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A lot of little kids hide when there is a fire. These are very little kids. I don't think anyone said the neighbor is abandoning their kids.
I see you didn't understand what I wrote. My point is that the laws that Kat bolded do not apply to children left alone unless a tragedy does occur. Simply being home alone at any age is not a crime in Texas.
If we don't agree that is fine. We don't have too. Its just a discussion.
I see you didn't understand what I wrote. My point is that the laws that Kat bolded do not apply to children left alone unless a tragedy does occur. Simply being home alone at any age is not a crime in Texas.
If we don't agree that is fine. We don't have too. Its just a discussion.
I think the child neglect code that was posted covers it.
Frankly, I'm surprised that after-school child care is paid for by taxes, anywhere.
There are so many after school programs in my area. There are programs held right in the school building- often held in the gym & cafeteria plus using the playground (ran by private companies not the school districts). Almost every nearby day care center has buses or vans picking up the children after school and taking them back to their center. Usually there are numerous family home day care providers near the school. Now, the OPs area may be completely different. Of course, these options all cost money
I see you didn't understand what I wrote. My point is that the laws that Kat bolded do not apply to children left alone unless a tragedy does occur. Simply being home alone at any age is not a crime in Texas.
If we don't agree that is fine. We don't have too. Its just a discussion.
Legal or not is hardly the point.
Common sense says kids that young cannot possess level of reasoning to deal with free reign in a house without adult supervision.
Much older kids do stupid stuff; my 2nd and least bright child drank soap like an idiot at age 8. Are you kidding me? And I was a housewife at home when it happened. This kid also tried to sneak live insects into the house to keep . Kids do STUPID STUFF and at 4 and 5 there are endless possibilities of the problems they could get into, both straight up dangerous and less severe like huge messes being created.
Legal wise or not, this is horrible parenting. Unless this is in a rural section I find it hard to believe there is no after school care available.
Okay but the bold doesn't say it all. What says it all is that Home Alone Age is not applicable. Maybe that would have something to do with a man's home being his castle. OTOH, you may have something IF there is say a fire, and the children are not smart enough to dial 911 or simply leave the house before they burn up, THEN that other law, that requires a child to be able to use good judgement may come into play, and may be used to prosecute the parents because their children died in said fire.
I'm sure you realize that accusing a parent of abandoning a child in their own home for the limited time of 2 hours a day would get thrown out court, especially if nothing dangerous has happened and their is no law in regard to an age requirement. There is no reason to assume their home is any more dangerous than the OPs own home.
EDIT: 18% of elementary age kids being alone is an alarming number. Its 1/5th of the population of any given elementary school. The number increases as the children's ages increase. I didn't bother to look at how many Junior high and High school aged children are alone. I remember being a teenager, and pushing boundaries as they lay. I would really be more concerned about the older kids being unsupervised.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ComeCloser
Well, maybe a Texas lawyer will chime in to prove your hypothesis correct.
Just what is your interest in this issue? You're obviously not a lawyer. If you're a parent, you are woefully unaware of both child development in 4 and 5 year olds, and child protection laws.
As for the bold, I do not "realize" all that. If the child protection authorities find children left home alone "in a situation that a reasonable person would realize requires judgments or actions beyond the child’s ability" which does obliquely reference age, or finds the parents "Abandon(ed) a child under 15 under circumstances that expose the child to an unreasonable risk of harm" , note age is specifically stated here, the consequences to the parents depend on what the situation was. If someone called CPS or the police because the kids were being left home alone and nothing happened, the parents might be sent to parenting classes and monitored. If it was discovered that the kids were left alone when they died in a fire, the parents might be prosecuted.
Frankly, I'm surprised that after-school child care is paid for by taxes, anywhere.
There are so many after school programs in my area. There are programs held right in the school building- often held in the gym & cafeteria plus using the playground (ran by private companies not the school districts). Almost every nearby day care center has buses or vans picking up the children after school and taking them back to their center. Usually there are numerous family home day care providers near the school. Now, the OPs area may be completely different. Of course, these options all cost money
In my district, the before/after school program is run by the district. There are also other providers, but they are not on site at the schools. I do know financial assistance is available, although I will admit that I don't know the specific source of funding for it.
Frankly, I'm surprised that after-school child care is paid for by taxes, anywhere.
There are so many after school programs in my area. There are programs held right in the school building- often held in the gym & cafeteria plus using the playground (ran by private companies not the school districts). Almost every nearby day care center has buses or vans picking up the children after school and taking them back to their center. Usually there are numerous family home day care providers near the school. Now, the OPs area may be completely different. Of course, these options all cost money
Quote:
Originally Posted by emm74
In my district, the before/after school program is run by the district. There are also other providers, but they are not on site at the schools. I do know financial assistance is available, although I will admit that I don't know the specific source of funding for it.
When the before/after school programs originally started in the district where I taught, about 25 or 30 years ago, they appeared to be ran by the district. You contacted a district employee to sign up, the district vetted & hired the first employees, etc. but they were funded by some type of grant (and parent fees). An outside observer may have incorrectly assumed that taxes were involved but they were not. After the first year or two, these programs were completely separate from any district involvement. Parents paid for the full child care costs themselves.
Now, it is possible that in some states, or some areas, after school programs are paid for by taxes, but not in my area.
When the before/after school programs originally started in the district where I taught, about 25 or 30 years ago, they appeared to be ran by the district. You contacted a district employee to sign up, the district vetted & hired the first employees, etc. but they were funded by some type of grant (and parent fees). An outside observer may have incorrectly assumed that taxes were involved but they were not. After the first year or two, these programs were completely separate from any district involvement. Parents paid for the full child care costs themselves.
Now, it is possible that in some states, or some areas, after school programs are paid for by taxes, but not in my area.
I can say with assurance that they are in fact run by the school district. There is a fee, although it costs a fair amount less than a private daycare center - then again, since it was located at the school, they didn't have to provide the transportation and between buying a bus, paying a driver, getting insurance, I'm sure there was a significant cost to that.
I'm not sure if the financial aid is through the school district, or if that's from a different state agency or funding source, or if it's grant based. Or maybe some combination of the above.
Personally, as a tax payer, I would be quite happy to see some my school taxes going to support this program. As a working single parent, I know how essential it is to have high quality, reliable before and afterschool care, and I'm happy to contribute to making that care accessible to ALL families, including lower income ones.
My son also participated in the summer camps run by the same program. For those, I know that the financial aid is not provided through the school district, but there are city agencies that provide financial assistance to qualifying families. The camps were based at the schools, and I was very impressed by the program. They had a theme each week with instructors who traveled to a different site/school each week to do that week's theme. They had a couple of field trips or other special activities related to the theme, along with plenty of playground time, board games, etc - the typical camp activities. They even provided lunch and snacks, which was very convenient! The afterschool program provides snacks - that's all through the federal government I think, part of the school lunch program.
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. Kids do STUPID STUFF and at 4 and 5 there are endless possibilities of the problems they could get into, both straight up dangerous and less severe like huge messes being created.
