Would You Be Mad?

Hell no you didn't overreact. I'm mad for you as well. What were they thinking? Just leave kiddos standing there? Brother, did these coaches just crawl out from under a rock? I'm glad that the lady waited for his ride with him. That can be scary for a kid!

No! Do those camp leaders realize how much trouble they would have been in if anything had happened to any of those kids? Legally, morally, socially!!!!! I have no patience for people like that.

Thanks for posting it. Many moms reading this might think twice. I know here people make comments to me and the other "overprotective" moms. One told me "You didn't need to wait with my child. She is 8 and she knows to sit in the lobby watching tv when I am late." This was at an adult gym that hosts a kids event weekly.

I dont usually panic, or get ticked at people for small stuff that ends up ok, but Id be furious over this. I can see all the dangers that could have happend to a young child in this situation. The coaches are trusted to be with your son for a certain ammount of time and if they decide to quit early they still have a responsibility to be there until every kid is with the approved ride home. They dont even know which kid belongs to which parent at ths point and I would have been making sure each boy knew who he was going with for their own safety. How dare them just leave before all kids were spoken for. Its not like the kids are 14 and take care of themselves. This would be the same as if parents went to their kids daycare at 5 and found the kids sitting in the front yard because the caretakers decided to close early. This is one time I would scream like a maniac and set the coaches straight on child safety and how to be responsible. If you do keep your son in this camp Id ask that other M.(guardian angel) if she would mind keeping an eye on your son until dad arrives since its obvious the coaches wont. And then take her and her son to a nice dinner at the end of the camp.

No you did not overreact! I would be so livid too! That was so nice of the lady to stay there with your son and all those other boys. I hope the coaches rectify their poor judgment from now on. I think you did the right thing to bring it to the director and president's attention. God Bless!
A.

Hi Stephanie,

I would be LIVID!!! I have my 6 year old son in soccer and luckily, I'm able to stay. But if I wasn't able to stay and the coach had just left without notifying me about the change in schedule, I would be LIVID!!! I would call/email the director and president and demand to know what happened. Yes, I would be polite about it, but there would be no doubt on how I would feel. And no, you didn't overreact.
Please check with the mother that you met and make sure that she agreed to stay with your son until someone was there to pick him up and then make sure you take her out for coffee or something like that as a thank you to her. Good luck for the rest of the week!

I. K.

That is Horrible of those coaches!!! Yes you have every right to be mad. What a true blessing that lady was. I cannot believe that... Seriously, they feel it's okay to leave a 6 -12 year old child alone??? Do these coaches even have kids? WOW, talk about child endangerment, I'd like to know what the law actually says... Yes, it worked out okay for your son, but I read about the other little boy that got lost. Oh my goodness, what a true blessing this lady is!!!

Hopefully your husband can have a long talk with the coaches and tell them how irresponsible they are...

NO you didn’t overreact, if this is a camp for young children, this should NEVER had happen. What if this lady hadn’t been able to stay with you son? It could’ve been very dangerous for him to stay on his own.
It was very nice of her to stay and EXTREMLY irresponsible of the camp management and trainers to end the camp session early without letting the parents know about it and with no one staying until ALL the children were picked up by the ASSIGNED person; even letting him stay with that nice lady was wrong because as nice as she was, your son or you didn’t really know her.

I would be livid! They are messing with the safety of your son!

You didn't overreact. Not a single bit. I'd be fuming. Keep your cool with the director and the president because they're the ones that can help you and discipline the coaches, though. If you drop your child off there before this is addressed, use your Mother's Death Glare but a sugary sweet voice to remind the coaches to call either you or your husband to come pick up your child in case they close early for the day again.

WOW! I would be furious! If this camp has any kind of school or organizational affiliation (Pop Warner or similar), I'd take it to the powers-that-be there, too. That is inexcusable to end camp early and not ensure the kids have a parent present! It would be one thing if the campers were teenagers, but to leave first and second graders alone? What were they thinking?! Thank goodness for that mom who stayed with your son!

you are not over reacting at all. that is a really big deal. i am not a complainer by nature but if all the adults left my kid PRIOR to the end of scheduled time and in an unsafe way you can bet they would ALL hear about it. Even older than 7 is completely inappropriate but a 7 year is just crazy. You are right to take it all the way to the top. Raise hell.

