Well, I can see your points and I am making more of a devil’s advocate style of argument for my perception of negligence here. But I still believe that a legal determination of negligence should have been made. But that’s just me ..
I think the difference is intentional neglect vs accidental neglect. If you take a nap and the kid drowns in a pool, that was an accident. If you leave the child alone so you can go to the store and buy more beer, that is intentional neglect.