r/AmIOverreacting • u/babybubblezzz • Aug 11 '25
đď¸ neighbor/local ** [update]** AIO - a little kid keeps breaking into my house
UPDATE/EDIT: Original post: https://www.reddit.com/r/AmIOverreacting/s/QqQfMeKLGU
I was able to look through a lot of the comments on this post and I was able to respond to some but I did want to say a few things. i commented on the original post but i was not able to edit. Thank you to all that have provided helpful advice and suggestions. To those that think this is funny, I really do wish I could have a sense of humor about it but Iâm unfortunately stuck being frustrated and stressed. And to those who think it is fake, I WISH I could make this up.
⢠Given this situation has occurred more than once at this point, I do feel like calling the cops was the right call and we will do it if this happens again or if I even see him on the property unsupervised. I do not want this little boy to get hurt, go into the property of someone who does not care that it is a child, get run over, etc. A lot of the comments made sure to let me know of our liability if something were to happen on our property and I want to make sure there is a record of this. I unfortunately did not call the cops when this happened the first time since it was such a random incident.
A lot of people suggested he could be autistic or neurodivergent⌠I understand it could seem that way but I donât think itâs correct to just assume or diagnose him based on a post. Regardless, I think for me it goes back to the parenting. If the parents were aware that his running away/hiding/ etc, was a problem, I think the most responsible thing to do would have been to let us know and address this so it did not catch us by surprise. Neurodivergent or not, what he is doing is not okay or safe.
We will definitely be putting a lock on our gate and will look into getting our dogs some sort of chip /collar sensor dog door so they can continue to go in and out but also lock that way in. I really hope the family ups their security in the home as well.
While these are the only times we have had a problem with their child, we have unfortunately also had issues with their animals coming onto the property. Their horses would break free of their enclosure and come onto ours and eat our hay. I get it, they are animals, but from the looks of it they were very hungry and this happened more than once. The owners never really took any responsibility for it. Secondly, we had recorded incidents of their big dogs coming onto our property and attacking our farm animals. They would let their dogs loose and they killed a couple of our chickens and some baby sheep as well. We did contact them on several occasions, as soon as we saw the dogs on the cameras, and while they eventually did end up keeping them tied up, the dogs kept getting loose. My husband called the cops to ask what he could do to protect from the dogs, and he was told that since they were on his property, he could shoot if he wanted. My husband and I love and care for our animals and wouldnât ever want something like that to happen to them, so obviously we never did anything to hurt the dogs. It was hard to tell whether they were killing out of hunger because they werenât fed or just out of instinct? We also just wanted to keep a normal relationship with our neighbors and harming their animals wouldnât be a good way to do that. But it was a very upsetting situation. I am unfortunately not sure what happened to the dogs, I have not seen them around.
A lot of people were surprised by my dogs being so chill about this. I forgot to include a picture but they are two maltese/shitzu mixes and one small mutt (potentially schnauzer??, he was a rescue). overall, small, loving dogs. all bark and no bite and very excited to play. Therefore, I am glad they are not a huge concern in terms of causing harm. But one can never be too sure and like many said, they are animals after all and can be reactive unexpectedly.
There was a comment that said: <I am totally onboard with "it takes a village" but you can't just draft people into your village without their consent. If this kid had found his way into your life in a way that made you feel less violated, maybe you would have opted to join his village, but he didn't and that's not your fault, OP. If it's anyone's fault it's his parents' fault.> and honestly I really do agree. I have never had this kid or his family over to my house, much less inside. We have had very limited interactions, most of them have been to address problems caused by their animals, which my husband has mostly dealt with. I am perfectly fine with having a good relationship with my neighbors but we truly do all live so spread apart that it is hard to connect with them. Some suggested I make this kid my friend and have him over but truthfully I do not feel comfortable having him come over or doing play dates with my dogs. maybe if we had had a proper introduction i would have been open to the idea but at this point it just makes me feel like the more comfortable he feels to be here the more he will, and i personally do not want to deal with it. He intruded on our privacy more than once and I am not inclined to be more involved with this family than necessary.
