Put to the Test

I have been allowing the boys to stay home alone for the last year or so. At 14 and 10, they're old enough to be by themselves for short time periods. They just have a few rules to follow. No using the stove (they can heat up frozen pizza or Chef Boyardee in the microwave if they get hungry), and no friends allowed in the house.

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And for the most part, they've done very well. But their home alone preparedness skills were put to the test on Wednesday. Q and I were at the gym. We were gone for less than an hour.

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On the way home, we stopped to pick up the car from the garage (Mustang needed a wheel alignment). While we waited for the car, Kyle called Q's cell phone. A neighbor boy had tried to bust his way into the house.

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At first, "Carl" rang the doorbell and asked if he could come in and play. Kyle and Lucas told him that they're not allowed to have friends over then their parents aren't home. Carl walked inside and claimed that we won't mind if he plays here. Not true. When we say "no friends in the house", there are no exceptions.

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Kyle and Luke got Carl to leave, but he came back a few minutes later. This time, he came through the back gate and let himself in through the unlocked back door. Again, the boys made him leave and they locked the door.

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A few minutes later, they heard noises at the back door. Carl had returned. This time, he was jiggling the locked door handle. He was also licking the window glass, and was doing shoulder bumps at the the door, trying to get it open.

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Kyle knew he needed backup. And the second he whipped out his cell phone, Carl saw that he meant business and took off. We haven't seen him since.

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I feel bad for Carl because he is developmentally delayed. There are some issues with his family, and he's passed around alot. Our neighbors are friends of Carl's family, and he spends a great deal of time with them. He's also ostracized by other children. He comes here to play because we treat him decently...even when he rings the doorbell during dinner.

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Problems and shortcomings notwithstanding, the boy still needs to learn. I'm very aware that he's been on the receiving end of much rejection. Even still, Carl needs to understand that it's not OK to come into peoples' homes when not invited.

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As for Kyle and Lucas, thankfully, they weren't scared. If anything, they were afraid of getting in trouble for allowing Carl to gain entry in the first place.