A woman has sparked a debate after shouting at a mother who had lost her child and calling her 'irresponsible' - after she let her eight-year-old son look for the missing little girl on his own.
The woman noticed the boy walking around and shouting 'Susan', and she at first assumed that he had lost his mother and went to his aide.
But she soon discovered that the boy wasn't lost at all, but instead he had been blamed for losing his little sister and had been sent out to find her.
The woman joined in the search but then learned that the girl had been found, so took the boy home to his mother and told her she was the irresponsible one for sending her son out alone.
Taking to Reddit, the woman said: "Got home from work last night, threw some food on and went to take my dog out. While I'm standing out there I see this kid walking by barefoot, completely sobbing and calling out the name 'Susan' over and over.
"He couldn't have been more than eight-years-old.
"Instantly I'm worried and go over and ask him if he's okay, if he's lost or trying to find someone..
"This kid then breaks my heart. Between desperate sobs he tells me his two-year-old sister Susan is missing. That he didn't mean it, they were playing on the stairs and he had thought his mom was watching her when he went over to say hi to a friend that was walking by.
"Apparently she wasn't and his sister had wandered off."
After searching for the missing toddler for an hour or so, the woman and the young boy bump into a neighbour who tell them the girl has been found.
Relieved but also enraged, the woman takes the boy home to his mother - and stays long enough to give her a piece of her mind too.
She continued: "I get him to his apartment and knock and the mother answers the door.
"She goes, 'Oh there you are Joey. I was waiting for you to come back. Susan is fine, no need to worry. It was just a mistake. I know you wont make it again'.
"The boy is still sobbing and unable to help myself I look straight at the lady and say, in front of the boy, 'it's a mistake you wont make again. This was your fault, not his. You didn't even bother to come find him while he was out there trying to clean up your mess and you're lucky you didn't end up with two missing kids. I'm glad your daughter is home and safe, and now your son as well'.
"Of course she starts yelling at me, telling me I'm a horrible person to say that, and in front of her child, and that I have no idea how scary and stressful it is to lose a child and that I have no idea what she went through after her son had told her Susan was missing.
"I just shrugged and said 'it was a bad mistake, don't worry, I'm sure it won't happen again' and walked off.
"I feel like I might have been too harsh on a woman that obviously had a rough night and put her down in front of her child. I was just so angry at what she put that boy through."
After sharing her story online, the woman's post sparked a fierce debate with most people agreeing with the woman, saying that the mother deserved to be told.
One person said: "She let him believe all this time that he was responsible for losing his sister. Plus she left him alone while it was getting dark outside. Poor little guy, he shouldn't have been in charge of her in the first place."
And another said: "She's a bad parent and deserves to be called out for it. She didn't bother to bring her son back after his sister was found."
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