The Escape Artist
When I picked Son up from after care on Monday, I was informed that he and three of his buddies heard an announcement about the football game on Tuesday night. Not understanding that it was not that night and not that immediate moment, they decided they needed to go to it. They attempted to leave the school not once, but three separate times - once by climbing the fence, another by leaving by one of the doors inside the building and I am unclear on the third. Fortunately, they were caught each time.
This scares me. At Son's previous school, the after care program was not as well monitored and had many more high school students than adults monitoring the young children. At this school, it is mostly adults - teachers at the school - and some education students at the university.
The fact that the boys tried to leave three separate times and were determined to leave is what scares me. Unfortunately, Hubby thinks it funny.
As I thought about this all day, I realized why Hubby thinks it funny, whether he realizes it or not. Hubby did something very similar to this at the same age. He grew up in an area more country than city and had a lot of freedom, as children had more freedom to come and go 25-30 years ago. He took his bicycle and went to visit a friend several miles away. My MIL did not realize he was gone for about 5 min, just enough time for him to be a good distance away and on a road. They searched for him for an hour or two before finding him.
It hit me that Son is eerily like Hubby was and often still is - fearless, confident, adventurous and singleminded. These can be great qualities, but in a child of 4 almost 5 years old, they can also be dangerous. He has no idea that bad things can happen. In ways, I do not want him to lose that innocence, but I also do not want him to live with a false sense of security that nothing bad will ever happen to him. What a difficult balance.
MIL wanted to take all the grandchildren to the fair on Friday, having Son leave school early. But after hearing this story, she is wary of doing so without having proper adult coverage for him. She is not in the best of health and could not made a dash for him if he decided to do something. I appreciate her honesty about her limitations in looking after him in a public place as chaotic as the fair. Possibly, Hubby may take off and go with them.
This scares me. At Son's previous school, the after care program was not as well monitored and had many more high school students than adults monitoring the young children. At this school, it is mostly adults - teachers at the school - and some education students at the university.
The fact that the boys tried to leave three separate times and were determined to leave is what scares me. Unfortunately, Hubby thinks it funny.
As I thought about this all day, I realized why Hubby thinks it funny, whether he realizes it or not. Hubby did something very similar to this at the same age. He grew up in an area more country than city and had a lot of freedom, as children had more freedom to come and go 25-30 years ago. He took his bicycle and went to visit a friend several miles away. My MIL did not realize he was gone for about 5 min, just enough time for him to be a good distance away and on a road. They searched for him for an hour or two before finding him.
It hit me that Son is eerily like Hubby was and often still is - fearless, confident, adventurous and singleminded. These can be great qualities, but in a child of 4 almost 5 years old, they can also be dangerous. He has no idea that bad things can happen. In ways, I do not want him to lose that innocence, but I also do not want him to live with a false sense of security that nothing bad will ever happen to him. What a difficult balance.
MIL wanted to take all the grandchildren to the fair on Friday, having Son leave school early. But after hearing this story, she is wary of doing so without having proper adult coverage for him. She is not in the best of health and could not made a dash for him if he decided to do something. I appreciate her honesty about her limitations in looking after him in a public place as chaotic as the fair. Possibly, Hubby may take off and go with them.
1 Comments:
holy toledo, this scares me to death. I am glad MIL was straight up with you. Hugs!
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