PeachyDoodle Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 To qualify, I really wouldn't consider myself a free-range parent. I'm not a helicopter mom either, by any stretch of the imagination. I guess I'm somewhere in between. But... My grandmother is in the hospital. I went this morning to visit her. When I got ready to leave, my car died in the parking lot. Some good Samaritans were able to help me push it back into the parking space, and my mom gave me a ride home. DH came home early and we went back to the hospital to see if we could get it running well enough to get it to the mechanic. No dice. Fortunately, when it died the second time, it was at a stop sign at the intersection of the parking lot exit and a small service road that goes around the hospital. This is a small-town hospital, so not heavily trafficked. We weren't blocking any of the parking spaces, and there was plenty of room for other vehicles to get past us into or out of the lot, so we decided better to wait right there and call for a tow than take our chances on the road. Tow company said 45 minutes to an hour. It's absolutely gorgeous out today, so we let the kids out of the car to play on a small natural area on the edge of the lot. DH and I were literally parked at the curb surrounding the natural area in our broken-down car, flashers going, windows down, enjoying the breeze. DD took her science book and the yoga mat from the trunk and sprawled out reading and taking notes. DS played in the grass and made a game out of calling out the makes of the cars that drove by. I was very proud of the way they were making the best of a boring situation. We hadn't been there long when we saw a security guard approaching. I assumed he was coming to see if we needed help. He did offer assistance (which we politely declined, since the tow truck was on its way and there was nothing to do but wait for it), then proceeded to tell us that someone had seen unattended children in the parking lot and alerted security to "suspicious activity." What did they think -- that we were returning our kids after 11 and almost 6 years, respectively??? :lol: Anyway, it wasn't a big deal, and Mr. Security Guard clearly wasn't concerned when he saw that we were literally within spitting distance of our two not-really-that-small and relatively-well-behaved children. But DH and I had to laugh. Suspicious activity -- really? Even if a passerby had concerns (and I'm totally on board with looking out for kids!), it would have taken all of three seconds of actually looking to see that there was, well, nothing to see. At least we had a good laugh on an otherwise frustrating day! 18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 That is funny :-) Hope you got your car to the mechanic ok! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikslo Posted October 11, 2016 Share Posted October 11, 2016 It was their good behavior that was suspicious. ;) 24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mommyoffive Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Nuts. I hope your car is an easy fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Now see, that would make me mad. A person who truly cared and had concerns would go up to the kids and talk to them, not call the cops on them. (I realize "store security" isn't the cops, but still - this behavior makes no sense.) I'm glad the security guard didn't overreact. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 Very suspicious. Children outdoors on a beautiful day, sitting in the grass and reading books! Who ever heard of such a thing! 11 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SparklyUnicorn Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 LOL Once had people freaking out because my two kids were waiting outside of a bathroom at the supermarket. They weren't that little, and I was quick. Of course if I had brought them in with me someone might have freaked over that too. Can't win.. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Junie Posted October 12, 2016 Share Posted October 12, 2016 My guess is that someone saw them from a distance (possibly from inside the hospital), but couldn't see you in the car. They probably assumed that the children were playing hooky from school. It sounds like your kids made the best of a bad situation. Hope the car gets fixed without a lot of hassle or $$. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted October 12, 2016 Author Share Posted October 12, 2016 Now see, that would make me mad. A person who truly cared and had concerns would go up to the kids and talk to them, not call the cops on them. (I realize "store security" isn't the cops, but still - this behavior makes no sense.) I'm glad the security guard didn't overreact. That was my thought too -- seriously? Anybody who got within 25 yards would have seen that they weren't unsupervised. And we clearly weren't just loitering, sitting there with our flashers on. It was after the normal let-out time for public school, so I don't think that was it. Any other time, it probably would have ticked me off, but by that point so much had gone wrong that we just had to laugh! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThursdayNext Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Funny. I can't believe it's your first encounter with parenting police. I had several before my 1st was a year old, starting with when I left her in the car on a cold sleeting day to put my cart in the return at Aldi. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BooksandBoys Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Funny. I can't believe it's your first encounter with parenting police. I had several before my 1st was a year old, starting with when I left her in the car on a cold sleeting day to put my cart in the return at Aldi. The cart police are ridiculous! I don't know how many times I've been lectured by "well-meaning" know-it-alls while I'm returning my cart after buckling my three children safely into their car seats. Seriously, in no way is it safer for me to walk three children across the lot than to lock them in my car and walk away for 45 seconds!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy2BaMom Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 (edited) I left my then-12-year-old and then-9-year-old children at a deli table in a supermarket (they were eating lunch) while I went and checked out. I could see an arm if they raised it, but, no, they were not in my plain sight. When I came back the man next to the kids started doing the head-shake thing, all while staring at me coldly. I totally ignored him. I think people today are completely bonkers about at what age children should be considered competent. When I was 13, I babysat 3 children (all under the age of 8) for 4 hours a day, 3 times a week, for a neighbor who worked. Lunches, naps, activities. And I was not unusual in having that type of responsibility (heads-up: I'm almost 50 now, so am old enough to remember life before the 1980's). Having a 12-year-old watch his 9-year-old sister eat lunch while I'm 40 feet away in a grocery store does not qualify as abuse. What a world we live in. Edited to add: I did the sitting during the summer, not during the school year! And I added up the years, and I was 13 (not 12 like I originally thought). Not that that matters much. Edited October 13, 2016 by Happy2BaMom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeachyDoodle Posted October 13, 2016 Author Share Posted October 13, 2016 Funny. I can't believe it's your first encounter with parenting police. I had several before my 1st was a year old, starting with when I left her in the car on a cold sleeting day to put my cart in the return at Aldi. Oh my goodness -- how ridiculous!! I guess I should be glad the PP's weren't looking when I let the kids go across the service road and down to the little pond beside the hospital! Really the only reason they'd come back was that DD still had school work to finish (hence the reading on the yoga mat in the grass). I'm sure that someone looked out of the upper-floor windows of the hospital and wasn't able to see DH and me sitting in the car. That's fine. But the use of "suspicious activity" really made me laugh! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwik Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 Now see, that would make me mad. A person who truly cared and had concerns would go up to the kids and talk to them, not call the cops on them. (I realize "store security" isn't the cops, but still - this behavior makes no sense.) I'm glad the security guard didn't overreact. They probably saw them from an upper floor in the hospital. I tend to just assume a good motive and thank them for watching out for children. My neighbour called the police a few years ago because she thought I left one of my kids home alone. I didn't and I wouldn't but it was a few months after a NZ surgeon accidentally left her toddler in the car at work and he died. I bet if you had asked her she would have said she would never forget her child too. We should be worried when people just shrug and do nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SKL Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 I just don't buy it. We think cops go over the line when they so much as talk to adults on the street who they think are acting suspicious. "Why did they stop him in the first place?" Then we make excuses for people calling the cops on kids who are getting some healthy sunshine and exercise. "They must have good intentions! Be glad they care!" If they cared, they'd want more kids to be outside playing, not fewer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angie in VA Posted October 14, 2016 Share Posted October 14, 2016 Wait They weren't glued to screens? They read, wrote, and observed their surroundings? That sure sounds suspicious to me. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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