2 years old kids alone at home for hours, while the father goes gambling

[swogerino]

KPHO reports that one of the man’s neighbors called 911 and said 2-year-old twins were running around alone outside a Peoria-area home with an aggressive dog.

The neighbor reportedly told police the twins were outside for roughly 20 minutes, running near the street before he called and brought them inside his house.

...

Court paperwork stated Opdycke initially told police he went to a nearby Taco Bell. He claimed he was gone for 30 minutes, ordering and eating his food at the restaurant while leaving the kids at home.

...

However, when Opdycke’s wife arrived, he asked to speak to officers alone and changed his story.

Opdycke confessed that he didn’t go to Taco Bell and instead, he went to Desert Diamond Casino around noon, five hours before police were called.

...

During a search, authorities said they found Opdycke had winning tickets from the casino and over $2,000. He was booked on one count of child abuse.

Father arrested after leaving 2-year-old twins home alone for hours to go gambling, police say

The urge this man felt to gamble was so high, that he didn't even measure the consequences of leaving two 2 years old kids at home alone to gamble at a local casino for 5 hours straightforward. Imagine the state of mind of this man to give more value to his gambling session than to the lives of his two young kids who could need him anytime.

Luckly there was an attentive neighboor to call the police, otherwise the dangerous dog or any other potential threat on the streets could have severely harmed those kids.

That is insane to say the least.What kind of irresponsible person is that,he should not be a father at all and I don't know if he had a wife or not but should definitely get some jail time as a minimum.The children could have been damaging themselves by playing games as they don't know a thing at that age of two,they can swallow something which God forbid could have killed them or anything similar like starting some of the devices we have at home like the oven for example or the gas and be killed by that.I am still having difficulties to understand this type of person.Once I have been alone with my 3.5 years old daughter and I opened my favorite browser to gamble at home while she was playing with her toys in the carpet,I was also watching her for any misbehavior so definitely this person needs some jail time as a minimum.

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[komisariatku]

The urge this man felt to gamble was so high, that he didn't even measure the consequences of leaving two 2 years old kids at home alone to gamble at a local casino for 5 hours straightforward. Imagine the state of mind of this man to give more value to his gambling session than to the lives of his two young kids who could need him anytime.

Luckly there was an attentive neighboor to call the police, otherwise the dangerous dog or any other potential threat on the streets could have severely harmed those kids.

This is an act that cannot be accepted by common sense. How could a father bear to abandon his two year old son to gamble? At least if the father is unable to look after his child, then entrust it to a neighbor, relative or hire a housemaid so that someone will look after the child.

I don't think this is the first time the father left his son to gamble. Maybe if the father leaves his son to work it still makes sense, but gambling? it seems like there is something wrong with the man or maybe he is a gambling addict. This is a stupid act that no one should imitate

[Fredomago]

The urge this man felt to gamble was so high, that he didn't even measure the consequences of leaving two 2 years old kids at home alone to gamble at a local casino for 5 hours straightforward. Imagine the state of mind of this man to give more value to his gambling session than to the lives of his two young kids who could need him anytime.

Luckly there was an attentive neighboor to call the police, otherwise the dangerous dog or any other potential threat on the streets could have severely harmed those kids.

This is an act that cannot be accepted by common sense. How could a father bear to abandon his two year old son to gamble? At least if the father is unable to look after his child, then entrust it to a neighbor, relative or hire a housemaid so that someone will look after the child.

I don't think this is the first time the father left his son to gamble. Maybe if the father leaves his son to work it still makes sense, but gambling? it seems like there is something wrong with the man or maybe he is a gambling addict. This is a stupid act that no one should imitate

A kind of gesture that only an addicted person can do, it doesn't make sense just like how you see it, if the father still cares with his children he should leave  it to someone who can take care of it or hire someone before leaving those kids, for me an act of heavy addiction that lead this man to risk the life of those child and pursue to his gambling activity,  as a normal human being we do care about our own and we can't do that if we are still in our good mindset.

It's still a good luck for those kids as the neighbors are caring about them and manage to reached out to the police to report this incident.

[Lorence.xD]

The urge this man felt to gamble was so high, that he didn't even measure the consequences of leaving two 2 years old kids at home alone to gamble at a local casino for 5 hours straightforward. Imagine the state of mind of this man to give more value to his gambling session than to the lives of his two young kids who could need him anytime.

