What My Mother-in-Law Did Put Our Child at Serious Risk. My Husband Blames Me.

"She had been walking her dog when she came across Harry wandering the neighborhood in tears. He told her that "Grandma won't wake up." She took him home and found Patricia passed out. A nearly empty Scotch bottle (which had been a gift from a client to my husband; we don't drink and were planning to re-gift it) was on the floor. My neighbor called 911, and then she called me."

"The bottle was in our pantry behind the cereal boxes! The top of the bottle was visible, but it wasn't exactly conspicuous, and honestly, it never occurred to me to "hide" it. And while it's tragic that his mother had a relapse and became seriously ill as a result of it, it could have been even more of a tragedy for our son, outdoors alone looking for help, and that isn't registering with him."

Patricia, a recovering alcoholic with six years of sobriety, passed out while babysitting her 3-year-old grandson after consuming alcohol. A neighbor found the child wandering the neighborhood in tears and saying, "Grandma won't wake up," discovered Patricia passed out, and found a nearly empty Scotch bottle on the floor. Emergency services were called and Patricia was hospitalized for two days with alcohol poisoning. The parent had stored the bottle in the pantry behind cereal boxes and did not foresee access. The parent now refuses to allow Patricia unsupervised care, while the child's other parent blames the parent for not hiding the bottle.

Read at Slate Magazine