Grom abuse.
The internet has exploded into righteous indignation as it has just been revealed a British surfer/father, out at the beach with his six-year-old son, made the boy walk to the family vacation rental all by himself. The story was first posted on parenting form mumsnet under the thread “Am I Being Unreasonable.”
After the young man showed up at the door declaring, “Daddy told me to come back on my own!” beaming pride. The mother, who uses the handle Throwauay wrote, “Could you get worked up about this or am I being precious? (Our family is staying at the top of an apartment block) and when you get outside the block, the beach is down three steep sets of stairs, through a narrow, very uneven and twisty alley, across a road and down some wooden steps. I’m livid because he’s six and there are any number of strangers and hazards between there and here.”
Furthermore, the deadbeat did not call to make sure the progeny had made it back safely.
Opinion was universally against the dad.
DelphiniumBlue declared, “Yes, the fact that he hasn’t even checked that he’s made it back, or warned you to look out for him…in a strange country, by the sea…That is so worrying.”
Mountainsunsets wrote, “YANBU [you are not being unreasonable]. Totally unacceptable.”
Crunchymum added, “I’d be utterly livid too. It’s unforgivable.”
Will you get on mumsnet and defend your water brother?
Truth be told, the original piece never said if the father was a surfer or not but I can’t imagine what other sort of person would be otherwise too occupied to walk a child a few blocks home.
Classic grom abuse.
More importantly, though, do you believe helicopter parenting grows healthy children or are you more of a Grizzly Adams man?
More as the story develops.