An 11 year old boy was sent home by his mother from the airport as she discovered that she didn't have a passport for him, she then went on holiday with the rest of the family. She is alleged to have given him money for a taxi home and told him to eat frozen pizza. Can you believe that a mother could do such a thing? The story can be read on the BBC News website

This is the second 'home alone' story from the UK in a matter of days.

She should be forced to eat The Loaf!

How horrible! Even if there isn't any laws stating how young is too young to be left alone, common sense should tell you that 11 year olds are too young to be left alone for more than a couple hours. And that depends on the maturity level of the child, and if you feel the child is even ready for that. When I was 11 - almost 12, I was babysitting at other people's houses for a few hours in the evening, but that is completely different from leaving an 11 year old to be alone day and night when you aren't even in the country.

I think DieHard has the right idea!

How upset must that kid have felt. Not only was he losing his holiday but he was also being abandoned by his Mum.

Well I'm not a Mum but I am a Dad (and Grandad) and I could never have acted that way. I would have been cross, that's for sure. That would have been at myself rather than my child, since I'd see it as a parental job to make sure that all passports are present and correct.

If this this had happened to me I would have gone home with my son, albeit with great disappointment.

Let me put it this way...
I, personally, was upset two years ago, when a mother (and woman I know) left her 15 year old daughter alone here in our little town (with phone numbers of mum's friends, etc) for two weeks while she went off on a TOOT to Mexico!
I cannot understand this thinking. I just can't.
If you MUST go...sans children...at least leave them with trusted relatives or close family friends...full time! This is really sad!

Responding to this as the parent of three Twenty-something offspring who hung their stockings(family tradition) I cannot find any defence for the mother in question or the others that have been reported over the xmas period.

This is worse then the movie 'Home Alone'. No kid should neglected liked that, even from his mother. What kind of a worl dis this? It is not right and to think about having to spend the holidays alone is sad .

In reply to:

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No kid should be neglected like that, even from his mother.

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I would say ESPECIALLY by his mother.

I had a few students in a very wealthy neighborhood where I taught in a girls' school, who were left during Christmas vacation to a maid or person staying with them during the day, while their parents went to some island to spend the holidays.
I was kind of shocked...as they weren't even the type of "party down" kids who'd enjoy this.

You really wonder why some people had their children in the first place, don't you?

I would never even consider not taking my child on holiday with me. No way would I leave my child alone over the holidays, not even under the supervision of a maid or housekeeper etc. I enjoy spending time with my child and it would be unthinkable for us to spend holiday time apart.

My duaghter is 12 now and I still won't leave her alone at home. I might leave her home alone for a couple of minutes while I pop down to the corner shop for some bread and milk, but that's the extent of it. She is not allowed to go out alone either, not even to walk the dog. I know that sounds overprotective but just recently one of her classmates was almost snatched off the next street to us while she walked home from school.

I believe that in Australia it is illegal to leave children under the age of 12 home alone or unsupervised, but I am not 100% sure about that.

I realise children vary in their maturity and I am not saying my daughter can't be trusted on her own. But what about unforeseen events - like someone breaking into your home while your child is there and defenceless, what if there is an electrical fault and the house explodes, catches fire etc.

Well, I was watching my sibs from about 12 years old on..but the world was a bit different then.
I'm the oldest of four so had to be responsible for them. And as I drove quite early on family trips (imagine letting your daughter drive in three years, or mine right now!) from fifteen and a half on, with seven people in the car and a very large van, they let me drive all the kids around once I had my license at sixteen. I mean, they assumed I'd be responsible.

In Indiana, we came home and the answering machine had a message from another mother as the school had let the kids out early and our child couldn't find us and went to her house. We felt terribly guilty, then discovered she hadn't given us the note notifying us of the early dismissal. A big discussion ensued, and I had a key made for her as I'd much rather she be able to enter the house, we had senior neighbors who could look out for her in case of these things, and so in that context I was comfortable with it.
Depends on the child though.

My oldest takes after me though...and at five, managed to fix me meals after her brother was born, answer the phone, and let me sleep.

Our kids stay home alone for about two hours at a time.
I think that if a child has never been able to react in an emergency, they will flip out when it happens.

This however, looks as though the parents were trying to teach their child a lesson of responsiblity that he wasn't ready for.
That's the key really, responsiblity comes in small doses.

Here's another thing we did, we decided to teach our daughter the rudiments of backing up the van etc...at about 12 as few people are used to an automatic transmission.
I was shocked when I saw her doing it with her dad, then thought how silly, my dad taught me at that age too. Learned how to shift gears very early that way.
We thought that in case of an accident or something, she could back the car.

One similar lesson of consequences of actions, if for some reason the child doesn't give me something to be signed, they don't go to the event. They know that I have better things to do than muck about with these things.

It is also the law here that children under 12 cannot be left unsupervised but you would be surprised how often it happens. I am aware of these things because of my job and it never ceases to amaze me and terrify me when I hear of 4 & 5 year olds being left alone so Mom or Dad can "go out".
I have gotten calls from small kids in the middle of the night who are home alone and scared.

From what I've read, seen, the father also agreed to leave the boy at the airport, and he went on holiday. The mum flew back, where's the dad?