Question: I know it's just a movie, but how were Gus Polinski and his wife unable to even realise they left their own son behind at a funeral home, let alone leaving him there all day, as Gus was explaining to Kate near the end of the movie (especially under the assumption that it began the night before during a typical service or even during calling hours)? Surely, any parent with common sense would know not to leave their children unsupervised in an event like that.
TedStixon
1st May 2022
Home Alone (1990)
Answer: While Gus doesn't state many of the particulars of the event, I've attended numerous funerals where kids are constantly on the move. Going in and out of family rooms, going outside, etc. It's possible to lose track or think they're with another relative. Gus is used to being on the road and isn't always in "Dad mode." My own parents forgot me at school numerous times.
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Answer: It can be any number of things. High stress. Forgetfulness. Just being tired. Maybe they got hyper focused and it simply slipped their mind. Etc. (And since it's a funeral home in his case, it could be all of those things, plus more.) And it's really not all that uncommon. One survey I found online showed that over 10% of parents admitted to accidentally forgetting their child was in their car with them and leaving them in the back seat. And in another survey, 9% of parents have admitted to accidentally either losing track of or leaving a child behind somwhere while they were out. It just... happens.
TedStixon