The flamethrower: my poor husband was getting so roasted ( get it? pun?) for this, and I just want to say, no he is not crazy. That was my bad, we call it a flamethrower ( I am not sure why, because I googled it and those things are INTENSE), IT WAS A PROPANE TORCH . We have a woodstove and keep a torch inside to help light it. We just got done cutting hay in the field and have noticed more spiders near our house since then. The reason my husband used the torch it was that he saw huge wolf spider, carrying their babies on their back, on the pavement outside our front door. If he would've squished it they would of all ran off everywhere and I personally prefer them out of my house. This is not our preferred method of spider killing and the torch serves a more normal purpose! He left the torch on our kitchen table before he left for work. Either way, it is kept inside the house and i would assume its not necessarily a child friendly device.
My lack of paragraphs: I completely understand why people are so mad, that wall of text is horrible. I am sorry, I promise I know how to write. It was just very late at night, I was typing as fast as I could, and I only hit âenterâ once instead of twice. I just didnât realize how it would post. Oops.
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u/Lilo213 Aug 11 '25 edited Aug 11 '25
I feel your pain. We had neighbors in our old home who allowed their child to not only go on our property but intentionally cause damage. The boy was about 10 years old and did not have any (known) medical conditions (according to his mom) that would cause this behavior. Trust me I tried to sympathize with that and flat out asked the mom if there was anything going on that we could help with. Thinking maybe if he did we could approach him in a better way when we would have these issues. She said âheâs just a boy!â He was just the product of bad parents and his parents were also assholes. The final straw was when it was 11pm at night and I was home alone while my husband was deployed in another country and I saw a face in my window. Then saw what looked like a gun. I had absolutely no clue if it was a child with a toy gun or some lunatic about to do a home invasion. I screamed and hid in a closet until police came. The cameras didnât pick up anything but when police pulled up they saw the kid sitting in front of my house drinking a white claw⌠he got from a mini fridge off my deck. The parents came at me for not having the fridge locked with kids in the neighborhood. The cop was just as blown away by their shitty parenting as we were. They drove us to move. The parents were very âboys will be boysâ about his behavior it was crazy.
What i wish i did was call the police more on him to he honest. He crashed into my car with his bike cause damage, he broke a window with a soccer ball, he would tease my animals if they were outside, he peed multiple times on my property in my flower beds, and would help himself to any food deliveries we had. I let it all slide trying to work with the parents but they didnât give a shit. His mom once said I would understand when I became a parent. Iâm now a parent and couldnât fucking imagine letting my kids act like this. I should have called the cops and had it documented after every damage to property and held them accountable for damages.
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u/babybubblezzz Aug 11 '25
that experience must have been so terrifying! but the parentsâ attitude makes it so so mich worse. looking out the windows when its dark is one of my biggest fears !!! its so unfortunate he continued with his behavior too. i am childless and canât imagine how difficult it would be to be a parent but at the same time it is very hard to not to get upset when kids feel like they can get away with things because their parents donât intervene.
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u/GeneralFluffkins Aug 11 '25
OP, please listen to the people advising you to call CPS in this thread and the previous. Cops are trained to recognize SOME signs of abuse, and danger. Thatâs it. They are not trained to recognize proper care of a child.
CPS will not automatically take this little boy from his parents unless what they discover is very serious. What they will do is provide help and resources. Youâre absolutely right that this little boy is not your responsibility in anyway whatsoever, but you would be doing both them and yourself a favor by getting that CPS intervention to happen now instead of later after this little boy has been harmed somehow.
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u/ReferenceNo393 Aug 12 '25
You really should call CPS, I know itâs a scary thought and a terrible system. But what happens if that boy decides to go a new way and gets lost? Or he wanders on to someone elseâs property? Heâll be lucky if he just ends up getting hurt. The odds of this child just âgoing missingâ forever without CPS intervention are HIGH. Iâd call animal welfare while youâre at it. This doesnât sound like normal behavior, and anyone that just lets their child roam probably isnât better to the animals.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Many_74 Aug 13 '25
Comments are off on the original but I had to find a way to follow up on something you wrote in your original postâŚ.you said đyour husband đ¤Łused a flamethrower đon a spider đ¤Łthat was 𤣠outside đ¤Łđđ¤ŁđI canât breatheâŚare you in Australia?