Luckly there was an attentive neighboor to call the police, otherwise the dangerous dog or any other potential threat on the streets could have severely harmed those kids.

This is an act that cannot be accepted by common sense. How could a father bear to abandon his two year old son to gamble? At least if the father is unable to look after his child, then entrust it to a neighbor, relative or hire a housemaid so that someone will look after the child.

I don't think this is the first time the father left his son to gamble. Maybe if the father leaves his son to work it still makes sense, but gambling? it seems like there is something wrong with the man or maybe he is a gambling addict. This is a stupid act that no one should imitate

Indeed possible that the parents are used of just leaving the child and alone at home. If the parent is just hooked with gambling, given the responsibilities of them, they should have just online. I cannot see the necessity of just leaving their 2 year old child for such selfish interest. Yes, we do all have the drive to bet and hope to win someday. But for sure that's a different way to enjoy to the point that you are disregarding parental duties. Unfortunately this is concerning both family relations and gambling habits. If the parent could abandon their child for that drive, then what more with other things that consume his time and being entertained. Something new I guess; I know there are may gamblers who are irresponsible of their own funds but not with their children. Compulsion at its finest and for sure people are aware of simple parental responsibilities at their age, 'coz if not they shouldn't be adding to population (kidding aside). Gambling is tempting in most instances but if you are this much, then things are needing to be checked.

[BABY SHOES]

That story I can say is unreal! But unfortunately, it is! That father was not in right mind leaving his 2 kids for the sake of gambling. Given that he won, can this money replace his kids if something bad happened? Great that he has a neighbor, interrupting bad possibility to happen. This is why gambling is being tagged as negative in the community because of this bad example.  

I myself am not willing just for the sake of $2000 to leave the child at home alone without thinking what if the child gets into bad trouble in a scenario where the child is lost or falls, we don't know.
So this is indeed what will be considered a negative sensibility where the community about gambling because this kind of behavior is shown by stupid people, try to imagine if the neighbor does not care about others what will happen later? That would be sad

[Juse14]

This is a very concerning incident and is quite worrying for the welfare of a child. And I'm quite surprised, why not, he waits for his wife to come home first, then decides to go to a gambling place after that, is gambling really that important, that he doesn't pay attention at all to the safety of his child? Which of course shows unbalanced priorities and a lack of awareness of responsibilities as a parent.
and instead, gambling is just mere entertainment, which should be above the needs, duties, responsibilities and safety of the family.

And starting from this incident, it seems necessary to emphasize again the understanding that the role of parent requires full commitment to the interests and safety of the child. And this incident is also quite an important lesson for all of us, including those who are not married and have families, for all of you who are still single, if you are not able to control your gambling well, then it would be better if you give up your intention to get married. and start a family until you are really able to control gambling well.

[Wiwo]

For me I believe the man is addicted to gambling and other substances, because a normal person will not act in this way and manners, how can you be baby seating dad leave a vonurable 2 year kid all alone just to satisfy his gambling urge, this is some how unbelievable for.me but I know it possible because I have seen a father that dump his 7 month's old baby with a friend just to go am watch a football match at a viewing center.


This are all sad realities with some people and there is no way we can beat that at some point, so the best thing to do at this moment is to try to preach to people on the danger of addictions and how stupid it canake them to act some times.

[klidex]

Gambling sometimes makes someone lose their mind, especially if they have experienced an addiction, no matter the obstacles and obstacles, they will still be determined to do it. Not care the consequences they will face afterwards because the most important thing is that they can gamble happily, just in case something bad happens to their child he just realized that his actions were wrong because he left his child alone at home, but fortunately his neighbors knew about this and immediately reported it to the authorities. The arrest of this person could be a lesson for others to prioritize family matters first rather than prioritizing personal matters because children are assets valuable to his parents.

What makes me a little surprised is where his wife was when this incident happened, was she also away on personal business so the husband was frustrated and just left his children because he felt unable to take care of his children? As parents, you should be able to discuss whether you want to take turns taking care of your children, so it's one of doesn't mind and things like this don't happen again because it's sad to see parents who can't take care of their children well.

[moneystery]

a father should be able to differentiate between what is a priority and what is not. he must understand that when he has children it means his responsibilities are much greater and ignoring these responsibilities will cause problems that could put him in a difficult position.

especially in this case, where a father abandons his child just to go gambling, this irresponsible action is not appropriate because it could result in harm to the child or other undesirable things. the father was not suitable to be considered a father, because he neglected his responsibilities and instead went gambling and did not think about his child's condition. and this kind of father is the most disgusting father.

