Is it ever ok to leave a child alone in a hotel room?

Picture the scene. You’ve escaped for a micro-break at a boutique hotel with a not so micro price. You’re desperate to sample the delights of the Michelin star rated restaurant. Just one problem. You have your baby with you. Do you? A) Abandon all plans of a romantic meal a deux and order room service in the dark while baby sleeps B) Head down to the restaurant regardless. You’re only a whisker away and chances are your baby won’t wake up anyway.

If the responses to a recent Mumsnet post are anything to go by the subject of whether its ever ok to leave a child alone in a hotel room is a controversial one, with many parents divided about the rights and wrongs of it.

A parent took to the parenting site saying she’d just read an article on a woman who was happy to leave her baby alone in a hotel room, but that she herself felt it was “totally irresponsible.”

“I would never dream of leaving my children in a hotel room all by themselves regardless of staff assurances etc,” she wrote. “I do think this was very irresponsible. There seems to have been no proper risk assessment, besides assuming the odds are very small…and a comparison to years gone by when a different generation would happily leave their children in hotel rooms.”

The original poster went on to ask how others felt about the thorny subject. And the forum was quick to respond.

Some parents were equally horrified that parents would opt to leave their child alone in a hotel room.

“I’d never do it in a million years. If I have no childcare, I don’t go out, end of. It’s not just about someone coming in to take the child, any other sort of accident could happen,” one poster wrote.

“God no, and abduction would be the smallest thing I was worried about. What if there was a fire and you were evacuated? What would happen to the baby then? Completely irresponsible,” agreed another parent.

“Not a chance. Can’t believe people do. Not only that – can you imagine how terrifying it must be from the child’s point of view if they were to wake up and realise no-one’s there?” another mum commented.

But other parents were less against the idea, with some admitting to leaving their own children alone in the room.

“We do it, but only in small hotels that are basically like being in a big house. Always have video monitor and DS isn’t big enough to escape a cot. I don’t think I’m wrong to do this, equally it doesn’t bother me that some of my friends wouldn’t (prob 50/50 split). Other than the risk of fire (and hotels have very sophisticated fire safety systems) I can’t really come up with any other risks that are different to him being in his room at home with us being two floors away,” one mum shared.

“I’ve done this quite a few times. Only when DD was 9 months or older, and always with a video monitor. Baby was in a travel cot so no way of escaping. I also went to next door neighbours more times than I can remember taking monitor with me – I genuinely didn’t see any different from being in my living room (2 ground floor flats with adjoining walls),” another parent wrote.

“I’ve done it and was perfectly comfortable with it. Small boutique-y family friendly hotel (about 12 rooms). 18mo DS who was a sound sleeper and not a climber so secure in his travel cot. Room was one floor up and along a short corridor. We were just out of range of baby monitor in restaurant, but they kept monitor on reception for us and promised it would be continually listened to. They popped over a couple of times during the meal just to confirm all was quiet. Didn’t go and check him at all during the meal (about 2hrs). It was a lovely meal, and we felt absolutely confident in the arrangement. Wouldn’t have felt the same in a larger hotel or any situation without constant monitoring,” another parent shared.

The law in the UK does not stop a parent from leaving their child alone, but it states that children must not be neglected or abandoned “in a manner likely to cause [them] unnecessary suffering or injury to health”.

Should children ever be left alone in a hotel room? Let us know what you think @YahooStyleUK

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