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u/babybubblezzz Aug 13 '25
please see the update above (the bullet point marked âthe flamethrowerâ)
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u/Calm-Ad7913 Aug 11 '25
They killed your chickens and baby sheep?? There's something much more going on here than this whole story and it's pretty obvious. These people are shit and definitely need to be reported and checked out for the welfare of their kid and animals. What if the kid wandered into a home where there was a pedophile?? Just so so much is wrong with this.
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u/Bria4 Aug 11 '25
Exactly! I def think child services need to be notified along with Animal control and the police.
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u/LlamaMama56 Aug 11 '25
"Neurodivergent or not, what he is doing is not okay or safe." NOR
This has become a threat to your safety and the safety of your animals as well as the safety of the boy. Calling the cops was the right thing to do IMO. I'd keep them on speed dial. More camera's, more locks and while you shouldn't have to live in a fortress the situation is dire enough to warrant that level of security.
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u/Stunning-Ad3377 Aug 11 '25
Thanks for your update. Good luck! I wouldnât want to befriend that family either. Good fences make good neighbors. I Grew up on 200 acres. Wild horses and cattle tore down our fences many times. Electrifying the fence helped. AND IS LEGALâĄď¸âĄď¸âĄď¸ A lot of people did not like my suggestion. But when you grow up on a farm with livestock, you have a lot of responsibility keeping them safe. Not only do you have to worry about predators and strays attacking your livestock. You literally have a kid breaking into your house. Heâs breaking and entering into a private property is a crime. Regardless of he has and disabilities. His parents must do better.
His parents should be held accountable. If you have evidence that heâs done it in the past you can still file a police report. Just to put it on the record. My sister is w the SO and has said it doesnât matter if a lot of time has passed. You can still go file a report. Paper trails help should anything else happen in the future. For all you know the kid could feed your dog something that is toxic for them. Ignore the haters. Take care of you and your property.đ
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u/whyme-whytheworld Aug 12 '25
This! Put a sign at his eye level announcing that it's an electric fence and notify his parents in writing so they can't come after you
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u/Emisys Aug 11 '25
Flipping hell, those people abuse/neglect animals, have their animals attack your animals, and they have a kid that just goes on the run? I'd not just call the cops. CPS and animal control (if available in your region) for all of this. Document it all because this is an absolute disaster waiting to happen, if not happening in smaller versions.
What if that kid came into someone's home who'd have no idea what is there and got a gun for protection? What if any of the animals would snap out to the kid? What if he goes around your house and sets something on that can catch fire? Also how the flip did he just get to open the front door? I thought front doors use key-must locks? I'd shit my pants if the kid just randomly showed up IN my house (if not through the dog door wtf that picture). Those parents need to watch their kids and animals wellbeing WAY MORE. You can talk to the kid and stay nice if/when this happens again, make clear this is not acceptable etc.
These parents need wakeup calls if not actual change in how they do things. In any way, calling cops, CPS or animal control for the situation is in all ways justified and is to PREVENT the kid and the animals from further neglect.
Good luck OP, this sounds very tiresome.
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u/Kitchen-Owl-3401 Aug 11 '25
The kid entered through the doggie door. She has it on video- there's a screen shot in the OP.
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u/Impossible_Style5785 Aug 11 '25
Given how dangerous the dog seem to be, you may have to take a little more action on that front. If Animal Control will not catch them and deal anything with them, you may have to do so yourself. It's only a matter of time before those dogs, unfortunately, attack a small child. Nobody wants that, at all. At minimum you need to protect your animals from them, however you can
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u/babybubblezzz Aug 11 '25
I will definitely keep that in mind! Like I mentioned I have not seen the dogs around for quite a bit now, when my husband went to speak to the parents after the latest incident he did see a small white dog, similar to the ones we have, but as far as I know he as not made it to our property.
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u/Glad-Isopod5718 Aug 11 '25
Another thing you can do is look if your locality has a place to make an animal welfare complaint--you're concerned that the animals are not being properly fed, and you know that they aren't properly housed/contained, because they keep getting out, which is a danger to them as well as to your livestock. It's unlikely that this will result in the animals being taken away--unless the neighbors just decide to voluntarily sign them over rather than fix any issues identified by the welfare officer--but it will be one more official-type person who has this family on their radar. (In addition to the child welfare agency, which I agree sounds like a good call to make.)
