I have never felt so sick in all my life.......I feel like a bad mother.

[Nelly]

My kids (7 & 8 years old) wanted to join the "after school program"....so instead of getting out at 2:50pm, they get out at 6pm (if their parents pick them up) and 5:30pm (if they ride the bus). The kids wanted to ride the bus, which my daughter has only ridden the bus twice or so and my son has never ridden the bus, so I let them ride the bus.....BIG MISTAKE! I told them today, make sure eachother is on the same bus and stick together. The teacher for the program told me he would let them know which bus to go on.

So.....the bus leaves at 5:45pm and there was only about 15 kids in the program, so I figured the bus wouldn't take that long. I get to the bus stop at 5:50pm (don't want to miss the bus, ya know) and I'm waiting.....now it's 6:15pm and I'm thinking,"OMG, what if they got off at the wrong bus stop and they're standing out in the middle of hell." sportrider calls me and tells me to go drive around and look for them/the bus. He gets in his truck and is looking too (yeah I know, what if they come home while we're out looking for them) and he's yelling at me,"how could you let this happen" blah blah blah.

I drove around the whole F'ing town....by this time it is 6:25pm and I instantly got sick to my stomach.....I couldn't help but to cry.

Suddenly, Danny spots the bus and he asks if 2 little white kids got off at a different bus stop....he says he dropped off 2 white kids (a girl and a boy) like 4 miles away. Then he says....oh wait I just dropped off 2 kids on Carpenteria (our street)......we rush home to find the kids standing in the driveway playing with the dog....for clarification, Danny was 1 block away.....I know how bad this sounds.

Anyways....they're home and they did end up getting on the wrong bus and the bus driver had to drive out of his way to bring them home.

I can not imagine what parents go through when their child is abducted or lost/missing.

I will be picking them up from school til they gradute high school!!!!!!!

Alls well that ends well J, It happens. The best thing to do is not dwell on it and don't kill yourself over it.
It really goes to show that actually most people in the world are generally good and not every other person is a pedophile.
Were your children traumatized? No the dog loved having them home to himself lol.
There are lessons to be learned from this by all of us parents.

Good luck

Nelly

 

[jsteinb95]

[COLOR=\"DarkGreen\"]You have to let Joey out of the pouch sooner or later. [/COLOR]

Do you have kids, Elm? :shakehead: I am very protective of my kids, or should I not care about their safety?

It really goes to show that actually most people in the world are generally good and not every other person is a pedophile.

Very touchy subject, but I don't trust anybody!!!

 

[4fun]

J, no way is it your fault. You did what a good parent does. you relied on a teacher that did not do what was right. the teacher gets the :spank:.
We cant blame ourselves for what others fail to do. You cannot protect your kids from every risk that there is. You could always wrap them in bubble wrap and home school them. but then you would be a bad parent for not letting them socialize.

 

[Cloned]

It is not your fault. If anyone is to blame it is the teacher for not showing them onto the right bus. IMHO you should let them continue to ride the bus eventually. When I was in elementary school I used to ride my bicycle to school (lived a mile away) or would take the bus. I think it is an experience every kid should have, it's fun to have that little bit of independence where you have to rely on yourself. Although this is all just my opinion, their your kids and you can judge way better than I can.

Perhaps you should get them a cell phone? They have phones that are especially for kids. They only have like three buttons on them that speed dial to numbers you put in, plus a number for 911. Some even have a GPS so you can track where they are.

 

[Nelly]

Do you have kids, Elm? :shakehead: I am very protective of my kids, or should I not care about their safety?



Very touchy subject, but I don't trust anybody!!!

J, we all have to trust somebody at some point, I know it is very difficult.
We have three examples in the same thread where young children have been left (unintentionally) alone; and the only harm was their frantic parents nerves.

My point was merely that in todays society, where the media is brilliant at highlighting and bringing specific cases into our living rooms. It only represents a small fraction of our society. The bus driver was charged with looking out for your children and he did a great job.
I am glad that you and they are fine.

Nelly

 

[Raid The Revenge]

At the same time: care for both your children's safety and future. Above all else: only fear what they don't know.

 

[jsw4178]

Thank God everything turned out okay!

 

[bmccrary]

I'm 33 years old and I'm still afraid of going to Wal-Mart.

That place is creepy.

I always make sure my mom and I have our cells on when we go shopping.

Back on topic, I am sure that was a scary event. Maybe time put a house key in the kids back packs? I think my parents gave me a key to the house when I was around that age, maybe.

Zip tie one of those retractable key fobs to a clip on the inside of their back packs. Wont be able to loose it and in the event they beat you home or some other reason, they can get in.

Just an option.

-bryan