Forgot That Today Was Early Day @ School & Didnt Pick up My Baby!!

Updated on August 18, 2011
C.W. asks from Oviedo, FL
22 answers

Have any of you moms ever done this? Hopefully Im not alone here! I feel like such a terrible person right now! I forgot that Wednesdays got out early from school & I wasnt at the bus stop to pick up my lil kindergartner. One of the moms noticed she was alone and asked her where her mommy was and I guess they waited for a few minutes but it had began to rain so she asked her if she knew where she lived. Thank goodness she could show the mom how to get home!! All the while Im thinking I have about 45 min until I need to go to the bus stop and wait so I was headed out to get some snacks for her lunch at the corner grocery store. Im just about to throw on my shoes when I hear a knock at the door. I open it and there stands the mom, her son, & my daughter. Right then it came to me that today is Wednesday and its an early day. The mom told me what happened and I just burst into tears and hugged her. Of course then my daughter started crying b/c I was crying. I feel horrible-and to add to it my daughters dad is picking her up to have dinner with her tonight and so she calls him to confirm and tells him all about it and now hes livid with me like I did it on purpose. Please moms tell me you've also done this before so Im not feeling soo guilty. One things for sure tho..I wont forget next wednesday!!
Also..Im thinking this mom deserves a thank you gift-any ideas?

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So What Happened?

Thank you all so much for your stories!!! It lets me know I am not alone =) I shared with my ex the responses that I had gotten and told him Im not the only one that has done this before. I ended up getting the mom a thank you card, put my phone # on it, and a $20 Target gift card. We are going to present it to her tomorrow morning at the bus stop. Have a great night mammas!!!

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R.K.

answers from Boston on

They let kindergarteners off the bus without a parent present??? That a huge no no here. I forgot the kids had a half day I was at a funeral for a baby I got a call from the school I was in total panic I walked into the schoo and there he was eating lunch with the secretary. They didn't mind him being there and I was a Lot more upset than he was.

3 moms found this helpful

L.F.

answers from Dallas on

My mom did that to me when I was in kindergarten. She worked nights and had overslept. I'm not in therapy over it. You're human. Alls well that ends well. : )

2 moms found this helpful

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J.C.

answers from Anchorage on

becoming a mom does not magically make one perfect! School just started, it is hard to get the new schedule down, don't beat yourself up. What I do whenever it is going to be an early day at my kids school is I set the alarm on my cell phone (if it is every week you can set it to go off every week on that day on most phones) that way when it goes off I am reminded. Don't beat yourself up, sh*t happens!

Blesses Be

6 moms found this helpful
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S.M.

answers from Washington DC on

I locked my self out of the house 10 minutes before I had to get my daughter from preschool. I was a few months pregnant with morning sickness, in my sweats, barefoot, and no cell phone. And of course no SAHM in my neighborhood. We'd lived in our house just a month and my duaghter had been at thsi school a few weeks. I was convinced someone was going to call CPS. I had to walk 5 blocks (barefoot!!) to a model house in the neighborhood and wait for it to open at 11:30 to call the school, whose number of course I did not have, and then call my husband to get my daughter and come home and let me in the house. Thank goodness, it was only September and not freezing outside. I cried and so did my 3 year old, but luckily they of course kept her at school and let her play

Now, we have a very well hidden, hideakey.

5 moms found this helpful

J.W.

answers from St. Louis on

Um, I think we have all done that at some point. Why the heck they having an early dismissal this early in the year anyway??!! That just stacks the deck in their favor. :p

4 moms found this helpful

M.C.

answers from Pocatello on

No, I haven't- but my kids aren't school age yet... so...

What I can say, is that my mom did almost the same exact thing when I was little, and the janitor had to call the police because I forgot my phone number! It actually was a Friday when school was off and my mom dropped me at the school for "half day kindergarten" and so I was stuck standing at the front door of the school.

Ya know though, I didn't turn out to be scarred for life and I am not a serial killer or anything, and in the grand scheme of things my mom was pretty awesome... so don't feel so bad. I think that you get a free pass this time, no harm done!

-M.

3 moms found this helpful

T.N.

answers from Albany on

Oh No! That sucks! I'm so sorry this happened to you!

Good news is, I have NEVER EVEN ONCE met a perfect Mom.

Thank God for your neighbor, nice to know we all look out for each other.

Someday you and you fam will giggle about Dumb Mom Moments, I promise!

:)

3 moms found this helpful
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M.M.

answers from Washington DC on

I've done it.
I took my 1st grader to school, sent him in and went home. ONly to get a phone call 20 minutes later from his teacher that there was no school that day, it was a teacher's workday. Thank Goodness the teachers were there.
I have also forgotten to pick mine up after school, he was a car rider. Same baby, same year, same teacher.
She'll be OK.
Thank the mom at the busstop. If you want make her some baked goods, brownies or cookies are appropriate.

