Tales of Stupid Parents #4029384023840: Bad Parent At Summer Camp

Today, my fellow RHUers, I did not spontaneously combust. I did not hulk out and smash. I even managed to respond with professional language instead of a stream of gutterkin curses.

I'm frankly amazed at my restraint.

Because today one of our parents thought it would be perfectly fine to drop their child off, unannounced, in our parking lot over an HOUR before the start of camp.

I don't really care that such behavior was inconsiderate and in total violation of four different camp rules. (We're all used to that, amirite?)

I care that it was completely fucking unsafe for the kid.

You see, the parking lot leads to our back downstairs door. No one is downstairs at that hour. Kiddo could have walked in, seen that his instructor wasn't in the room, and walked right out to wander the area. (Fun Fact: we're wedged between a major road and a public park.)

Or climbed on some equipment and hurt himself. Or gotten snatched by some creep. All without any of us having any idea that he was in danger, BECAUSE HE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO BE HERE!

Fortunately, none of those things happened. Instead Mr. High-Maintenance Hellspawn came upstairs demanding to know where his instructor was, sending my blood pressure through the roof as I tried to keep him busy and supervised while still managing to do my job.

And Idiot Parent?

Cellphone off, voicemail full, wouldn't respond to email and sent someone else to pick up the Hellspawn.

I can't wait for tomorrow.

--Art & Amaretto

Comments

[Retail Psycho]

Please let us know what their excuse for that shit was

[Perky]

Some of the daycares I know of will and has call CPS if someone pulls that crap on them.

[Perky]

I didn't get to finish my post. As friend of mine who works at a day care had a policy of no drop offs before 7am. One of their clients had a schedule change and she needed to be at work at 7am, so she started dropping off her 7 year old at 6:30am. Usually some of the teachers or the secretary was there, but not always. After the first few day this happen they told her--you can not do this, it is against our policy. But she was like "But I need to get to work, they aren't a bother." They tried to get her to take her child to another day care that had an earlier opening, but she did not want to switch. After several more days of this, they warned her that if she continued they would call CPS the next time she dropped her child off before. She didn't believe them, and the next day sure enough 6:25 she was pulling into the parking lot, they started dialing the CPS number. She was pissed a few hours later when she got the call at work that her son was in protective care, and she was under investigation. A few weeks later she tried to sue them, but the judge threw the case out.

[Karebear]

I would have seriously called DCFS or whatever it is by you. If you did not know their number, a call to the police would have worked. At least the kid was smart enough to find you rather than walk off to who knows where.

[L]

Reminds me of a kid's birthday my mother in law attended at a bowling alley. The bowling alley they were at got a call from the alley across town, saying that they had a child for the 'family name' party. Yep, the mother (who is a teacher!) dropped her kid off outside a random bowling alley without making sure it was the right one or walking the kid in. Another party goer had to pick the kid up.

[hoshi]

Something similar happened at the camp I work at. We open our doors at 8:30am, and this mother decides at like 8:27am that she HAS to go, so instead of waiting in her car for three minutes for the early-morning staff member to escort her daughter out of the car, she blocks off the main road with her stopped car, gets out herself and leaves the kid on our front stoop without telling anyone she's doing so. Needless to say, our Director basically reams her out when she comes to pick up the kid at the end of the day, but it keeps happening for almost a week! Finally, our super-scary-awesome ultimate supervisor who is the Director's boss has to call the woman and threaten her with calling CPS, ejecting the girl from camp, etc. until the mom finally folds. Like, seriously? What is wrong with you that you won't wait THREE MINUTES to ensure the safety of your OWN CHILD? Some people don't deserve to breed.

[NC Tony]

I mentioned this in a post about irresponsible parents in retail stores, but these are the same parents you will see teary eyed on the news when the kid wanders off and gets hurt, or even worse abducted or killed, because they're left alone in an unsafe environment, and they'll spread the blame around to everyone except themselves. My son is 11 and I always make sure he's either in sight of myself or my wife when we're out together.

[Humor_Me]

40 years ago, I had to walk to the bus stop for summer camp at 7:00am several blocks away... by myself. But that was 40 years ago. There's NO WAY I'd put up with that now. One time I was supposed to pick up my son after school and he didn't show. So I went home thinking he had ridden the bus. Still no son, so I tried calling the school and all I got was voice mail. GGGRRRRRRR!!!! So I went back to school. STILL NO SON! This was a big school with multiple entrances and I wasn't in a position to go wandering around campus to find him as it included several buildings... so I went home AGAIN! I finally got a call from the local fire chief because he lived just up the road. They had my son waiting in the office and I.WAS.PISSED. I really didn't have the gas to be driving 10 miles each way to school and back. He got an earful for not being where he was supposed to be when he was supposed to be there. Honestly, some parents should need a license to breed!

[CharlieWhiskyMike]

Please give us an Update

[Art & Amaretto]

The story just gets better, RHU. The parent's emailed excuse was pretty standard issue -- was headed to a doctor's appointment, mixed up what time Kiddo was supposed to be there, etc. etc. We just rolled our eyes and left it at that since it didn't happen again.

But then the parent came in to sincerely apologize. In PERSON. With FLOWERS! I seriously have a dozen sunset roses with a doghouse card reading "I'm So Sorry!" sitting on my desk right now. IN WHAT WORLD DO PARENTS EVER GROVEL?! WITH FLOWERS?!?! @_@;

Some days I swear I'm working in the Twilight Zone.

[Humor_Me]

FLOWERS??? *faints*