For reference, i have been to plenty of sports camps and also coached kids, and even in high school, AN ADULT STAYS till all the kids either leave (if they drive) or have been picked up.

No, you didn't overreact. I teach high school students and coach our robotics team. Anytime we do an after school activity, we make sure at least one adult (usually two) stay until the very last student is picked up...and these are high schoolers, some of them 18 years old! The students are entrusted to our care; we make darn sure they get home safe and sound. We have had to wait for a full hour after our set end time because parents run late, but we have done it and will continue to do so.

No, you did not overreact. Those kids are too young to be left alone. I would also talk to the coaches when you take your son next time. Ending early is fine, but all of those children were the responsibility of the coaches and should not have been left alone. Parents should have been called or at least one coach should have stayed and supervised the kids while waiting for parents.

Also, talk to your son about what to do if this ever happens again, not just at football camp but anywhere. For my son we always told him don't leave, we will be there to get him; don't talk to anyone you do not know, and don't wonder around either. If he doesn't know your phone number I recommend he learns it quickly so he can call you if he ever needs to.

LIVID! LIVID! LIVID!

You did not overreact- I would be demanding a meeting (not just a written repsonse) from the camp.

I would also make sure that mom has a nice cup of coffee/tea/ thank-you and your cell phone number!

I would be pretty pissed! They should have waited around until all of the childrens parents got there and/or called each parent and let them know camp got out early and even if the parents said to go ahead they didn't have to wait, they should've still waited in my opinion. They are responsible for the kids and I would seriously have some words with those coaches. How old are these coaches??

I would be furious. I have 5 kids so I am not usually able to stay for my kids practices. I try to make all the games, but occasionally that isn't possible. There have been a few times when I was late. The coaches stayed every time, even with my 12 year old. Those coaches have a responsibility to the kids and should not have left without making sure every child was with their parent.

I would be livid! I would be demanding a full refund and I would pull my child out of camp. If they are that irresponsible that what would happen in the case of a true emergency?

At no point should your child be left unsupervised when he is supposed to be at summer camp. Just imagine if that woman wasn't there. What if someone was there that convinced your son to walk home with them and you never saw him again. Over reacting, absolutely not! I wouldn't even allow him to go back to camp!

I would be livid. Thank God you met a wonderful person who watched after him. I can't imagine if something had happened. I would not stop emailing and calling until I got some satisfaction.

Yes, I would be upset but before you fire off at everyone..... The coaches might have assumed this woman was your child's ride.

That said... at my daughter's high school last year (9th-10th grades) cheerleaders, ......even with this age group (15-16), they are not allowed to leave until the coaches see and acknowledge that a parent is there to pick up. IF a parent is not picking up and a cheerleader is riding with someone else, we had to send in a signed form AHEAD of time.

It sounds to me like the policy there is a bit lax. I know our policy could be considered too rigid but I prefer rigid anyday over ending up with my child left hanging around a high school or football field alone, and in the heat.

Now that we are at the Sr high level, daughter drives herself.

omgoodness!! I would be so angry! I would have emailed and called the director/president too!! Yes, that was a great thing that Mom did for you and you definitely were considerate to quickly show your appreciation.

ooh my word!!! i would be beyond livid!!!

NO CAMP LEADER - no matter if it's baseball, football, la crosse, etc. CANNOT leave a child alone...they MUST wait for the parent or guardian to pick them up...

No, you did NOT over react - AT ALL!! I would be LIVID...I would be in the coaches faces and in the directors faces...this will NOT happen again...period..

How great that you had a W. who took care of your son instead of just leaving him...totally irresponsible of the camp to leave..

I would be mad. You left your kids in thier care. And they just left. Unless there is some paperwork you signed that says a parent needs to be present at all times or it's somehwere in writing that camp may close early with no notice or communications, I would be fuming mad.