2 moms found this helpful
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M.R.

answers from Dallas on

Oh honey I have done something similiar.

WHen my son was in K they only went half a day. I worked at night at the time and didn't get home until 4am the night before. Well I fell asleep while he was in school and didn't wake in time to get him. I was so exhausted I slept through the 4 phone calls they made trying to get me! I woke on the fifth oe it was an hour past school letting out. I felt like the worst parent ever.

ETA
Tell your ex to take a chill pill... stuff happens!

2 moms found this helpful
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M.O.

answers from Chicago on

Oh you're a horrible person. Ok, so that's out of the way - smile - I'm totally kidding you!

Get the other mom some Bath and Body works stuff, or offer to pick up her child sometime so she can run errands while the kids play at your house.

BTW - I've gotten so busy juggling kids and everything else that I need the REMINDER. Google calendar is free, you can color code it per person or however you like, and it will send you an email or text message to a cell phone 1 hour or 15mins before you're "event".

I broke down and use this because it's just gotten so crazy trying to keep track of EVERYTHING.

Last night I'd volunteered to sub for someone at a Bunco group and TOTALLY forgot it. My husband said, "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere???" Guess what, I'd turned off the "reminders" from my calendar and FORGOT.

We've all been there. And as for your daughter's father, tell him no one's perfect. Just make sure you and this other mom have a "back up plan"...our school district asks parents to have a 2nd or 3rd backup person that is authorized to pick up your child just in case.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.P.

answers from Pittsfield on

Yes, I was out grocery shopping and completely forgot, in my sleep deprived haze, that it was a half day. Luckily, my husband was home with the baby when the school called wondering where I was. I had the van, of course, but he was able to get my MIL to pick them up. When I came home and saw that the kids were already home, I realized what I had done- I felt so horrible and cried =( They forgave me much faster than I forgave myself though.
I think flowers would be a nice gesture.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.O.

answers from Tampa on

Don't beat yourself up, I've almost forgotten myself a few times but my husband called to remind me, thank god..Anyway, I am surprised they let her go with another mom...I know she helped you out and all, but I don't know if I would like that, especially if I didn't know her. I know at my son's school, they would not allow that and would of taken my child into the office to wait, and called me. They won't allow him to go with anyone that is not listed by me as ok...Something to think about is all...Again, don't worry about it..Your ex sounds like a manipulative jerk who knows you are sensitive and probably enjoys making you feel bad, using it as leverage, so you can't get mad the next time he screws up...I would just send her a thank you card and maybe a gift card for something if you feel it's necessary..Definitely a card though...:)

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S.S.

answers from Miami on

It's not that big a deal and just take it in stride. This adds to independent thinking on your daughter's part. She will be fine even if it happens again. Misunderstandings of when practice ends and meetings that run late happen all the time in this world. She's fine....stop stressing.

T.S.

answers from San Francisco on

We have ALL done this, please don't beat yourself up over it!!!
I hate early release days :(

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S.B.

answers from Fort Myers on

I havent done it but I feel for you. On different pick up times it can be confusing. I would def get her something.

M.D.

answers from Washington DC on

Kindergarten kids are not allowed off the bus here without a parent. I'd call the school because I bet yours aren't allowed to either. I'd pitch a fit about that. Thank God for the other mom...but we've all had our moments. Don't feel bad. She will forget about it soon enough. And you won't do it again because you've seen how bad it sucks. I was in an interview and my husband had told my sister (who watched our kids in our home) that he was going to be home to get her. He wasn't. So my neighbor that I don't talk to got her off. Thank God for her.

K.M.

answers from Chicago on

Isn't that like a right of passage or something of having a school aged kiddo? Or like an initiation to the club? It's going to happen, this will not be the last time, you have YEARS of school to go thru just accept it and move on. I would give the mom a Gift Card for Starbucks, enough to get a few drinks as a thank you along with your cell phone number and ask for hers so you guys can help cover each other in the future this may be the start of a wonderful friendship.

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J.T.

answers from Dallas on

the fact that you're this upset about it tells me that you're not a bad mom, youre just human!!!!! seriously, in you shoes, i'd be super pissed at myself, but it was an HONEST mistake, no ill intent on your part, nothing bad happened(don't drive yourself nuts with the what-ifs), and i bet you'll NEVER do it again :) please don't grovel to your daughter, or make it a big deal to HER. take some time to reinforce not going in a car with strangers, etc.(though not in a way that she ties it to this). my neighbor did this once on the monday of an early release week, except she didn't notice til over an hour after her daughter(and the little girl she babysits after school - OOPS!) got off the bus - called me to see if the girls were outside(they were, i walked over and got them - they were kinder at the time), but she was a basketcase when she got here - i really think she scared the girls! this kind of stuff happens - don't be too hard on yourself :) i actually had a dream the other night that i forgot to pick up my son from mother's day out...

V.W.

answers from Minneapolis on

My son is only 9 months, so I've never done this... But my mom on the other hand...