[Dave1]

a father should be able to differentiate between what is a priority and what is not. he must understand that when he has children it means his responsibilities are much greater and ignoring these responsibilities will cause problems that could put him in a difficult position.

In the perfect world, this should be what the parents are doing, they take care of their children and guide them until they are old enough to make decision for themselves. But it seems for gamblers, as their decision is clouded, and they only have the illusion to play and to make money, they won't think a bit what is  their priority in life.

especially in this case, where a father abandons his child just to go gambling, this irresponsible action is not appropriate because it could result in harm to the child or other undesirable things. the father was not suitable to be considered a father, because he neglected his responsibilities and instead went gambling and did not think about his child's condition. and this kind of father is the most disgusting father.

I agree, this is the worst thing that you can do to your kid, abandoning them so that you can continue to gamble. He didn't even think of what could happen to his kids as he is in danger for being alone. This is a selfish act for any person and anyone here should do it just for the sake of gambling.

[kotajikikox]

Stupid father , he can make his children killed with his gambling addiction , I have deal with so much in life and I even gamble for long time but never that I let or will ever let this happen , even when I gamble I asked my wife every time to check on kids (because we are both working) or at least my parents when I wanted to gamble.
but this father deserves no children and must be penalized with this action.

[wxa7115]

Father arrested after leaving 2-year-old twins home alone for hours to go gambling, police say

The urge this man felt to gamble was so high, that he didn't even measure the consequences of leaving two 2 years old kids at home alone to gamble at a local casino for 5 hours straightforward. Imagine the state of mind of this man to give more value to his gambling session than to the lives of his two young kids who could need him anytime.

Luckly there was an attentive neighboor to call the police, otherwise the dangerous dog or any other potential threat on the streets could have severely harmed those kids.

This was a good decision by the neighbor, in many countries the sense of community is so distorted that if they were to see something like that, the neighbors will simply ignore it thinking that it is not their responsibility to take care of those kids, fortunately for the kids the neighbor took notice and helped them to avoid the worst possible outcome.

And about the father there is not really too much to say, he is an irresponsible person that has huge gambling problems, and if the wife decided to call it quits he will have to see his kids under supervision of the court for years.

[SeaCoinCollector.]

He put his two-year-old twins in great danger by leaving them home alone for a long time while he gambled, which is a very bad and careless thing for the father to do. The event shows how important it is to put the safety and well-being of children ahead of personal wants or vices. A neighbor's quick action probably stopped something terrible from happening. As a reminder, people should be good parents and get help if they are having problems with compulsive habits that could put the safety of their family at risk.

[Kakmakr]

Gambling addiction are a serious problem, I have seen people sitting on a chair in a casino and pissing in their pants, because they cannot pull them away from gambling to visit the toilet.

The problem is when social services step in, they might remove the kids and then the wife and the kids will suffer the consequences of his actions.

[Porfirii]

He put his two-year-old twins in great danger by leaving them home alone for a long time while he gambled, which is a very bad and careless thing for the father to do. -snip- As a reminder, people should be good parents and get help if they are having problems with compulsive habits that could put the safety of their family at risk.

I don't think this is only a matter of being a good father or gambling addiction, but about some sort of mental illness. Children were with an aggressive dog, which is not the best indicator about the father's mental sanity, not to mention child abuse! Some people are psychopaths, and whatever decisions they make are not good. The news puts the focus on the fact that he went gambling, but without more info we can only make conclusions that can be true, or not.

[retreat]

This is why gambling addiction makes people unable to think rationally and prioritize their gambling above all else. Because if he was a sane person, he would not have left his two small children alone at home and not thought about how the two children were doing, whether they would be fine or what, he didn't think about it, because the most important thing for him was that he was gambling. It's good that he has neighbors who care about his two children, because if not I don't know what would happen to those two children.

[TopTort777]

In this whole story I am confused about where were all the other kids relatives. If their father went gambling and spent there hours, it is obvious that he is addicted and this isnt new to family. Where were kids mother, grandpa or grandma. If they knew what father they have, why they have left them with him? They are reckless also. I think they also deserve to get some kind of a punishment. But in general,  I dont care what father really did, he could have went somewhere else (drinking, or hanging out with friends). I dont care where other kids relatives were. I feel real pity for the kids. As it looks like they are some kind of a burden, they are not needed. I am disappointed about what future life they would have, when they have such childhood.

