Mom Tries to Use Store as Free Day Care
Will customers at Thinka Dinka, a toy store in Westfield, N.J., speak up when they see a mom leave her two young children behind while she goes on a job interview, using the store as free daycare?
"I'll be back in two hours, there's snacks in the bag and don't talk to strangers," the mom whispered to her daughters as she ducked out the back door.
In one scene, an angry shopper confronted the wayward mom.
"I'm not sure you're aware of the culture of life around here. We don't leave kids in stores by themselves. We assume that if you leave them here, then you are not coming back," she said to the mother.
What the angry woman didn't know was that she had unwittingly become part of a " What Would You Do?" scenario: We had hired actors to play the negligent mother and her daughters.
We found numerous instances of real life situations where parents left their young children alone in public places. Just last year, Charlene Sutherland of Headland, Ala., was arrested and charged with six misdemeanor counts of endangering the welfare of a child, after leaving her children in a Barnes and Noble. Sutherland pleaded not guilty. A ruling in Sutherland's case is expected later this month.
How far will some customers go to defend the children? See the complete scenario play out Friday on "What Would You Do?" at 9 p.m. ET and vote below to tell us how you feel about the situation.