She worked at the school and new my schedule, so I always just assumed she would be there. I went to an online high school so I was home most days, but on Tuesdays and Thursdays I went to the actual building. A bus picked me up at the public high school in my town and drove me about an hour away to the main building for the online high school (There were 3 or 4 other kids, so it wasn't just me). Anyways, there were a few times that when I got back to the public school my mom had already left... Forgetting that it was a Tuesday or Thursday and that she had to wait for me. We live 7 miles out of town, so walking home wasn't an option.

I feel the worst for my littlest sister. There have been MANY times we have forgotten her at wal-mart. Well, when we get to wal-mart we usually just go our separate ways and mom has some one call us over the intercom when it's time to go. My sister has knack for not hearing the intercom, so she doesn't come up to the meeting spot. My mom just assumes that she just had 2 of the 3 girls with her and we leave. Usually about half way home, some one notices and we turn around and pick her up. Lol!

My boyfriend still remembers the time when his mom picked up him and his sister from daycare but forgot about his little brother. He remembers looking out the back window and seeing his little 5 year old brother running down the street behind the car as fast as he can trying to catch them. LOL!!!

Trust me... A few years from now, you and your daughter will look back and laugh :)

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A.W.

answers from Chicago on

It happens all the time! At least that's what I was told when this happened with our daughter last year. She was in half day kindergarten and the first time I put my daughter on the bus in the morning and left for my mom's a half hour away. My husband was off of work and at home. He calls me a bit later and says I'm going to take a nap, call me at 11am to wake me up (kid gets home at 11:30am). So I start calling him at 11am, continue to call him and call him until 11:30. I was starting to worry but my mom says "oh, I'm sure everything's fine. S wouldn't oversleep and miss getting her. He's probably outside waiting for the bus." So I wait until 11:40 and call again. He answers the phone and I say Where is E? He says at school. I say no, she should have gotten off the bus 10 minutes ago. He says why didn't you call me? ARGH! I say I called you a hundred times- gotta go! I hung up and called the school. As I am telling the secretary who I am she says oh here comes E walking in the office now! I called my husband and he had to walk the 3/4 mile to school (we only have one car) to get her- when he got there she was happily eating a granola bar and drinking juice and chatting with the secretary. I was a wreck and totally felt like we're the worst, most god awful parents in the world. I thought they were going to call DCFS on us! I went into the school the next morning and apologized and thanked the secretary and said really we are decent parents, please don't report us. She laughed and said it happens a lot. She keeps a stash of granola bars and juice boxes in the office for that reason- to give to kids who get accidentally left.
I was in a school play once in grade school and my parents were in the audience and left without me. They thought my other set of parents we're picking me up who thought they were picking me up at home. Nobody realized I was left at school until the second set showed up at my house to pick me up after the first set had gotten home. I lived through it and I'm not scarred. Actually, now that I'm older it's kinda funny.
Tell your daughter's dad to chill out. It happens. I'm sure he's not Mother Teresa of parenting and has made mistakes. Stop feeling guilty. You both survived and one day it'll be funny. :)

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

LOTS of Moms do that.
You are not the only one.

USUALLY, if a child is not picked up.. or the Mom is late... the child is to go to the school Office. And someone there will call the parent.
There are sometimes LOTS of kids, waiting in the Office, because parents forget, Wednesdays, are earlier pick up time.

Now, at my Daughter's school, NO ONE is allowed to drive or pick up another child, UNLESS the parent has authorized it (per the school forms that the parent fills out)... OR unless the parent was called, and the other Adult got PERMISSION to take that child home.

Now, the Teachers at my Daughter's school, know how a child gets home. AND if a parent is late.... the child is to go to the school Office and to tell them.

In your case, this happened at the bust stop, once your child debarked from the bus.
So yes, good thing, another Mom noticed. She was not at the school by then.
BUT, does your child KNOW your cell phone or home phone number???
What if a Stranger, picked up your child at the bus stop?????

I am surprised... that they let your child off the bus, with no parent there.
AND... what if a parent never shows up or is very late???
What then?
What are the school's or Bus rules???
I would ask the school.

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C.C.

answers from Tallahassee on

Oh, yes, I have!

Last year I picked both kids up from elementary school. I usually go early (so I can wait in line). However, I was at a friends house, and her mantle clock had not been "sprung" forward, and the watch I was wearing was my fancier one (and thus had also not been changed), so I thought I was at the school at 3, but when I drove up it was FOUR, and nearly all the cars had gone. I ran in panicked, but the office people (including the principal) smiled at me, enjoying the joke, and said it had happened to them a lot.

They'd called my husband, though, and his whole office had been in a panic wondering where I was (the hubby knows I'm obsessively early for everything).

I would certainly do something for the mom--maybe take her out to lunch or invite her over for tea before the kids come home? It takes a village to raise a child, and I'm sure you can do something for her and her son this year.

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