Parenting 101

Today while taking Marley for a walk I hear this crying as we turn the corner to walk down the street. About 3/4 of the way down on the otherside of the road I see a little boy he can't be older than 4 standing outside this house crying, trying to get in what is obviously a locked door. Keep in mind that it is snowing/raining ice pretty heavily, I have on my big coat with the hood up and am still freezing. So I stop to see if this little boy gets into his house, I wait and wait (for a good 2 min) and no one comes to the door. There were cars in the driveway but I think maybe no one is home, maybe this little boy is confused, who knows, so I cross the street and go to stand at the bottom of the porch stairs. The little boy, still hysterical, turns to look at me. So I tell him my name is Kelsey, this is my dog Marley, and ask him if he lives there. He turns around and continues to cry and try to get in the house. At this point I notice, he has no shoes on. It is raining ice/snowing I am freezing and this 4 year old is standing outside for what is now turning into 5 min with no shoes on and a t-shirt. So I keep trying to get him to calm down enough to tell me what has happened I am also determined not to leave until we figure out what is going on. As we approach the 10 min mark I am about to walk up the stairs and knock on the door myself, when it opens and a very angry looking mother opens the door and pulls her son in. I explain that I had heard him crying and trying to get in and with no shoes or coat in this weather didn't want to leave him outside not knowing if he was okay. She responds with, "Just a little timeout" and shuts the door. Just a little timeout? Okay now I know that I am not a parent, but first of all if you are going to lock your 4 year old out of the house in the front yard dressed the way he was you run the risk of people getting concerned and stopping. 2nd a timeout is like sitting on a chair, or a rug, or the stairs not being locked out of the house. I would also understand if she had sent him outside, til she was ready to deal with him but at least give him shoes and a coat, or if it had been nice outside. And lastly, don't lock him out for almost 10 min. I was really grumpy, I hadn't touched her kid, I had intentionally kept my distance, grr. I don't know maybe I am overreacting. All I do know is this, if I did that at work I would get fired, and 10 min is a really long time out for a four year old.