Oklahoma Couple Arrested for Child Neglect After Leaving Their 8, 5 and 1-Year-Olds Home Alone To Play Pickleball
All the children were found safe and in good health.
An Oklahoma couple, Andrew Dick and Feather Roberts, is facing serious legal trouble after being arrested on August 30, 2026, on three counts of child neglect. According to PEOPLE, the pair allegedly left their children, ages 8, 5, and 1, home completely unsupervised so they could head out to play pickleball. The whole situation is a jarring reminder of how such decisions can turn into criminal investigations when it comes to the safety of minors.
According to a statement released by the Glenpool Police Department, the situation came to light after officers received a 911 call. The caller reported that they suspected three children were being left at a residence without any adult supervision. When the caller reached out to Roberts, she reportedly claimed that she and Dick were at a pickleball court in Bixby, which is roughly 11 miles or a 20-minute drive away from their home.
What’s even more concerning is that Roberts allegedly told the caller that the children were being watched by sitters, despite the reality of the situation on the ground. The caller decided to check on the residence and discovered that the children were indeed home alone. When local authorities arrived at the scene, they found the 8-year-old and the 5-year-old watching television, while the youngest child, who is only 1, was asleep.
The police saw the parents’ choice as a massive lapse in judgment
When the parents finally returned home, the police questioned them about how the children would be able to reach them in the event of an emergency. Roberts reportedly stated that the children had access to an iPad, which they could use to call their parents. Their reliance on a digital device as a substitute for actual adult supervision clearly didn’t sit well with the authorities.
The investigation took an even more serious turn when the police dug deeper into the family situation. Officers learned that the couple actually has a fourth child, an infant, for whom they had successfully arranged childcare. They also discovered that this incident was not the first time the couple had left their children home without supervision. The Oklahoma Department of Human Services was notified immediately following the arrests to handle the follow-up.
This case has sparked a larger conversation about the legalities and general expectations surrounding when children can be left home alone. According to NBC Chicago, in Oklahoma, there is no specific law or policy that dictates a mandatory age for when a child can be left unsupervised. Instead, the state provides recommended guidelines for parents. These guidelines explicitly state that infants and children under six years of age should never be left alone without adult supervision.
The state also emphasizes that grade school children should never be left to care for younger siblings. While some parents might feel their grade schoolers are mature enough to be left for an hour or two, the sheer age of the children involved in this incident falls well outside of what is considered responsible by the state’s own standards.
Other states handle this differently
For example, Illinois has a much more rigid framework, defining a neglected minor as anyone under the age of 14 left without supervision for an unreasonable period of time. A spokesperson from the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services noted that determining what is unreasonable involves looking at several variables, such as whether the child has access to food, shelter, and a way to contact help.
Meanwhile, neighboring Indiana leaves the decision almost entirely to the parents until the child turns 18. This puts the burden of weighing risks and maturity levels solely on the shoulders of the guardians.
Experts in the field often suggest that 12 years old is generally a pretty acceptable starting point for leaving a child home alone, provided they have shown a level of maturity and comfort with independence. Family therapist Sheryl Ziegler has noted that by this age, children have often experienced small steps toward independence, such as walking to a friend’s house or heading to a bus stop alone.
However, every child is different. Parents are ultimately responsible for assessing their child’s physical and emotional health, as well as the safety of the environment. The lack of clear, universal laws can lead to dangerous misunderstandings. While many states classify the failure to provide adequate supervision as child neglect, they rarely define what that actually looks like in practice.
For Andrew Dick and Feather Roberts, the consequences of their choices are now playing out in the legal system. It serves as a stern warning that, regardless of local laws, the safety and welfare of children must always be the priority, and a game of pickleball is simply never worth the risk of leaving toddlers and young children to fend for themselves.
(Featured image: Mason Tuttle on Pexels)
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