Is your child safe?

amother

Hotpink

Mon, Apr 20 2015, 6:17 pm

FranticFrummie wrote:

But, your child WAS safe. His big sister was right there, and she handled the situation perfectly. No one was harmed in any way. She should be congratulated for her good common sense and calm reaction.

The man was probably alarmed that he saw a 4yo outside "on his own" and was looking to make sure that the child was OK, not realizing that the sister was nearby. He left when he realized that the 4yo was not unattended. That doesn't make it creepy. Any concerned person would check on a child so small that seemed to be alone.

Sorry, but I don't understand the hysteria here. And mommy2b2c, you won't let a 6 and 8 year old go out on their own front porch? Really? What are you teaching them about the world? Do you live in a war zone or gang territory? If you don't feel safe letting them out the front door, you may need to consider moving to a better neighborhood.

This is the OP. This was not an innocent man. This was a boy of about 20 years old, my son was only a few feet from my open door, clearly he was not in any danger except from this person. The street isn't even anywhere close to our yard, my son's singing attracted his attention so he crossed my property to come to my fenced in back yard. To my mind he was just trying to figure out how to communicate with my son who only speaks English and this person probably only speaks yiddish. I am not willing to be that naive. My daughter is 18 years old and knows what she saw. She saw him staring and staring at my son in a very disturbing way, not even trying to ask him where his Mommy is or to check on him at all (not that, that question would be taken innocently anyway).

marina

Mon, Apr 20 2015, 7:35 pm

etky wrote:

The thing is this: all kinds of terrible things can happen. And there are certain types of parents - myself included - that worry about all kinds of hypothetical dangers that, though possible, are in reality very far fetched. At some point you have to assess the situation objectively (it helps if you have a spouse who is more 'chilled' than you) and realize that you can't possibly cover all the bases w/o paralyzing your children and stunting their development. You can't let your fears get the better of you and hold your kids back. I'm a big talker. This is something I struggle with too. And my oldest DD just got her driver's license...

We are in this process too, and let me tell you: whatever fears you have about a porch or a backyard or strangers- it will seem like a silly joke to you when your child takes the wheel on a busy street.