Topic: How do I approach a Mother in my complex that is allowing for free-roam of her 3 year old?

Need some suggestions on how to approach a Mother in my complex. She is allowing for free-roam of her 3 year old...

I have seen the girl playing in our parking lot, I have seen her trying to climb the pool gate, I have found her on the other-side of the property

We live next to a Plaza ( a bunch of stores and restaurants) the kid just was in Dollar Tree with the mom and I happened to be driving there -- I saw the little girl leaving the DT and following a group of people ( I thought she was with them) .. well then I go in to buy some Gatorade and ice cream for my crew as it was hot, and see the mom on her phone pushing the other child. I said hi was shopping and she comes to me and says did you see my daughter.. I said.. she left when I came in. I then get a call from my maintenance crew that a woman found her and was returning her home and thought she might live here etc.. so the mom rushed back and got her-- found out the little girl had left the store with a bunch of candy because mom had said no ...

Today I saw the little girl going off the property and went to get the mom, who was in the bedroom with the other baby and was like "oh" okay..

How would you handle all this.. word a notice to her ... I am not wanting to be against fair housing.

Call child protective services

I would not approach her at all! I would call CPS/Police etc... That’s terrible!

I was thinking CPS but wasn't sure if I should take it that far right off.. but it seems to be a major issue as she is getting bolder and bolder. .. even calling her mom stupid and dumb in Spanish (Latino family)

If it were me, I would absolutely call. That poor child is going to get hurt or worse.

Call the police, it’s their job to identify if there’s an issue and takes the heat off of you. They will involve cps if needed too

our lease states all minors must have adult supervision on the property. 3 day notice for non compliance and a call to CPS. I would also document, document, document

Oh I documented. even got statements from Dollar Tree employees who watched it happen. And it is mostly all on video as they live across from my office.

Double check with your lawyer, I believe it has been brought up in fair housing classes that you cannot discriminate due to familial status or age. CPS might be the safest route for you legally and for that poor child.

We don't have a dedicated Lawyer for our properties .. or a lawyer at all -- we have a "group" that does our evictions but that is all the law help we have

Discriminate? This has nothing to do with that. Call the police and ask what the proper thing to do is.

That is correct.

I don't see this as a FH issue. Agree, call CPS and save the childs life.

Anne Sadovsky Had updated the original post. Cops and CPS were called and came to visit

In Vegas I have seen this 100’s of times. We always call the police. Here in Vegas in the 2nd time they are called they get CPS involved

I had the same issue and had to call CPS. The poor kid was 2 and nearly got hit by a car so many times!

Yes, this is what I am mainly concerned about as we live next toa Plaza and between 3 major roads..

Definitely call CPS

You were privy to the situation which can hold you in negligence for NOT already reporting the events...

CPS! First and foremost, that child needs help!

Talk to your hr dept and call social services

Police and CPS

Call childrens services

Have you talked to your regional? Talk to them first.
If anything happens again where the child wonders off, call the police..... the can also call cps and get involved

We had a similar situation. After this happened twice we told her next time we would call the cops.

Call the police who will refer it out to child services. Many states have laws that make it a crime not to report child neglect/abuse and you could be held liable if something happens to that baby. That’s just sad ☹️ I really hate people sometimes.

Please, please, please call CPS. Parents like that dont deserve to have their kids. I had one "mom" who had 3 kids that were all under the age of 5. She never watched them. There are so many stories, I wouldn't even have room to type them all on here. Long story short, one of her kids ended up having to get their stomach pumped after taking a bunch of the moms "pills" that she left lying out and another time the 5 year old almost got killed walking down a very, very busy highway all while his mom was home and didnt even realize he wasnt there. After many calls, etc, CPS finally stepped in. It took a while to get anything done though, so PLEASE start early...NOW!!

Police and CPS immediately. Hopefully nothing happens to this kid before they get there to investigate!!

911 next time you see the child out w/o parent.

Called cops out last night when the child was out of the home at 1am. By the time they got here she was back inside. I'll call each time she is without a parent and not safe

Don’t be afraid to child protective services too. This poor child’s life is at stake.

I left a message at our counties CPS office .. they won't be open again until tomorrow and had the cop document

CPS ! Too young for free range ... at 3 that is endangerment

I would take her to the office is she’s outside by herself and call the police.

If you don't call CPS and something happens to the child, you will have this on your conscience. I know this is a difficult situation and I don't take it lightly making this call but the mothers actions says it all. Prayers to give you strength to do what is right in your heart

Yes I agree, 911
That child could get hurt or worse

I agree you should call the police. This would give you a 3rd party verification every time the child is wandering around unattended.

When we had this happen at our property, I had to be extremely careful on wording the notice because we are government funded and can absolutely not state something along the lines of "children must be supervised" because it is age discrimination. I started by looking up our city and state code to see if there was something there that said a person under the age of ... has to be accompanied by an adult. My state unfortunately does not have a code like this. I ended up calling the police a couple of times, and in our lease we have a section that stated no loitering in the halls or the parking lot, I served her a notice because her child was playing in the parking lot and the dumpster area and almost was hit by a car. After the police were involved a couple of times she ended up moving out.

Why are you even asking this question?
Make numerous anonymous calls to police and CPS each time she is out on her own. Are you going to feel guilty if she gets kidnapped,killed,hit by a car?
What happens if she succeeds in climbing the pool fence, drowns?
You will have personal liability if not criminal because you knew she was placing herself in danger.
The apartment company will face the worst publicity and the lawsuit will last years and a child will have died.
As a manager you are to protect your owners, property and residents from harm.

It's not discrimination unless you make it about something other than the childs genuine safety, which is exactly what it sounds like. I absolutely agree that the police or cps must be contacted and if they are not, something will happen to that child. If you contact the authorities, you've done all you can do aside from pulling her out of the pool or the street (which you should do, too). If you do nothing, when something does happen, it will haunt you forever. I cannot imagine something like that on my conscience. Anonymous or not, you should act asap.