No snark, just wondering if you have children? I ask because several have shared in this thread how overwhelming it is to have 2 small kids (so have I) and I can tell you I've done this several times. Again, asked respectfully.
Yes, I have 5 children, all born around 18 months apart. Yes, its very tiring. Yes, I've worked after maternity leave, each time - between 20 and 40 hours a week. I did this as a single parent for many years, after the last baby was born, so yes I know how tiring it is. Maternity leave varied from a few weeks up to 6 months, depending on my financial situation each time. So, I was back at work by the time the baby was 6 months old, max.
I'm far from perfect, but I NEVER took myself to bed, leaving a 5 year old unattended, with access to roam the house/garden. Maybe I'm over-cautious, I don't know. But the first thing that leapt up at me from this case, was that mum went to bed, leaving the child to his own devices for that long. Even with the first time line, I found it odd that she apparently woke up, saw he was still watching tv, then went back to bed assuming he'd carry on watching tv till she woke up.
I guess we just compare to our own children, and at 5 years old, none of mine would have had the interest in tv to watch for 3 straight hours. They might manage half an hour or so, but usually they wanted to do something different after that.
