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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Preschoolers
Camp left my son in the park
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amother
Rose


 

Post Thu, Aug 27 2015, 12:45 pm
mommy2b2c wrote:
You do t think child negligence is a good reason to sue?


Where are the damages?
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Sewsew_mom




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 27 2015, 1:42 pm
I'm traumatized for u.. I'm always nervous to send my son to school/camp. This makes me more nervous.. Gosh. Part of me wishes ican just keep all my kids home.
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sweetpotato




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 27 2015, 2:07 pm
OP, you need to report this camp, for several reasons:

1. Any parent who uses the camp/lives in your community would want to know that this happened, so they can make informed decisions about their own children.

2. If they are a licensed daycare/camp, the licensing board needs to know that they had a serious violation of child safety occur.

3. Imagine if you were to find out that this had already happened to another child a few weeks ago, and the parent didn't report it, assuming it was just a one-time thing. Help the next child and parent avoid a safety mishap like this.

4. A four year old alone in a public place for 3 hours with none of his caregivers even aware he was missing is a HUGE deal. If you, the parent, had left your child in a park alone for 3 hours and he had been discovered by another adult or the police, you'd be investigated for child neglect.

5. You almost certainly have a halachic duty to follow through with reporting the camp, for the sake of other families and other children.

6. The camp administration needs to know how serious this was, so they can investigate the involved personnel and make changes in their staffing and protocol.

You don't need to send a letter or get your own lawyers involved. You can likely call the number here and report it and get further guidance:

http://ocfs.ny.gov/main/childcare/safety.asp
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WhatFor




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 27 2015, 2:24 pm
Yup. What sweet potato said. I do think you have a moral obligation to report this to the licensing board. If their stellar reputation is backed by high standards, an investigation should do no harm. But the fact that a child was missing for three hours after returning from an outdoor trip indicates otherwise. Taking groups of children outdoors is a time when most caretakers are on especially high alert. They count and count again. If this is them on "high alert"....
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amother
Pink


 

Post Thu, Aug 27 2015, 2:32 pm
Already on it, sweet potato. The lawyers I spoke with this morning told me who to call. I've got a person to talk to in the insurance company, and yes, licensing people will be next. There were also spme others I was advised to call. I also spoke again with the police officer I spoke to yesterday while he was missing (I think I mentioned this, but to recap, I did call the precinct to ask if any lone children in the park had been reported and/or brought to the station). There is documentation that I made that call, even though it ended with no action as he was found while I was on the phone with the officer. Not that this is a criminal matter, but just to show that there was (very brief) police involvement. I agree that the point should be a thorough investigation and overhaul, not taking anyone to the cleaners. Right now, I'm not putting my name out there, so I'm not putting this on FB or anything (though I've heard some people have already shared the story there).
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sweetpotato




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 27 2015, 2:36 pm
amother wrote:
Already on it, sweet potato. The lawyers I spoke with this morning told me who to call. I've got a person to talk to in the insurance company, and yes, licensing people will be next. There were also spme others I was advised to call. I also spoke again with the police officer I spoke to yesterday while he was missing (I think I mentioned this, but to recap, I did call the precinct to ask if any lone children in the park had been reported and/or brought to the station). There is documentation that I made that call, even though it ended with no action as he was found while I was on the phone with the officer. Not that this is a criminal matter, but just to show that there was (very brief) police involvement. I agree that the point should be a thorough investigation and overhaul, not taking anyone to the cleaners. Right now, I'm not putting my name out there, so I'm not putting this on FB or anything (though I've heard some people have already shared the story there).


Kol hakavod, amother. I'm so sorry this happened to you and your son. It sounds like you've been handling the situation very capably right from the beginning. Hug
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chickpea_salad




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 27 2015, 2:38 pm
I am not a mum but I did work at a camp. Your story indicates to me that the camp does not have robust systems in place for keeping track of children, and that is really terrifying.