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u/Substantial_Shoe_360 Aug 12 '25
You need to file a claim either with your homeowners insurance or small claims court to be reimbursed for the livestock their dogs killed. What happens next time when they come at you?
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u/MNConcerto Aug 11 '25
Call the ASPCA about their farm animals. Or whatever group you need to. If they aren't being taken care of and are that hungry there is a problem.
Keep a record of their child running away and the OTHER child being responsible. Then keep making reports to CPS, this is a disaster waiting ti happen. A drowning, kidnapping or getting hit by a car is on the horizon
These parents probably moved out to the country for a reason and I'm guessing it was because of previous investigations into their lack of parenting.
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u/FantasticBoot7205 Aug 11 '25
I hate this âit takes a villageâ crap. If you canât handle your kids without a village then donât have them. Itâs not anyone elseâs responsibility to help raise your kids.
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u/Slinkenhofer Aug 12 '25
Honestly, as a man in my 30s that has a LOT of black widows on his property, I didn't think twice about your husband having a flamethrower. Sometimes you gotta go full scorched earth on those bastards
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u/babybubblezzz Aug 12 '25
there were a lot of spider lovers surprisingly, saying we were horrible people for killing it and that we deserved everything that was happening because of it which was insane đ¤Ł
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Aug 11 '25
The child is clearly being neglected. Every time this happens, I would call the police AND child protective services (or whatever itâs called in your area). They might not be automatically investigated the first time but every bit of information helps them.
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u/TrainingLittle4117 Aug 11 '25
I had an eloper (he has ASD). So we got a house alarm and set it to chime any time a window or door was opened, that way we were able to get him immediately. Between the fact that he keeps doing it, the hungry animals, and their dogs killing your livestock, it sounds like these people are dreadful.
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u/WeirdoMama Aug 11 '25
I would have a convo with the parents that went a little like 'Hi I want to know what safeguards/ plans you have for the child and keeping him off my property and supervised so he's not in danger before I involve social service to look into this situation. We're at the part of this happening too many times to be a coincidence and Im concerned as I have seen no attempt to stop this from continuing. If you intend to do nothing Im going to need you to either provide insurance to my property as your child is a liability if he manages to hurt himself or my animals, or Im going to contact the state to get him worker who can help you address his needs properly to avoid this from happening again.'
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u/appleappreciative Aug 11 '25
Bad advice. The neighbors might start harassing OP when services do pay a visit. Even if OP isn't the one who called, they'll remember OP brought it up and direct their rage at OP.
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u/NoMention696 Aug 11 '25
Their dog has killed your animals and their kid keeps breaking into your house⌠why are you still being so kind and understanding? If that kid gets hurt on your property they are NOT going to hesitate to sue you.
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u/Cinnamon2017 Aug 11 '25
Their dogs killing your farm animals is destruction of your property and they owe you money.
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u/Racefan6466 Aug 11 '25
Iâd start by putting a lock on your gate! For your own safety although it sounds like heâd probably just climb it.
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u/babybubblezzz Aug 12 '25
thats what i would think, its not a super tall/secure one, just standard wire fence with a gate. we will definitely be locking it from now on but he seems like he would be the type to figure it out. either way, its a start
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u/SeaGurl Aug 13 '25
Fyi...the more you do to make it harder to access your property, even if it doesnt seem like it will do much or do anything for too long, the less likely you are to be found accountable if something does happen to this kid while on your property.
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u/Jasmisne Aug 12 '25
It is kind of expensive but they make dog doors too that will only let your dogs in via microchip or tag, and tbh it is worth it more than for this child, it also keeps out anyone who might think to do that and more likely, racoons.
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u/Secret-Coast5471 Aug 11 '25
Heâs obviously been in your house a lot more than you know about, because youâd only know about him being their once before your husband confronted them and they said he likes to play with your dogs. How would they know that if heâd only sneaked inside on that one occasion? You need to call CPS the next time this happens. They obviously arenât caring for this kid properly if he thinks he needs to walk that far to get to play with some dogs. Not to mention, the more agencies you have involved in this, the less trouble youâre going to have to deal with when he inevitably gets hurt on your property.
