Abandonment means leaving a minor child alone for an extended period, depending on the definitions of the laws of the state or area. Criminal abandonment generally means that the caregiver, usually a parent, made no provisions for another adult to care for the child during an absence, particularly an infant or young child. Infants may be abandoned in hospitals or, much worse, in Dumpsters or deserted areas where they are likely to die.

In the United States and other Western countries, parents who abandon the child can, in some cases, be charged with neglect. Each state has its own, different statute with regard to the legal definition of abandonment; these statutes apply not only to infants and small children but to adolescents as well. There are legal precedents for abandonment charges to be brought against parents who lock their teenage children out of the house.

Most states have statutes regarding criminal neglect and abandonment, although the laws and the penalties for violating such laws vary greatly.

Abandonment is a felony offense in some states and a misdemeanor in others. The age of the child who was abandoned is also addressed in some statutes; for example, it being a crime to abandon a child under 10, 12 or some other age. The federal Adoption And Safe Families Act allows states to terminate the parental rights of parents of abandoned children after a hearing is held.

In non-Western countries, parents sometimes abandon their children (usually infants) at orphanages or in hospitals or churches because they are unable to care for them. They may hope that another family will adopt the child.

As of this writing, this practice is relatively common in China, where there is a state-imposed limit of one child per family. Most families want male children, and as a result, if a female child is born, she may be abandoned. Children are also abandoned in other countries, such as in Latin America, because the biological mother cannot care for her child but is too ashamed, in large part because of social stigma against unmarried mothers, to come forth and express her desire for the child to have another family. It may also be illegal or extremely difficult for her to openly arrange an adoption, depending on the laws of the country. Thus, abandonment may be seen as the only option.

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