Worth reporting?
I have a new coworker who works midnights and tells me about her kids. She has a 17 year old, a 1 year old and a 2 year old. At night she leaves them all home alone while she’s at work, expecting the 17 year old to take care of the younger two. Then in the morning the 17 year old has to take the bus to school, and if for some reason she gets held up at work or traffic or whatever, the two babies get left home alone for however longer. Usually like 15-20 minutes she says. Then when she does get home from work she will lock them in the living room and take a nap for a couple hours before getting up and checking on them. She says there are cameras all over the house, the doors are locked, and nothing they can get into. I don’t know her adders, just her name and place of work and that she gets discounted childcare through the state. She’s a single mom so I obviously feel bad for her. I know there are worse possible situations for these kids out there and that’s why I’m hesitant. She obviously loves them and does what she can but it does not sit right with me. Is it worth reporting? What can actually be done to help her?
EDIT: I was able to get some more information from her the other day. I was asking about the 17 year old and turns out he is autistic but high functioning. Overall a good kid, just hangs in his room to play video games and wants nothing to do with the actual care of his little brothers. The mom was telling me that she asks him to check on the younger ones when he hears screaming and he won’t. In the mornings when she gets home, she will sneak in the side door so the kids don’t see her otherwise they won’t leave her alone to sleep. She will leave the 1 year old in his crib for a couple hours while she naps before taking them to daycare. She said at least he won’t get into anything, but the 2 year old will sometimes pile pillows and blankets into the crib and sit on him. She was also asking me about potty training and she said she’s ready to tie her child to the toilet till he is ready to go. I asked about other family in the area and her parents live out of state. she has siblings that are around but not enough to be consistently watching. The dad of the two younger kids is apparently an alcoholic and a crappy person but she’s older and wanted more kids so she took whatever she could get in terms of a father. I will not be helping out with the care of her children. She is the one who decided she wanted more kids. That is not my burden to bear. But how shitty would I feel if something happened to them and it could have been prevented if they were being supervised properly.