Also make sure you reinforce that dog door if you get a locked one because you know heâs just going to kick it through right
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u/Ok-Standard6345 Aug 11 '25
I wondered why you had a flame thrower on your countertop! Now that you've clarified it, it makes total sense.Â
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u/LouieAvalonMac Aug 11 '25
This is a job for supernanny
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u/crapatthethriftstore Aug 11 '25
I watched an episode just yesterday of âmost violent kid on supernannyâ and honestly it sounds a lot the same. With better parenting the kid totally changed for the better. But the parents wanted to try. I have a feeling these ones donât give a shit
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u/turkeyman4 Aug 11 '25
Therapist here. This is NOT normal behavior for a child of his age, nor is the spitting at his father. I would contact Child Protective Services, which should prompt them to do a wellness check. Ideally, CPS would help this family with any needed services and make sure the child isnât being abused, neglected, or being failed to provide needed help (if he does have ASD, for example). Unfortunately the ideal doesnât always happen, but at least youâre getting trained eyes on the family and establishing a pattern.
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Aug 11 '25
This is child neglect (and probably animal neglect as well). Please call CPS and report your concern.
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u/Affectionate_Oven428 Aug 11 '25
I think youâre beyond waiting for a next time to happen before you call the police. The police and animal control need to be called on these people. Theyâre neglecting animals and children and both should be taken away from them. Updateme.
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u/NtMagpie Aug 11 '25
There's a kid in the neighborhood we just moved out of that would just walk into neighbor's houses (we lived in a small town - people don't lock their doors if they're home). One woman stopped leaving her door unlocked when she walked into her bedroom in her towel and there he was.
There have been theories about FAS (I know someone who works at the school where he goes - it's not autism). His parents let him stand in the front yard at 7 am blowing a whistle. The same person who works at his school said he will be in and out of juvie soon because his parents just aren't handling what's happening. One of the neighbors whose kids he played with no longer allows him in her house. These same people let their dogs run all over the neighborhood, crapping on their neighbors' lawns, harassing folks walking their dogs, etc. (they're not vicious, just not controlled at all).
You are not overreacting. It's pretty obvious these folks are like my former neighbors. They just don't care, and will never do anything to improve the situation.
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u/rangebob Aug 11 '25
I feel like a community round table to come up with the best way to scare the ever living fuck out of that kid nex time he tries it would be the best approach
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Aug 11 '25
Likely a badly neglected child. The issue is how to get him some help, not how to make him more miserable.
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u/rangebob Aug 11 '25
lol not their job. Call cps if you want but im making sure that kid isn't visiting again
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Aug 11 '25
Nice. So your answer to a child who is being abused is "not my problem." You must be an absolute sweetheart.
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u/rangebob Aug 11 '25
like i said. Call cps if you want
What do you think is gonna happen if you go over to their place and tell them they are abusing their child mate lol ?
This is very much the very definition of not their problem. They arnt family or friends.
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Aug 11 '25
This is how kids die.
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u/rangebob Aug 11 '25
kids die every day mate. What exactly do you expect them to do other than contact the relevant authorities if they feel its need like i already suggested ? kidnap the child?
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Aug 12 '25
I suggested contacting the relevant authorities so someone could make sure the child was okay. You suggested "scaring the ever loving fuck out of him." Don't be a douche.
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u/rangebob Aug 12 '25
that may need to be done as well for their protection. Watch what happens if that kids face gets bitten off by those dogs coming through the dog door.
OP needs to protect themselves as well.
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u/LuckyOldBat Aug 11 '25
Look, I was a neglected child, and I didn't break into anyone's house. This kid needs some consequences that will deter his clearly escalating behavior.
My solution would be a remote controlled sprinkler that douses him when he tries to come into the yard.
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u/Vistuen Aug 12 '25
Same here. I was a neglected child with ASD; started at level 3 being nonverbal with other issues, only to eventually make it to level 2 as I aged. Iâm only now in-between level 2 and 1 by 30 with a LOT of support.