You are doing the right thing by reporting them.
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amother
Ivory


 

Post Thu, Aug 27 2015, 2:51 pm
I posted how my son was supposed to go today but in the end he did not however I haven't told anybody about what happened except I told my two kids and asked them what happens when they finish at the park and they told me they lineup and hold the rope so I said do they count? And they said yes.
if my kids are right and they do count it sounds like the counselors did not have the right number and made a mistake.
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causemommysaid




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 27 2015, 2:51 pm
You sound awesome. I am impressed with how you are handling this.
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amother
Pink


 

Post Thu, Aug 27 2015, 3:29 pm
amother wrote:
I posted how my son was supposed to go today but in the end he did not however I haven't told anybody about what happened except I told my two kids and asked them what happens when they finish at the park and they told me they lineup and hold the rope so I said do they count? And they said yes.
if my kids are right and they do count it sounds like the counselors did not have the right number and made a mistake.

I know they do the rope thing, I was impressed with that. That's why this incident was so surprising, they're obviously not lax. What really bothered me what that for three whole hours they didn't know they were one kid short. And if they had gone to the park earlier, it would have been longer. When I came to pick him up, and we realized he wasnt in the building, it was obvious they didn't know who my son was. I had to repeat his name several times and show them a picture on my phone, and they were like oh yeah him, but it was obvious he was just another generic kid and they weren't really sure. So, obviously, something needs to be boned up in procedure and staff training.
BTW, I was once left behind on a school trip. It was very different, I was a teenager and had a cell phone and could have gotten myself home, but the school realized within minutes of pulling out that I wasn't on the bus and they turned around and got me. We laugh about it now. The school did a lot of cheshbon nefesh and policy changes, and my brother tells me they now hold me up as a cautionary tale (without my name, but he knows exactly what they're referring to, lol). But this was much more serious, and I don't think this will ever be something to laugh about. Something went wrong, and it needs to be fixed. I don't want to take them down, I want to know that they can continue and other parents can truly entrust their children to this place, even if I can no longer do so.
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m in Israel




 
 
    
 

Post Thu, Aug 27 2015, 3:39 pm
amother wrote:
I posted how my son was supposed to go today but in the end he did not however I haven't told anybody about what happened except I told my two kids and asked them what happens when they finish at the park and they told me they lineup and hold the rope so I said do they count? And they said yes.
if my kids are right and they do count It sounds like the counselors did not have the right number and made a mistake.


Even if they generally count when leaving, having the wrong number/miscounting is a HUGE mistake to make -- it kind of defeats the purpose of counting if such a thing can happen. I worked for many years as a counselor in day camps, and we would count obsessively whenever we left the camp grounds. If we went by bus each counselor was responsible to walk down the aisles and count their campers before the bus would pull away, and then we would count AGAIN when we arrived back in our bunk room. So even if somehow someone miscounted on the bus, there would be a second check (it also made sure no one wandered off on the way into the building Very Happy). Whenever we moved rooms (like going down to the lunchroom or out to the yard or back inside) we were supposed to count. IOW, there should be MULTIPLE checks throughout the day that everyone is accounted for, ESPECIALLY with such young children. The initial mistake of leaving him behind is bad enough -- but the fact that the entire rest of the afternoon could pass without any further tracking indicates a problem with their procedures, not just one counselor who miscounted.
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amother
Crimson


 

Post Thu, Aug 27 2015, 4:33 pm
OP, I am sick just reading about this- I can't even begin to imagine how terrified you must have been. Thank G-d you had a good ending. Mistakes happen, but 3 hours? That is unacceptable and unforgivable. I am seething on your behalf!
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amother
Cerise


 

Post Mon, Aug 31 2015, 10:27 pm
Did the other parents know this happened? Where they there when u couldn't find ur son?
What did u end up doing?
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amother
Ivory


 

Post Mon, Aug 15 2016, 11:17 pm
Op I have to say I dug up this thread post tisha b'av as I know the place was having camp and tons and tons of kids attended there yesterday. I personally never sent my kids there after your story - just not comfortable with it - but they are still operating and running and I certainly hope the security is improved. Did anything ever happen after you spoke to a lawyer?
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