Do you know where your child is?

[ksjayhawks]

My question is why are you allowing him to remain at your house for so long? Send him home after a few hours, say no you can't play here today. It is not your responsibility to watch him.

Perhaps do as others have suggested and walk him back home the next time he has been at your house a few hours and introduce yourself. Hopefully his parents are home, but they may not be. If they aren't, watch him let himself into the house and then go back home.

 

[mjkacmom]

Well, I've had a 10 year old out riding bikes around the neighborhood. Heck, when I was that age, I'd leave the house with my little box of cereal, come home for lunch, dinner, and when the streetlights came on (and I didn't have a cellphone). At 10, my kids can go across town with friends (as long as I know the destination). Maybe he told his parents that he met some kids and was going to ask if they wanted to play? Maybe his parents told him to come home if your kids weren't available? As for talking with your DH, sounds like an only child to me. I've noticed that a lot of my kids' friends who are onlies chat me up all of the time!

I think 10 is a little old for playdates - most kids just ring doorbells in the neighborhood. I wouldn't assume his parents don't care about him - maybe his parents don't need to hover over him, and feel he's mature enough to find something to do on his own. Does he have a cellphone?

 

[Hemlock]

A neighbourhood friend of my son (10 years old) was over ALL DAY yesterday - lunch and supper. Finally at 9 p.m., I walked him home. When his father answered the door he looked shocked to see me standing there with his son. He laughed and said that they didn't know that their son wasn't at home !!!

How in the world could you NOT notice that your child was missing for 8-9 hours including 2 meals.

 

[tink20]

This sounds like my neighborhood. This family moved in down the street. Their daughter goes from house to house trying to find someone to play with all day. She is 9 or 10, but this has been going on for over a year. I have never met the parents. She played here some, but she is so bossy and I heard her using a cuss word. So, we quit answering the door, or told her DS wasn't here. Anyway, she plays rough and prefers to play with boys. Lately, she has been at the girl across the street, (because they bought a pool) She threw a dozen eggs in the garage and some in the pool. My neighbor was soo mad.

The girl's mom, told another mom (of a boy down the street) that she just can't put up with her all day, and thats why she sends her out. Luckily, she goes to summer day camp, so its just afternoons and weekends. Oh, we have a reg. sex offender too. I just don't get these people, do they not watch the news?

 

[Pooh Crew]

Op here. I finally told him that my kids had to get cleaned up and that we were headed home.

To answer some of the questions posed: I didn't send him home because he was no trouble at all--other than the fact that I felt responsible for him. He and my four kids were having a blast together. It wasn't the child, it was the fact that no one had a clue where he was for about eight hours. He had no cell phone, they could not see him from their house because we are down the road, we've never laid eyes on the parents or they on us, and a child molester lives in that area. Also, he is an only child, as am I, so I know he was probably a little bored playing by himself.

Again, my issue was not with the child playing so much as it was that I would never dream of NOT knowing where my children were for an entire day.

 

[susykt4]

I'm just glad the kid is 10! Our next-door neighbors are both deaf and difficult to communicate with. They spent 2 or 3 months fixing up their house before moving in. During this time, they sent their 2 and 4 year olds over to play Every. Single. Night. I would pull into the driveway from work and the little kids would be in my house before I got out of my car. We didn't talk to the parents for two weeks, they just sent their kids on over. We could have been axe murderers for all they knew! I got sooooo sick of them coming over ALL the time! My husband potty trained the 2-yr-old after he pooped on our new carpet for the third time. They ate here constantly. It was a TOTAL babysitting job. One time my car was in the shop and my husband was working late. I saw the neighbor lady pull into her driveway, text her husband from the car and pull out and go back home since we weren't home to babysit.

Over the years we've made many rules. They can't come over before 9am, they can't eat anything or drink anything but water, if they cry or whine they are sent home immediately, they must knock before entering our house, they CAN'T come over when the kids aren't home, no playing in our yard when the kids aren't home, on and on. The "best" was when the youngest child was a couple weeks from turning 2 the mom brought him over and sat in our living room playing with our toys for over an hour so he could get used to coming over since he could come by himself or with his siblings when he turned 2. TWO!!! I quickly ended that stupid plan! Can you imagine thinking it fine to send your freshly turned TWO-yr-old to the neighbors' with no parental supervision??? He was still a baby!!!