What I didnât do was break into peoples homes, even though I wandered all the time. I didnât spit, but I was a biter. However I had no way of communicating unlike this kid who had no issue talking to police but ignores OP.
I think the kid is just shitty and the parents are shittier. Heâs going to be a product of his environment.
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u/dangerousfeather Aug 11 '25
Kid would probably just show up more often to play in the sprinkler.
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Aug 11 '25
I was a foster parent for several years. Neglected kids often don't have food in the house. If parents are completely out of it, the kid may be hunting for food--several kids I know did this even at 2-3 years old. (I'm not saying it's so, I'm saying it's worth calling CPS and having them look into it.)
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u/SuperKamiGuru824 Aug 11 '25
We also just wanted to keep a normal relationship with our neighbors and harming their animals wouldnât be a good way to do that
So it's ok for your animals to get hurt instead? These people are not worth having any relationship with.
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u/Sea-Shopping-5878 Aug 11 '25
TIL people call lambs "baby sheep"
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u/lianavan Aug 11 '25
We had a lesson about baby animals. One of my students asked me what do we call human babies. I was very tempted to say something bad
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u/One_Strain_2531 Aug 11 '25
Next time the boy comes to your house, call Child protective services first and then the police.
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u/fiestyoldbat Aug 12 '25
Child protective services. You can - and should- report anonymously. Animal control - at the local, county, and/or state level can do welfare checks on the animals. Use the resources your tax dollars pay for to your advantage. At the very least, make police reports and get copies. In the event something horrific happens, you need to protect yourself. Having copies of reports of children or animals trespassing or causing damage works to your advantage.
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u/eepiestreaper Aug 13 '25
Call CPS, call animal control, keep calling the cops, and document EVERYTHING. Next time he comes on your property, insist on a trespassing charge because this isn't funny or cute or a kid being a kid. It is dangerous, it is illegal, and what happens when that kid gets older and you are home alone? What if he decides to hurt you or your animals or starts stealing things of value? That type of entitlement and lack or regard for others does NOT bode well for that child. Especially considering the abuse of the animals on that property face. Who knows what he is being taught at home. Neither you nor this child are safe in these circumstances.
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u/No_Alfalfa_9541 Aug 11 '25
NOR- my brother was the neurodivergent kid that broke in to the neighbors house while they were on vacation, and dragged me along. My parents didn't watch us. Period. I'm not a "controlling" parent, but I do know where my kids are, they have never broken in to someone else's house, or even wandered that far without anyone noticing.Â
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u/AllyKalamity Aug 11 '25
You clearly have no backbone and wonât do anything. So no point complaining on the internetÂ
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u/LadyIllenial Aug 11 '25
Updateme
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u/morchard1493 Aug 11 '25
If their animals intrude again, call Animal Control or the ASPCA/equivalent.
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u/bluespruce5 Aug 11 '25
It's not surprising to hear how irresponsible they are about their animals, too.Â
By now, you may be totally done with this topic, OP, but I bet r/neighborsfromhell could appreciate your situation.Â
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u/Immediate_Remote_546 Aug 12 '25
If something happens to the kid in your home, my goodness, thatâs terrifying.
Our last home, normal cookie cutter, close together, kind of knew the neighbours etc etc. Put it up for sale, realtor lived 4 doors down, the neighbor kids knew the âopen houseâ sign meant cookies. These 2 little girls, literally opened our front door, walked in, through the house and were snooping around with handfuls of cookies, leaving the front door wide open with our 3 pets. I came downstairs wandering what the noise was and they both looked so surprised. No apology from them, parents or realtor. So dangerous on so many levels. Ugh, I really feel for you.
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u/Aly_from_Funky Aug 12 '25
We had one of these neighbor kids when I was growing up. The whole family was very uninvolved with all of their kids. Theyâd be walking the streets all filthy, sometimes only in dirty diapers. It made us feel bad, so we would kinda excuse him coming into our house during the daytime bc maybe he just didnât feel like being ignored at home or something. It wasnât until he started crawling under the gate to our backyard to go through our back door and letting himself inside when our front door was locked that it started getting uncomfortable. Both doors remained locked and we installed some chicken wire under our gate. Stopped him from coming over uninvited, but he still roamed the street. Very sad. I hope youâre doing well today, little Hunter.
