All this insanity must be why parents in cars are allowed to block up a lane in a busy boulevard here, a boulevard that is around the corner from the elementary school. And they do it for over an hour, so it appears they are being made to park, sign out their kid and then they can take him/her/them home. So not only is this a ridiculous waste of their time, it is also a ridiculous waste of time for all of the other people trying to drive in that area.
I just had to take a moment to applaud your decision. I work with a total helicopter parent who goes so far as to drive the kid to the bus stop (a block away) and then leaves work early to drive him from the bus stop back home. She’s afraid of “perverts and abductions”. In a small town. She lives in a closed community in one of the better towns in the jersey shore. And there’s a bunch of housefraus on the block. What kills me most of all is that the kid is 12. TWELVE!
There’s a simple solution to this problem. Just make the parents pay the school’s legal bills if they loose. If they refuse to pay just seize their property and bank accounts. Or garnish their wages untill the amount is payed.
Damn right, those things can waste a whole planet.
Brilliant! And, of course, the teachers at the first of the year are going to automatically know who is a custodial parent and who is a child molester just off the street.
The Lorax has a different situation. Her request is reasonable and she is willing to sign a waiver. I think her next step should be to go to the Principal. I would put in writing in the form of a letter what change you want and what has already transpired. Keep a copy for yourself. Give a copy to the Principal and give a copy to the Assistant Principal that you have talked with. Be sure to indicate on the Principal’s copy that you are sending a copy to the Assistant Principal.
Be pleasant and formal. Do not be aggressive.
The more business like and detailed you are, the more likely you are to get the change. If you don’t get it at that level, go to the next level and continue.
I was a teacher and I absolutely agree that this one should be your call as a parent!
WHAT.THE.FUCK? Not even investigate? Is there any way you could report over their heads? I mean your neighbors are abusing METH…How is CPS gonna feel when the kids get killed or abused? (and crystal meth is a VERY dangerous instigator for abuse)
I walked three blocks to elementary school in Detroit. Some kids went five blocks. In the pouring rain and snow, pre-dawn. There were no buses. I had to cross a major street with a light but no adult guard, just another kid in a safety guard sash. By fourth grade that was me. I sometimes was spooked seeing a drunk guy hanging sick to a lamp pole, but that’s life in the big city.
What do the kids who have two parents who work do? Sign themselves out?
Oh, how old I feel. My elementary school was a block and a half from my house. I walked it every school day, rain or shine, going and coming.
From 7th grade until I got a car as a senior, I walked 2 1/2 blocks down to the city bus stop, then rode the bus out the 2 miles to my school.
Tell the dingbat at the school to go take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut. Tell your kid to just hike on out the door when the bell rings and come home. If the school stops him, file charges against them - that crap they pull can be used against them.
crossing guards? you pansies. I walked home in first grade, crossed several roads, one a main thoroughfare, no crossing guards for me.
I agree with the poster who said the sign out is probably more about child custody cases than stranger danger. My children’s elementary school just implemented a new pick up policy that was designed to help with custody issues. The who is supposed to be picking up Buttercup thing is a lot bigger issue with most elementary schools than anyone really wants to admit.
BTW, my biggest fear is not that one of my children will be kidnapped, it’s that one of them will die in a car accident. You know what? We still drive every day. Heck I don’t even own that Britax Ironclad or whatever the heck they want to call it that suburban moms are drooling over. I buckle them up and we go about our lives, because that’s what you have to do. A life that is ruled by fear is a life not worth living.
Unfortunately, fear is what’s driving most helicopter parents. Fear that someone will hurt Buttercup, fear that others won’t see them as a good parent, fear that their child isn’t as smart as they believe, fear that little darling won’t get that Harvard MBA. It’s sad and I feel sorry for them.
Sign your kid up for an officially approved after school program (often offered at the school) for several hundred a month. They are allowed to check the kids out, and then you get there before 6:00 PM to check them out again.
Letting your kids latchkey is not considered OK.
Failing that, you could just give your son a shiv to keep in his sock.
I walked to school every day, both ways, in ALL WEATHER in Michigan, TYVM from k-11, then I got a car.
And I turned into a Doper and a Farker.
Mah lawn. Get off it!
Maybe a household where both parents, or the only parent, has to work doesn’t have “several hundred a month” to put into such a program, even if they feel it would be good for the kids. And teaching older children independence, responsibility, and self-reliance, perhaps with a trusted neighbor he/she can call or run to in case of emergency, IS definitely a good parenting technique.
Different states have laws and guidelines about what age is appropriate for latch-key aftercare. I would assume that some cities/counties/parishes/other governments may have rules as well. Here is a list of states and their ages, if any. They also have a number you can call to find out the laws in your area. This could have some influence on the wacky procedure as well. It’s possible that the sign-out isn’t school policy, but a city or county thing. If it’s a legal thing, then you aren’t likely to be able to sign a waiver about this.
Once again I’m reminded to be grateful for having been homeschooled. Dealing with this kind of crap has to drive you nuts.
Ah … but that would involve personal responsibility and common sense … and we can’t have any of that getting around.
Things like that did happen when I was a kid, though. I was 6 when that happened. We didn’t hear as much about them because we didn’t have 24-hour news channels on cable, but they did happen. However, they were and are very rare.
This is the story that was in my parents’ consciousness. The Lyon sisters disappeared just a few miles from my house, when I was three. We heard about it all the time, but we were still allowed to spend all day roaming the neighborhood alone and we walked to school by ourselves.
CPS, probably - it’s not like they have anything more important to do.
MapQuest tells me I walked 1.27 miles home. In the spring and fall, sometimes I would ride my bike.
I can’t imagine why we have an obesity problem with children in the US.
Regards,
Shodan
Sorry - poorly written post on my part. I was NOT saying that the after school program is the best solution - just that it is what a lot of working parents have to use in an era where CPS gets called if your kid is home alone.
I agree with your post - was just trying to provide information.