Doesn’t Anyone Care About Their Kids Safety???

Okay, first let me express that when I was growing up, it WAS safe for kids to roam all over the place without fear of something major happening to them. I use to ride my horse 18 miles at least every time I was off from school. My mom had no clue where I was and probably couldn’t have found me if she went looking for me since I had permission to ride through woods and fields for at least 20-30 miles around the house. Every time I had a day off from school and wasn’t overloaded with chores, I’d saddle (or go bareback depending on my mood) up Tripp and we’d take off for the day. It was etched in stone for many years in my teens that I was going to be on Tripp’s back on my birthday for most of the day. We would explore all the areas around us and I use to joke; “I’m not lost; I just don’t know where I am currently. However, I CAN get back home.” My Mom use to hate when she gave me the freedom to choose where we were going because she got “lost in her own backyard.” I can remember her telling me that tried to do one of our adventure rides while I was living in Ohio, and she literally had to lay the reigns down for her horse to take control and get her home.

I would also remember my brother (who is younger than me by a few years) and I roaming all over Myrtle Beach, Daytona Beach and various other vacation locations as kids at ages 4 and 8. No one bothered us and we had a blast. Our Dad would give us money to get something to eat on or other nick knacks. We weren’t afraid of someone bothering us, and I can honestly say I don’t recall ever being made to feel uncomfortable by anyone I encountered.

However, in today’s world things are SOOOO different. I can’t even begin to count the amount of kidnapping reports I’ve been seeing on the news lately. Or even the amount of people breaking out of local jails. Now, I’m a mother of three wonderful kids, and I personally DON’T want to take any chances on someone taking them from me when I could have easily prevented it from happening by keeping tabs on where my kids are. Even if that means I’m classified as being overly protected and get cut down for my efforts to keep them safe and sound. When they are old enough to fully realize the dangers of their actions 12-13 at least, then yes, I’ll grant them a lot more freedom. Until then, it’s NOT going to happen by this mother. Even when we go to the water park, I keep very close tabs on where the kids are at all times. I also make it a point that Jimmy has to check in with me after so many times of going down his slides, even though, I personally know which slides he’s at all times. Yes, it’s hard to keep track of kids all the time, but I feel that is my job. Of course, I was a lifeguard for a couple of years, and it was mostly kids that I had to keep track of on a regular bases. So, the watchful eye got installed in me during those years.

This whole topic got brought up because we literally had two kids from two separate families literally walk onto our property today from the ball field next door and just start talking to my in-laws, and they of course, got my kids to play with them. The little girl couldn’t have been older than 8 or 9 herself, and she walked into my home and was quite controlling and acting like she owned the place and everything in it. She was very rude and didn’t see the harm in what she was doing at all. As I was walking her and the little boy with her back to the ball field they were bragging about leaving their parents and grandparents all the time. Now, if my kids took off like that I’d want to know about it. So, I took the kids back to the people they were suppose to be with. The grandmother stated she was disabled and couldn’t keep up with the little boy. (Now, I’ve been completely disabled and helpless, so I can some what understand that. However, she is the adult, and should still have enough control to keep that child within sight. If she doesn’t, then that child needs some serious discipline!!) The little girl’s mother acted like it was no big deal what her daughter did. I was blown away by all of that!!

Maybe I’m making to big of a deal about this, but what if those kids walked to someone’s house who had hurt them?? Or someone who didn’t want to give up those kids to their parents/grandparents?? What if we had a dog that liked to attack kids?? There are just so many what if’s to this situation that I can’t even begin to list them all. I was furious!!! I didn’t express that to the parents/grandparents. I did express that if the roles had been reversed I would want to know.

How would you react to this situation???

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Crystal

I'm Crystal. I'm married to Dale, and mother to Johnny.Some might say that my life is perfect because I get to do all the cliché wife things like cooking, cleaning, and decorating - but there's more! I also have many hobbies including needlework (crochet), sewing, and reading. My son's education is important, so we homeschool him together.

4 comments on “Doesn’t Anyone Care About Their Kids Safety???”

  1. I agree with you. I let my kids grow into larger areas; but nowadays, I doubt I would be able to do that. As it was my now 26 year old had a cell phone in her junior/senior year and I called her every night asking where she was and with whom.

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  2. So, you have multiple issues.
    1. Do I think you are being overly protective? Darn tooting. I am sick and tired of hearing how this world has changed. It has, I grant you. But, your actions may catapult you into greater problems down the road.
    I, for one, rambled about- with or without my parent’s permission. I knew what time I had to be home (within an hour of darkness when I was really little)- and knew the consequences if I failed to show up. I lived and traveled in Metropolitan New York. When I was four or five, I “helped” the mailman on his morning deliveries. When I was 6 to 8, I rode my bike about 20 miles to the nearest “big” shopping center to see what was there and what I could get. When I was older, I went 8 towns away to visit friends (my school was 25 miles away from my house). I went to the World’s Fair by myself (which meant a grain and a subway). I wanted my kids to have the same freedoms- and the same responsibilities.
    Now to the second- I was not present in your home to know what rude behavior ensued. That, should it prove correct, needs correction. But, whether the grandmother was disabled or not, you did say the mother was present- and she thought nothing of the behavior. I’m with her.

    I had similar fights with my (now ex)wife, who wanted my son (the youngest one) to be imprisoned in the house when the two crazy folks were terrorizing (those willing to be be terrorized) the DC area with random shootings. I let my son play ball and ride his bike. It’s not that I did not fear for his safety, but there is a limit to what is reasonable and what is not. Worrying about random shootings is not a reasonable concept.

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  3. When ever I use too many “what if”‘s my hubby says to me “Yes, and you could slip in the soap in the bathroom and hit your head and die” – this post sounded like a lot of “what if’s “

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  4. Thanks for the honest feedback. I do try to be the best mother I know how to be. That’s one of the reason’s I asked for the opinions!! I don’t want to smoother my kids, but I also don’t want to put them in harms way. I want them to have the sense of independence and the freedom to grow and learn some things on their own as well.
    So thank you again for taking the time to read and comment. 🙂

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