MUNCIE, Ind. – Taylor Cumings' kids love the movie “Home Alone,” but when the 25-year old mother left her 4 and 7-year-old sons on their own while she went to work, police arrested her for neglect of a dependent.
Friday, Cumings shared her side of the story with FOX59.
She said one of her kids was sent home from school with a fever just a day prior. She had already missed a lot of time from her job working with at-risk youth.
"They had a phone, they had a safety plan which they followed. They were safe. They ate, they were checked on. They weren't just here all day running around crazy," Cumings said.
So when Cumings said she couldn't find someone to watch them, and feeling they were mature enough for this circumstance, she went to work while they stayed home.
"At that time I thought it was the best decision. I know my kids and I trust my kids," she said.
A study funded by Early Learning Indiana found about 11,000 Hoosiers quit their jobs to address child care needs.
"So what can we do as a community to sort of come together too to sort of help with this issue with families because it is a very very real concern," Sandy Runkle-DeLorme with Prevent Child Abuse Indiana said.
She said this can be a challenging time of year for families.
"We definitely need more resources out there for families who have children that are not yet ready to be left alone. And that’s not even a particular age it’s really based on maturity," she said.
Friday, Cumings was out of jail and back with her kids.
"There's a million more girls like me," she said.
Now, she is calling for more resources too.
“If there was a day care, like an emergency day care for sick children or say your kids suspended or whatever these circumstances are, but we don't have that," Cumings said.
So, she is valuing the people reaching out in the wake of her arrest and her time with her kids. She said they're planning on watching “Home Alone 2.”