[Outhue]

Shit happens, I am wondering why this man doesn't gamble using his smartphone in his home, maybe he is one of those old uneducated people in the world? As there are many like them that can't even operate a smartphone, they don't know what login using email and password feels like.

I am suspecting that the family relatives don't know that this man is a gambler, if not, they won't want to leave a kid for him to watch after, but now the secret is out since police is already involved, I feel pity for the uneducated people the most, if such people are into gambling I doubt they will be able to reason or think hard on anything, they will easily become an addict due to the heavy lack of knowledge.

Gambling addiction is really a big problem, one have to be a very disciplined person to be a very careful gambler, gambling isn't for everyone to be honest, but since casinos lack any form of screening before gambling, everyone is at risk of doing the stupid things in a casino.

[Blitzboy]

The urge this man felt to gamble was so high, that he didn't even measure the consequences of leaving two 2 years old kids at home alone to gamble at a local casino for 5 hours straightforward. Imagine the state of mind of this man to give more value to his gambling session than to the lives of his two young kids who could need him anytime.

Luckly there was an attentive neighboor to call the police, otherwise the dangerous dog or any other potential threat on the streets could have severely harmed those kids.

This is an act that cannot be accepted by common sense. How could a father bear to abandon his two year old son to gamble? At least if the father is unable to look after his child, then entrust it to a neighbor, relative or hire a housemaid so that someone will look after the child.

I don't think this is the first time the father left his son to gamble. Maybe if the father leaves his son to work it still makes sense, but gambling? it seems like there is something wrong with the man or maybe he is a gambling addict. This is a stupid act that no one should imitate

Indeed possible that the parents are used of just leaving the child and alone at home. If the parent is just hooked with gambling, given the responsibilities of them, they should have just online. I cannot see the necessity of just leaving their 2 year old child for such selfish interest. Yes, we do all have the drive to bet and hope to win someday. But for sure that's a different way to enjoy to the point that you are disregarding parental duties. Unfortunately this is concerning both family relations and gambling habits. If the parent could abandon their child for that drive, then what more with other things that consume his time and being entertained. Something new I guess; I know there are may gamblers who are irresponsible of their own funds but not with their children. Compulsion at its finest and for sure people are aware of simple parental responsibilities at their age, 'coz if not they shouldn't be adding to population (kidding aside). Gambling is tempting in most instances but if you are this much, then things are needing to be checked.

I appreciate the occasional online bet, where the thrill of winning is just a click away. Still, a balance is essential, right? Especially when children depend on you.

Thinking about how gambling is a choice while parenting is a commitment. Friends set stringent gambling time limits to avoid conflict with family time. A proper balance lets you enjoy your hobbies without sacrificing parental duties.

Remember, responsible gambling is entertaining, especially online, where its easy to set and stick to restrictions. I feel we can enjoy this hobby while being there for our families. Making mindful choices, prioritizing what matters, and responsibly enjoying the game are key.

[bakasabo]

Shit happens, I am wondering why this man doesn't gamble using his smartphone in his home, maybe he is one of those old uneducated people in the world? As there are many like them that can't even operate a smartphone, they don't know what login using email and password feels like.

I am suspecting that the family relatives don't know that this man is a gambler, if not, they won't want to leave a kid for him to watch after, but now the secret is out since police is already involved, I feel pity for the uneducated people the most, if such people are into gambling I doubt they will be able to reason or think hard on anything, they will easily become an addict due to the heavy lack of knowledge.

Gambling addiction is really a big problem, one have to be a very disciplined person to be a very careful gambler, gambling isn't for everyone to be honest, but since casinos lack any form of screening before gambling, everyone is at risk of doing the stupid things in a casino.

Is is not "ship happens", it is "tragedy might happen". A 2 years old kid is not even close to be left alone on a long period. If there are two of them, it is even more dangerous, as at this age none of them have full understanding how things happens in the world. As a father, I cant understand how that man got so much involved into gambling, that has spent 5 hours gambling, without even thinking he has to kids left alone. It is a miracle no one got hurt. I hope that man now will learn a valuable life lesson from that.