Sir.—On a slow, quiet day of trying to read through some of the journals covering my desk, I was rudely awakened by the recent article by Williams and Fosarelli.1 I was amazed to find that at least 25000 preschool children aged 3 to 6 years were home alone and care for themselves.
I have no problem with the article and thought that the efforts and points of the authors were well taken. My question is this: Has our society become so materialistic and consumer oriented that we accept as standard operating procedure that 25000 children should be left uncared for? Leaving 3- to 6-year-old children is not an economic necessity, it is not a sign of our times, it is not an even unavoidable hardship: it is just wrong. At best it is child neglect; at worst it is stupidity.
I believe we as pediatricians have an obligation,