http://www.newsday.com/long-island/nassau/hicksville-mom-charged-with-leaving-4-kids-at-pool- (school, live)

[KENNY GUIDO]

Hicksville mom charged with leaving 4 kids at pool

ok, were not allowed to leave kids alone at a pool? what about a town beach or library? do you know how many times ive been to the beach and was never told it was against the law? how about a public park?

[rocafeller05]

I would say a 6 & 7 year old is a little to young to just drop off at the pool.

[amitygirl]

Originally Posted by rocafeller05

I would say a 6 & 7 year old is a little to young to just drop off at the pool.

I totally agree. geez, we hear horror stories all summer long with kids and pools. here's a short clip from newsday and I think they are 100% right. A pool is not a babysitter for parents.

The pool's policy requires a child under 16 to be accompanied by an adult at all times, police said.
"The lifeguards are there to supervise people in the pool," said Det. Lt. Louis Monteleone. "They're not there to supervise the general public."
Lanzetta has left her children unattended at the pool on "numerous occasions" during the summer, police said.

Thank goodness nothing has happened to these kids..I am sure the mother would of slapped law suits for sure.... it's a shame some kids have parents like this... I wonder how many times they have been left alone at home, or where ever...hope this is an eye opener for this woman and she learns to take the responsibility that comes with being a parent.

[twingles]

From 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.??? I think that's a bit of a long day for a child to be left alone, no? How about meals? How about a huge thunderstorm comes up and everyone takes off? How about your child falls and gets injured and needs treatment? How about they need to be rescued from the pool? How about they get stung by a bee and have a reaction? How about they get bored and decide to go looking for mom? How about a 6 year old isn't capable of re-applying sunscreen as needed over the course of 8 HOURS? Obviously I could go on and on and on....and I agree with pp who said if anything HAD happened, guess who would've been down at the courthouse on Monday filing papers?

If you're going to do something stupid, don't compund the stupidity by pushing your luck, lady. My kids can't last 8 hours at a pool on their best day.

[newtoli]

My parents used to drop us off at the town pool all the time when I was probably 11 and my sister was 9. So did a lot of other parents. Probably was like noon - 6.

We lived.

[twingles]

Originally Posted by newtoli

We lived.

lucky you.

[newtoli]

I wouldn't call it lucky, pretty much everyone I knew went to the pool for the afternoon in the summer (usually after camp) without their parents, then walked home. This was in the early 90's. I think 6 and 7 are a bit young, and if they were acting up, the pool has the right to remove them, but honestly, we shelter our children WAYYYY too much these days.

Like the OP said, what about the library? Can you not drop your child off at the library to study anymore?

[*MissPiss*]

My oldest daughter is 12 and I wouldn't leave her unsupervised at a beach, a pool or anywhere else for that matter.

[LIOC]

While 6 and 7 is too young, I remember being 12 in the early/mid 90's and riding my bike to the pool with friends. We also went to the library after school and walked home. We also would ride to the park.

Beach was too far for us. So I no idea if I would have been allowed to ride there if we lived closer.

Seems like 24 hours news and the internet are taking all the fun out of being a kid.

[LIR]

On the TV news yesterday, they said that after the authorities were called to the pool, they tried to reach the parents at home, but there was no answer. The children were then taken to the 8th precinct. The mother arrived at the pool to pick up the kids, saw they weren't there, and went home. She never bothered to ask the pool employees if they knew where her kids were. The police were waiting for her when she got home. So I don't think she would have been arrested just for leaving her kids unattended, but that coupled with the fact that she didn't seem phased that they were missing shows a greater neglect. Her neighbors said they have noticed the children playing outside unsupervised on several occasions too.