So I know this seems obvious from the title, but my neighbour's lack of reaction is making me doubt my reaction, and after a fortifying cup of tea I'm genuinely wondering if I'm overreacting due to growing up with constant stranger danger warnings at school. For context, I'm in London, UK. I'm M32, neighbour in question, T, is F~40s, and her toddler is M~3.
I've spoken to T a few doors down a handful of times, mostly about her cat. She's got a young kid, around 3, I would guess, who I've seen a couple of times but never spoken to before. He's often out on the front step playing in the morning apparently unsupervised (there's a tiny front garden and the usual garden fence and gate - definitely not stopping a toddler, let alone anyone else), but I assumed parents were nearby and could see/hear him as the front door was usually ajar.
Cut to this morning, I'm taking the recycling out and see the kid padding down the street in his slippers waving goodbye to a man I haven't seen before, but judging by the interaction I would assume he was dad. Well, dad left in a hurry towards the train station street, leaving kid where he was. Kid hung about and started chatting to me, asking if he could have one of the cardboard boxes u was trying to dismantle for 'important making thing'. I asked where his mum was, and he pointed down towards his house. I asked if she knew he was out, to which he said yes. He had some very persuasive arguments for the box, so I gave it to him and told him to go straight home, and watched to make sure he got back inside safely. I then immediately text his mum to explain what had happened and let her know they might need to get a sturdier lock on the garden gate now he was a bit older.
I was expecting T to be shocked to hear he was out on the street alone (and also that dad had walked away leaving him there), and was surprised when she didn't reply quickly (she usually replies within a few minutes when I'm letting her know her cat has got in again), but figured she was busy dealing with escapee kid. She wasn't. When she finally text back nearly 45 minutes later, she said he's free to come and go as he wants as long as he can still see the house, and that he knows how to be sensible. She said he will often walk to the end of the road with dad in the morning and then come home again.
We live on a quiet, safe street. In London. Yes, packages get left on doorsteps. Yes, I know most of the neighbours, and yes, there's no real trouble with break-ins or anything like that. Nor is there any real traffic. But it's still a street in London, and the main road is literally at the top of our road, and that is not a quiet, safe street.
I'm honestly appalled and don't know what to do. I considered calling in a safeguarding concern with the council but don't want to cause a problem if I'm just being an overly dramatic millennial who had stranger danger drilled into me at an impressionable age. Is this a normal thing to do? I don't have kids or really any experience with kids (apart from my sister's sprouts that live in the middle of nowhere and are mostly feral anyway). There are lots of kids on our road but I don't see anyone that little out on their own. But given the nonchalance of T's reply and dad being so comfortable walking away with kid still out, I'm starting to think I might be overreacting. Any perspective is appreciated.
Tldr; 3 year old allowed to wander the street on his own and chat to random people. Am I overreacting if I call in a safeguarding concern?
Edit: thank you for responding, I really appreciate the perspective.
I've just had another chat to T and explained I didn't want to overstep but was really concerned to find him out on his own, and would she like me to call her next time because I was worried about him in the road and around strangers coming down our road to the park at the end of the street. She admitted she probably gives him more freedom than she should but likes to see him happy, but did conceed that she should at least know when he's out of the garden. She also said she's had other people get cross with her for letting him go unsupervised for so long. I didn't press any further than that because I'd like to maintain enough of a friendly relationship that i can call her if I'm worried about kiddo. I've sent an email to the local services explaining what's happened so that it's logged, and I'll keep an eye on him as much as I can to see if she improves. If not, I'll submit a full concern log with the council, but that involved knowing familial relationships and getting her consent (or having a very good reason why I don't have her consent) to submit the form.
Thanks again, I can at least stop worrying that I'm overreacting and just worry about the kid instead now. (And the damn cat that breaks in and sprays everywhere...)