Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Recently an issue was raised on another website regarding checking in on your neighbors during bad weather situations. Would you want your neighbors to go to your house and check on the wellbeing of your children if you were not at home without asking you first? Of course I am talking about kids who are responsible and legally allowed to be at home alone, but who otherwise are in no apparent danger.
Absolutely! If my neighbors know my children are home alone, I would expect my neighbors to check on my children if they felt there was a reason to do so----bad weather, power outage, etc. Where I live, we pull together as a community. We don't isolate ourselves from our neighbors. We've had quite a few catastrophes that required the entire neighborhood to pull together and watch each other's children while parents were unexpectedly absent due to being unable to return home during a natural disaster or simply busy on the other side of the neighborhood trying to save people from a burning house. The neighbors who only thought of themselves by grabbing their own children and fleeing the neighborhood without even thinking to save or simply warn others were considered the scum of the earth by the entire neighborhood.
One night, our neighborhood woke to a house fire of magnificant proportions. My husband was outside in his underwear trying to save neighbors. He was pounding on a house door that was directly next to the house on fire. Nobody answered. We were frantic that they were in danger. Turns out, they were one of the first people to know of the fire and they loaded their children into their car and left the neighborhood without warning any other neighbors. There were people in other houses that needed to be saved. Their selfishness put people at risk on many leves---not warning people and people wasting time trying to save them when those people could have been saving people who were literally in their homes. Thankfully, the scum of the earth moved from our neighborhood eight years ago.
I realize this seems like an off-topic rant, but it's not. I expect my neighbors to watch out for each other. By tradition, that's what our neighborhood is all about. I have no use for people who want to live in a cacoon and look out for themselves only. I will do anything for my neighbors and my neigbhors will also. I like it that way. My neighborhood is not filled with nosey people. We don't report neighbors. We handle problems as a neighborhood by helping one another. My neighbors are not insecure about their parenting that they feel threatened by neighbors looking out for their children. In my neighborhood, it's the complete opposite----people feel very secure in their parenting and don't feel threatened by neighbors. We all know our neighbors have good intentions and would never do anything to harm us.
I would absolutely not want my neighbors snooping around my house without permission on any pretext much less if they were interested in my children. I would consider that threatening behavour.
There should be someone you trust that the kids could contact as an alternate if you can't be reached immediatly and then there is 911.
Recently an issue was raised on another website regarding checking in on your neighbors during bad weather situations. Would you want your neighbors to go to your house and check on the wellbeing of your children if you were not at home without asking you first? Of course I am talking about kids who are responsible and legally allowed to be at home alone, but who otherwise are in no apparent danger.
It would depend on the situation. If it was just bad weather, then no-I don't want neighbors checking up on my kids without my permission.
But if it were truly a dangerous situation, then yes of course neighbors should look out for one another.
There should be someone you trust that the kids could contact as an alternate if you can't be reached immediatly and then there is 911.
I trust my neighbors. My neighbors are the people my children were always instructed to contact during emergencies.
Weather conditions can prevent police and ambulances from getting into areas. It happened last year in my city---people died because paramedics couldn't reach them.
Seems senseless to have an emergency contact who doesn't live in the neighborhood.
If it's bad weather, sure. That doesn't mean walk right in, though (at least if it's not a pressing emergency situation). But come and knock or ring the bell, and then call if there's no answer? Absolutely!
When we lived in California we didn't have to worry about bad weather, but we did have earthquakes. I remember our neighbor going door to door to check on everyone on our end of the block, just in case (even though wearing a bathrobe and slippers, and even though not a big earthquake). I thought it was a nice thing to do.
And if the issue is something like a tornado warning, I think it would be just fine for a neighbor to go over and invite the kids over to come to their house. Bad weather can be scary; sometimes it's nice to have others around. I think if it's a real concern, and if someone has questions about the neighbors, then they should discuss that with the kids in advance. And, as others have noted, same thing could go for power outages and the like. Neighbors should look out for one another.
Perhaps you live in an area of the country that doesn't get dangerous weather. Where I live, bad weather can be deadly.
I live in hurricane country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hopes
Children could freeze to death during a power outage in the winter due to a blizzard, freezing rain, inland flooding or just high winds.
If I needed a neighbor to check on my kids I would ask. I don't want them snooping around my house uninvited. My kids are told NOT to open the door when we are not home and I don't want my neighbors confusing my kids. Nor would I snoop around their houses.
If there was a true emergency (tornado, fire, etc) then I wouldn't mind but just bad weather is not enough to warrant someone snooping around my house without being invited.
My next door neighbor and I are close and we watch out for eachother. She even gave me a key to her house, being she's on the road alot as an entertainer. We call eachother if there's any suspicious activity going on. I would more than want her to check on my daughter w/o my permission if I weren't home.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
