Location: California
The couple that share the house with me and my mother have a 2 year old son, I hardly ever see him because he’s usually in their room but from the few glimpses I have gotten he looks way too thin for a child his age. Also, he doesn’t talk, he just cries and makes noises like screaming and screeching, it’s like he hasn’t learned how to talk yet. The father who looks like he’s in his twenties seems weird, like he’s fake respectful but has a chip on his shoulder and I don’t see the mom that much but she seems significantly younger than him, he himself kept remarking about how young she is when we were asking about why their child kept screaming, something I found creepy. Like how young is she? She seemed kind of defensive when my mom knocked on their door and asked about the screaming child and not a few minutes later the dad came hurrying home and acting defensive towards her in his typical fake polite way while asking why she was knocking on the door to their room in a pushy way. We’ve both heard him hit the child before and I think he covers his mouth sometimes when he’s crying but we’ve never seen it since they’re always in the room. It’s creepy as hell and this is making us very uncomfortable. I have no clue what exactly to about this.
Comments
I mean I would call CPS and report them. It’s tough that you’re all under the same roof but I’m a mandated reporter so that’s what I would do. The best interest of the child is paramount and it sounds like they need help asap. It all sounds pretty strange and I think your gut is onto something.
NAL, but I am a mandatory reporter. This is outside the scope of my profession, but it would still be enough for me to call CPS. Even if nothing comes of it at first, I do know CPS can offer resources for help if they need it.
You don’t say if you’re all renting rooms in the same house, or if they’re your tenant or vice versa. I don’t think it matters in a legal sense as far as CPS is concerned, but it ranges from making the situation in the house pretty tense, or they could up and ghost. Or he could up his behaviors toward you and your mother…. with that in mind, if you do call CPS, I’d also make a commitment to calling the police if his behaviors become aggressive *at all* to either of you. All of that builds a case for this kid’s well-being.