SPARC Forums

I am a father who has visitation rights for my son, who lives in the state of Ohio. I live in Washington DC and i have knowledge that my son, who is 6, is being watch after he arrives home from Kindergarden by his sister who is 11 years old. She watches him till his mother arrives home from work around 6 to 7 pm. What should i do to have this changed?? Any suggestions are appreciated.

First off,

Call the police with a concern for child welfare. Once a report is made out verifying that the children are indeed unsupervised, THEN you have a case for attempting to gain custody.

Questions you should look at first:

1. Is the 11 year old a mature enough child to supervise a 6 year old?
2. Has she taken a Red Cross babysitting course? (Will teach CPR for kids along with other safety issues)
3. Do they have a phone to use for emergencies?
4. Is there perhaps a neighbor or family member close by that checks in on them, or they can go to if a problem?
5. Do they live in a safe town/neighborhood?
6. Have there been any previous issues with problems during this supervision?

In Wash DC I would have a fit for this scenario to happen due to their high crime rate, however, depending on the safety of the area in which they live, the maturity of the 11 year old, it may be perfectly fine.  

Remember to pick your battles carefully, there are usually too many to start with.

Another thing you need to find out is whether there is a statute or law in that state that defines how old a child must be to be alone or babysit.

Once you have that info, ANY time you think they are home alone, call their local sheriff's office and tell them you want a welfare check done on the residence, because you have reason to believe that the children are home alone.  They will take contact info from you as well.  They will send out a deputy and if it is deemed by the responding officer that they are or could be in imminenet danger, they WILL remove the children from the residence.

They will contact you as to the disposition of the call.  If they allow the children to stay in the home, they will contact the mother regardless.  But the key here is to KEEP asking.  Eventually the sheriff's dept. will see a pattern and report the mother to DHS/CPS.  That's your opportunity to file for modification

I say sheriff because many police depts. don't want to get involved in domestics.  Good luck and let us know what happens!