'They kick the door for attention until they are let out in the morning'

"Am I the only person who thinks this is wrong?" a poster wrote about the extreme lengths one parent has taken to get some sleep each night - and it has left many others divided.  

Every parent knows the frustration and utter exhaustion that can come from getting young kids to sleep - and to sleep through the night.

You can become so desperate for a break, that you may consider extreme measures... like one parent did last week.

A photo of the parent's divisive bedtime set up was posted to a closed Facebook parenting group and resulted in widespread outrage among the group's 174,000 members and demands for police involvement.

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'They kick the door for attention until they are let out in the morning'

Posting a photo to the Facebook group, an anonymous member wrote, "Please help me, am I the only person that thinks this is wrong?"

The worrying photo is of a closed door, with a baby gate across it... but there's also a wedge under the handle so that it can't budge.

The poster explains, "There is a five-year-old girl going to bed at about 9:30 [with her sister]." The children are then locked in until the next morning, but they do "kick the door for attention until they are let out."

According to the poster, an eight-year-old boy is also locked in the room, which has no access to a bathroom, so he soils himself - though apparently if he's "bribed" he can refrain from doing so.

Apparently, the grandmother is the one who usually releases the kids in the mornings.

It is not known how the anonymous poster and the parent/carer are known to each other, or how the poster obtained the photo. 

The original post. Source: Facebook

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"You know this is wrong"

The post has since been deleted, but not before if had attracted hundreds of outraged comments.

"You know this is wrong, you need to report it," one mum wrote.

"This is neglect and abuse," added another. "They can't access the bathroom, or food, or even their parents' attention, for who knows how long?

"What if there's a fire?

"They are evidently physically capable of demanding the attention, so this is very, very sad. They are aware their situation."

Many also expressed their concern for the mum.

"This mum is struggling," one wrote, while another said, "Something is not right with this family."

Another comment read: "The police must be informed, the kids need rescuing, but the mum also needs support, she is not okay."

Some commenters suggested that the kids get immediate medical attention and encouraged the poster to inform the authorities.

Finally, this comment expressed what everyone was thinking: "There is a lot of suffering in that photo, we have an obligation to report and help."

Originally published as 'They kick the door for attention until they are let out in the morning'