I’m a Single Dad & My 11-Year-Old’s School Just Called CPS Because He Walks to School by Himself

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Working with children comes with a significant amount of responsibility, whether you’re a parent, a teacher, or a child care worker. Parents and teachers might not always see eye to eye, but in most cases, they’re all simply trying to do what’s best for the kiddos. While parents hope that their kids’ teachers are keeping them safe and taking care of them at school, teachers are also looking for signs that kids aren’t being taken care of at home.

In most states, teachers and other school employees are mandated reporters, meaning that they’re required to report any signs of abuse or neglect. One dad was shocked to find out that his son’s school had contacted child protective services about his son, given that he sees himself as a responsible parent.

The dad said he was surprised when someone from CPS showed up at his house.

Writing about his experience on Reddit, the single dad, 25, said someone knocked on his door after he got home from work one day. When he answered the door, he was shocked to find a CPS worker who was investigating potential “child endangerment” based on a report received from the school the dad’s 11-year-old son attends.

The dad failed to understand why his kid’s school felt the need to contact CPS. “I understand that school staff are just trying to lookout for the children’s safety but they are blowing this way out of proportion,” he wrote on Reddit.

He asked the school why they contacted CPS.

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After the CPS worker visited his home, the dad said he contacted the school to find out what prompted employees to report him. He listed several reasons they provided, including “he didn’t have healthy lunches,” “he walked to/from school by himself,” “he said I would be mad if he failed his upcoming test,” and “some minor behavior issues.”

He had explanations for most of these issues. “My son packs his own lunch, usually a sandwich with some snacks, obviously not the healthiest but he honestly doesn’t eat anything all day if I pack it,” the dad explained. He added that his son walks to school because it only takes five minutes to do so.

“I guess the final straw for them was when my son said I would be mad over a failed test,” the dad wrote. “But what parent wouldn’t? It’s not like I yell at him but of course I’d be mad if my son was failing.”

Some pointed out that kids sometimes say some interesting things.

While the dad didn’t provide a lot of details, and it’s unclear exactly why the school decided to contact CPS, several parents could relate to his experience — and in many cases, it was because their children said strange things that seemed suspicious.

“When it comes to even the barest suspicions of potential of abuse or neglect, schools always err on the side of protecting the child over protecting the adult,” one Redditor pointed out. “And 11-year-olds tend to be pretty dramatic, so it is more than possible that he said something that tripped an alarm in the adults that he didn’t even realize would be problematic to say.”

Other parents shared examples of this, with some saying that their kids told teachers that they weren’t being fed at home when they actually were. One parent shared that teachers at her son’s school asked if they were dealing with food insecurity at home because her son was eating so much — “he was probably going through a growth spurt,” the parent explained.

Another parent weighed in with, “kids can definitely twist things and make things sound so off.”

Others felt that there might be more to the story.

Some Redditors felt like CPS would not be contacted based on those reasons alone. In his original post, the single dad admitted that “we aren’t the most stable family,” though he added that his son is not being “abused/neglected.”

To some Redditors, this admission signaled that there might be more to the story. “The visit of CPS should be welcome because they can hook you up with resources that you might need or be able to help you with difficult situations you are having troubles navigating on your own,” one Redditor pointed out.

Many suggested giving the school some grace.

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One person pointed out that the school is “acting from a place of caution, not malice.” Another Redditor echoed this idea with, “It’s CPS’ job to ascertain if a child is in danger, and to take steps if they are. You know your kid is ok, but they don’t (yet).” The person admitted that being reported might be “annoying,” but it was likely done out of concern for the dad’s child.

“If some other kid was actually in a dire situation you’d want CPS to be thorough – you wouldn’t want them to just take their dad’s word for it,” the Redditor pointed out.