A mum has been left raging after discovering that her 12-year-old daughter was left unaccompanied during a sleepover with her friends.
Not only was the child left alone throughout the evening, but the young girl claims that her pal's parent "stumbled" through the front door at night after returning home from the pub.
Taking to popular forum site Mumsnet, the anonymous user explained the jaw-dropping ordeal as the parent initially claimed that they were heading to work.
She explained: "There are a lot of other issues with this family but recently found this out...the first time my child (12) went for a sleepover at her friend's house the parents told them around 8.30pm they were 'going to the office' (15/20) mins away.
The woman went on: "Anyway the dad came back two hours later his children asked where's mum - 'at the pub' he said.
"The mum in my child's words 'stumbles in' later slurring saying 'Sorry it's been a s**t night I think I have Covid' she was p***ed up.
"So basically they hadn't entertained the kids at any point just lied they were going to the office at 8.30 at night and f***ed off to get p**sed.
"She had left my child and her friend (12) and their other child (9), keep in mind she has to get babysitters for her kids when they go out. I'm p**sed off this is just the final nail in a big f**k off coffin with these people.
"When I have sleepovers, I cook, try and plan activities, etc, if the kids want to but I would never in a million years leave someone's child unattended!! Especially at night time! The kids are only really just 12."
Seeking advice, the woman wrote: "I've not said anything yet for the kid's sake but should I? Apart from this, the woman is honestly unbearable anyway....this incident happened a few months ago before any other incident.
"I didn't know her beforehand as it's a friend my child made when starting secondary school," she added.
Since sharing the thread online, the woman was inundated with responses - where people were clearly divided about the peculiar ordeal.
One person suggested: "I'd encourage future sleep-overs to be at your house in future regardless, just tell them you really enjoy hosting and they may be grateful."
On the other hand, someone else said: "It's not right, but I don't know why you expect parents to entertain 12-year-olds at a sleepover. At that age, even before that age, I'd expect the kids to just do their own thing in their rooms or whatever."
Another parent agreed: "In my opinion, 12 is an appropriate age for children to be left on their own for a few hours. Granted the doors are locked, they know how to safely use and switch off appliances and know who to contact in case of an emergency."
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