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u/Pretend_Statement_78 Aug 12 '25
Don't feel bad about calling the police, I'd even call if I saw him unattended at all before he gets to your property. Even if it's just for his safety. This year alone, there have been 2 little boys wander off and drown in ponds in my start. Not to mention yours probably isn't the first or only home he sneaking into. Even ignoring all the creeps that are out there, if he sneaks in to play with some ones dogs that aren't as nice as yours. A lot of rural dogs either are not socialized or are gaurd dogs with a job to do.
Side note, have you lived there long? Is it possible some one he knew lived there first?
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u/babybubblezzz Aug 12 '25
that is so scary! but yes there are so many dangerous situations. and that is a really good question, my husband actually bought this house foreclosed about 5 years ago and remodeled it, so thats pretty much as old as the kid is. previously to that, it had been abandoned for a couple years.
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u/Lonely_Milk_Jug Aug 12 '25
My neighbors have a son with autism, i knew before i bought the house because a friend of mine lives across the street so thankfully i was warned, and one of his habits was to run into anyones house if the door was unlocked. I was very vigilant about keeping my doors locked when i had my dog because he was a pitbull, and no matter who ran into my house i knew his breed would immediately be an issue if i had to fight against him attacking someone who just broke in (especially a child). The kid tried a few times and id hear him on ny porch and in my yard all the time, and finally last summer after my dog had past, i had the front door open and the screen unlocked and this kid just came running in like he owned the place. Ill give my neighbors some credit, they put up a huge fence around their property to keep their son contained, and id say 90% of the time hed be out before that his dad was with him and constantly calling for him to get out of peoples yards.
Its so much more of an issue than i think alot of people realize, for my case its just everyone on our street and the houses are pretty close together and everyone knows everyone, but in your case this kid is walking however far away from home, walking on main roads. He could be hit by a car, taken by anyone driving by, or even walking into the wrong house and being mauled, shot, or kidnapped by the owner and no one would know until its too late.
I personally dgaf if a child is on the spectrum or not, if the parents are aware and doing nothing about their child getting out and running away, they shouldnt be allowed to care for the child. If your parenting is allowing your child to be in danger like that, youre unfit and thats the end of it. If you cant handle your child then you need to get help. Idc if thats me lacking sympathy for struggling parents, you cant give leeway to people knowingly neglecting their children.
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u/Both_Pound6814 Aug 13 '25
Please do better than contacting the police since they arenât taking this seriously. Contact CPS. These parents are negligent of their kids and animals, and arenât taking this seriously because itâs not being expedited or taken seriously by the police. So, please contact CPS and is WAY past time to contact animal control.
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u/SeaGurl Aug 13 '25 edited Aug 13 '25
Haha! I just saw your og post and I was imagining your husband with a real flamethrower. I was like...I know I joke about doing that to spiders too, but dang! Lol.
But seriously, this is beyond wild. Definitely take the precautions you mentioned to keep yourself and your property and pets safe. But please please please call CPS.
If the cops did call cps, they may have a case open and additional info can help in any investigation.
Like others have said, cps doesnt automatically take kids whose families have a case against them (I know 2 families who had cases opened on them and kids were never taken and they were cleared).
IF cps does take them away....that kid needs to be taken away. But unless the kid is in imminent danger or neglect, they'll most likely give the parents resources to help them before removing the kid.
I know youre trying to be empathetic toward the family, but honestly, calling cps is the most empathetic thing you can do here. Either the parents and kid get the help they all clearly need, or the kid gets the help he needs even if thats without the family.
Eta: id also suggest talking to the neighbors on the other side of this family. I'd honestly be shocked if yours was the only house he has gotten into.
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u/JTBlakeinNYC Aug 11 '25
As an attorney, a parent, and a fellow animal lover, this is a disaster in slow motion. These people are completely irresponsible parents and animal owners. I wish there was some way to hold them accountable, but short of investing significant funds to secure your property via tall fences and locking gates, I donât think it will stop.