The thought of leaving a toddler unattended outside for too much time would surely concern most parents.
One mum claims to have been left appalled after her own mother left her 20-month-old sleeping in a pram outside alone on the drive, while she went inside to drink coffee and charge her phone.
As reported by Wales Online, the unnamed parent from Birmingham has divided opinions after asking people online whether this was "safe" to do.
Writing in a post on Mumsnet, the woman explained she got in a "massive fight" with her mother over the incident, but her mum just thought she was being "paranoid" about the whole thing.
She explained: "Am I being unreasonable to think that it's not safe to leave sleeping toddler alone outside house in pushchair?
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"My mother and me just had a massive fight.
"I have a 20-month-old toddler and an 8-week-old baby. My mother is staying with me at the moment to help me out after the birth, which I'm massively thankful for.
"My mother has been taking my toddler son out for a walk and came back to 'charge her phone and drink a coffee'. She wanted to leave again afterwards, taking him for another walk, so she left him outside in the pushchair sleeping."
The mum-of-two went on to say how she's been very sick with a nasty bug for the last few days and taking care of her baby, so she wasn't able to go outside to get her other child.
So she asked her mother not to leave him unattended outside the house, to which the older woman claimed she was "paranoid" as she "watched too many crime shows".
She added: "This resulted in us having a massive fight and I told my mother if she takes my toddler out, she has responsibility for him.
"In the end, she sat by the open door on a chair and had her coffee there.
"I am just wondering, is she right? Am I paranoid?
"My toddler was strapped in, but I'm worried that an opportunist was going to snatch him."
Dozens of people responded to the post, with some reassuring the mum she wasn't paranoid - but others thinking it wasn't a big deal.
One person said: "I don't think you're being OTT she shouldn't be leaving him outside where she can't see him."
Another replied: "This is a generational thing- in 1970 people happily left their babies in prams outside shops etc, just as these days you might leave a dog outside.
"Times change, however, and these days it’s not generally seen as safe. Whether that’s because it’s genuinely more dangerous now or because we have a different attitude to risk, who knows? But as it’s 2022 and not 1970, YANBU."
A third posted: "I'd leave the baby in the garden to nip inside and get something, but not for long. I think drinking tea in the hall is fine though."
Someone else proclaimed: "There's not a chance in hell I would leave a toddler unsupervised outside the front of the house. That's neglect, plain and simple."
What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
