kids - it's not uncommon at all for that to be the situation when a woman remarries a man without kids, that the mom is the one caring for the kids, and the step-father doesn't really do much of anything.
 
http://www.foxreno.com/slideshow/news/6027666/detail.html?qs=1;s=1;dm=ss;p=news;w=400

Looks like 'Daddy' got 9 mos. and 'stepmom' got 6 mos. Both got 3 yrs. probation. Both will be serving their time at home with electronic monitoring. Looks like they are going to get plenty of 'together' time, even if they didn't go to jail. No mention about what will be done with the kids. Hope they enjoy that 'honeymoon'. Maybe the alleged father will get sick of the selfish little witch now that he has to stay home with her!
 
I saw this on my local news tonight, both pleaded no contest, but step-mom claims she didn't know the kids were left alone!:doh: Supposedly she spent the previous night at her mother's house. I'm not buying it.:snooty:
 

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