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Nine-year-old brothers left home alone for 120 days: How did they survive?
Christian Science Monitor at yahoo.com ^ | January 23, 2015 | Patrik Jonsson

Posted on 01/24/2015 3:06:34 PM PST by grundle

A real-life “Home Alone” story of twin 9-year-old brothers in New Hampshire who managed to basically take care of themselves for a third of a year is in part a case of child endangerment, but also, upon closer inspection, a stunning tale of childhood ingenuity.

Few would agree with decisions made by the boys’ uncle, who told police he’d stop by every few days while the parents were on a trip in Africa. The parents, Jerusalem and Catherine Monday, left the United States in July, expecting to return in August. But they were delayed in Nigeria for another three months.

For their part, the boys transitioned from summer vacation into the school routine: They came home from school every day, ate snacks, watched TV until their failure to pay the cable bill got it shut off, did homework, got ready for bed, hopefully brushed their teeth, went to sleep, got up the next morning, got dressed, got on the school bus – all on their own. Neighbors say they regularly saw the boys and didn’t have any concerns about them.

(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous; US: New Hampshire
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To: LucyT; All

I’ll always remember the Mother’s Day my son who had just turned 8 and his 5 year old brother came into the bedroom where I was still enjoying some rest. They had made breakfast for me. The older boy had made pancakes from scratch, trying to copy what he had seen me do a number of times, using whole wheat flour, milk, eggs, baking powder and butter, with some raisins thrown in too. He knew to mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients separately, before combining them, but he couldn’t figure out how I got the butter in. So he cut it into small pieces and added to the batter. Pancakes were delicious with little pockets of melted butter throughout. By nine, they would often wash their own laundry. When about 7 I was teaching them to cook. I would make soup or a stew, give them a little taste and have them smell herbs and spices and decide whether to add some. When he was 8 or 9 the younger boy decided to make chile, and flavored it with dill weed. Different, but good. They love to cook with their families and my grandchildren.


21 posted on 01/24/2015 3:57:07 PM PST by gleeaikin
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To: grundle

My son-in-law was apparently left at home on a regular basis for a week or so at about age 9 to 11 while his parents “got away,” and sometimes he had to watch his younger brother too. I think his parents were negligent and selfish to do that, but he doesn’t agree and wants to do the same with his children. My daughter won’t allow it, thankfully.


22 posted on 01/24/2015 4:00:44 PM PST by Prince of Space (Be Breitbart, baby. LIFB.)
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To: cripplecreek

“(horse drawn wagon trips)”

My mother, now 97, rode to school on a horse. The boys left a rifle in their saddle, unless it was raining, and hunted on the way home. If they shot something they ate meat. If not, no meat. When I was young anybody could have bought a gun in K-Mart. No waiting. You could also mail order them from Sears, as I recall. The only restriction was they had a book you had to sign to buy ammo that required a driver’s license. My how times change.

Funny story. When Neil Armstrong was about to step foot on the moon I yelled into the kitchen, “Mom! Come here or you’ll miss it!” She yelled back, “I saw Orville and Wilber Wright perform at the Ohio State fair. This is nothing.”


23 posted on 01/24/2015 4:02:17 PM PST by Gen.Blather
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To: CrazyIvan

Christian Nigerians are an exceptionally industrious bunch. I think they would take over the world if they weren’t stuck in Africa.


24 posted on 01/24/2015 4:05:29 PM PST by cripplecreek ("For by wise guidance you can wage your war")
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To: grundle

Well according to some...

it takes a village.


25 posted on 01/24/2015 4:08:06 PM PST by prisoner6 (Unmutual and Disharmonious)
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26 posted on 01/24/2015 4:08:52 PM PST by RedMDer (I don't listen to Liars but when I do I know it's Barack Obama.)
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To: grundle

9 years old isn’t that young. I remember being left alone for a long time at home. My parent just left me with enough food/money to last the time they were away. Its not that big a deal imho


27 posted on 01/24/2015 4:11:47 PM PST by 4rcane
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To: grundle

Nine-year-olds can be pretty self-sufficient, particularly if they have at least normal intelligence. They’re not dogs.


28 posted on 01/24/2015 4:12:14 PM PST by Mr Ramsbotham (Laws against sodomy are honored in the breech.)
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To: Gen.Blather

I was a latch-key kid myself. Although it would have been nice to have my mom around sometimes, I enjoyed it.


29 posted on 01/24/2015 4:16:48 PM PST by stevio (God, guns, guts.)
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To: Gen.Blather

Amazing what little humans can do.


30 posted on 01/24/2015 4:19:48 PM PST by huldah1776
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To: stevio

I was raised by wolves.


31 posted on 01/24/2015 4:39:28 PM PST by Lazamataz (With friends like Boehner, we don't need Democrats. -- Laz A. Mataz, 2015)
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To: Gen.Blather
I was 11 and my younger brother was 10 when father would sometimes leave us off on a rundown farm in Minnesota which he'd purchased at a foreclosure auction, over 100 miles away. We had chores to do, livestock to care for including a milk cow, fences to build and rocks to clear. By the time we were in college, our work had made that margin land quite productive and he sold it at a tidy profit to pay our first two years of college.

Mom objected at first and insisted on spending the week with us, but discovered we were capable one week when a neighbor reported we'd driven the tractor into town to buy some ice cream and go for a swim at the local lake.

Of course, we got scolded, but she understood we would have means to get into town if necessary.

32 posted on 01/24/2015 4:48:11 PM PST by Vigilanteman (Obama: Fake black man. Fake Messiah. Fake American. How many fakes can you fit in one Zer0?)
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To: Lazamataz

Ahh. That explains it. :^)


33 posted on 01/24/2015 4:59:43 PM PST by stevio (God, guns, guts.)
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To: CrazyIvan
and the parents forbid them from participating in school sports

I can see why.

34 posted on 01/24/2015 5:10:44 PM PST by BBell (breathe easy obey the law)
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To: grundle

I remember being 9 years old. People do not realize 9 year olds are NOT basket cases incapable of doing anything.


35 posted on 01/24/2015 5:12:29 PM PST by Ruy Dias de Bivar
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To: grundle

I think a lot of kids could actually care for themselves at age 9. I think the problems might arise if there was some sort of unusual problem that the kids didn’t know how to handle: a prowler, a medical emergency, etc. Also, I wonder how it affected them emotionally to know their parents had shrugged them off for so long — whether they felt empowered, or abandoned. I guess that would depend on the kid and the relationship with the parents.


36 posted on 01/24/2015 5:13:02 PM PST by Hetty_Fauxvert (FUBO, and the useful idiots you rode in on!)
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To: Tax-chick

I just have not met many decent Somalis. I know their out there.


37 posted on 01/24/2015 5:14:57 PM PST by BBell (breathe easy obey the law)
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To: BBell

Perhaps but don’t bet on it.


38 posted on 01/24/2015 5:20:12 PM PST by Chickensoup (Leftist totalitarian fascism is on the move.)
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To: Tax-chick

“”I wonder if the parents paid the utility bills in advance, but forgot about the cable.””

I wondered how they got the bills paid too....perhaps that was one way but how about rent? Did the uncle take care of that? Maybe the parents were in touch with him and he could handle some of that when they were delayed in returning.

They deserve lots of credit for getting along so well. So many bad things could have happened. They knew when summer vacation was over and school began. Lots of credit!


39 posted on 01/24/2015 5:25:57 PM PST by Thank You Rush
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To: Tax-chick

Automatic draft on the electric bill?


40 posted on 01/24/2015 5:31:01 PM PST by RegulatorCountry
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