I would be LIVID!!! As a parent it is your right to complain! Give them HELL!
Thank God you had just met that mother and she offered to stay with him, instead of dirivng him home! Angels are all over in many forms! Very nice gesture on the gift card ;-)

No, you did not overreact. You are perfectly justified to be angry about this. The coaches should have been responsible and stayed with the kids until EVERYONE was picked up. The least they could have done is call you to make sure it was okay if they left your child with this woman, assuming she didn't mind waiting, but I really don't even think that's appropriate.

You didn't overreact. I would be screaming at the director and the coaches. That is completely unacceptable!!!!! What if something happened to your son when no one was there! I would definitely complain and see what they are going to do about it. GL

M

What a nightmare!!!
You did not overreact, your son was 7.
I think getting the mom the gc was very sweet. She did the right thing. Thank God.

Plus my highschooler is not left on the high school campus without the teacher or coach of whatever club or sport she is in at the time with her. They must stay with the students until an adult comes to get them or the child drives off campus.

Not in the slightest. There could be legal ramifications for leaving kids unattended like that. They were in charge until 5. At least one of them should have been there until everyone had gone home.

Heck no, you didn't overreact!! I would have been upset too!

My husband coached a K-1 soccer team for my daughter school. So kids ranged from 5-7. He would have NEVER left any of those kids alone, nor would I have let him. He was responsible for them until a parent picked them up. And I believe the camp you sent your son to, should follow the same rules.

Unacceptable! Kids as young as 6 were possibly left alone?

Sorry--I would say that's borderline illegal.

Thank GOD you met the other mom and she was decent enough to keep an eye on him. I shudder to think....

Not in the least. 7 is WAY to young to just be left by themselves. You may want to talk to the woman who was sitting with your son. She might have told the coaches that she would wait with your son until Mom or Dad got there to pick him up.

You did not over react! And even if the other mother said she'd wait with your son, unless you have told them that they can release him to her, it is irresponsible for them to leave him with her. If anything had happened to your son, they would have been legally responsible.

After thought. If someone had reported this to the police when it happened the police could've taken a report. They still might do so. It is child endangerment to leave 6 year olds alone. I would be tempted to call the police because their lack of response indicates to me that they're not taking this seriously.

No. You are right. They undertook to be responsible for these children. They are immature fools and need a strong reprimand

The woman you met might make a very good friend in your life. I'd cultivate that friendship between the boys and while they were playing I'd sit with the mother over tea or coffee and get to know her.

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Did the woman tell the coaches she would watch your son until you got there? Since your son probably went over to her when practice ended, maybe they thought she was his ride. Just some thoughts...

I worked at a theatre that had a summer camp as well as younger children involved in productions throughout the year. Rehearsals sometimes operated on an odd schedule. Occasionally, one would end a little early, often "rides" were late. I *never* left the facility so long as there was *anyone* still hanging around. If they were waiting on a ride, I waited with them. If they were just hanging around, I encouraged them to find an elsewhere to be.

We I you, the administration of that camp would have a long way to go to make this up. Not the least of my issues would be that you pay for camp expecting it to last a certain amount of time. They should not arbitrarily be able to end early and take off. Yeah, my ire would be in full swing.

No you didn't overreact. I would be mad too and would have done the same thing. The only thing I wonder did this lady tell the coaches that she would stay with your son until you or your husband arrived? I wonder if the coaches asked her or something. I don't agree with them doing that if that is the case since they are the ones ultimately responsible. They should notify you of any changes in the schedule. Totally irresponsible. I would keep a close on the whole thing. But no, I don't think you overreacted.

You did exactly what you needed to do, thanks for protecting other children, by taking the actions you did! It bugs me when this happens I deal with it a lot in my child's schooling program. Rehearsal will let out at 4:30 & we are scheduled to pick up kids at 6... ridiculous. My daughter is 11 & has a cell phone (crazy to have cell phone at this age, we had our reasons), & the schooling program has only 300 students, we have been a part of this group for so many years that I know all the parents & teacher very well, so I didn't have the same worries as you. These coaches didn't even know if you would want your child to go with this women, thank God for good people! Thanks for taking action!

Of course you didn't! Demand answers and expect apologies but be courteous about it. Afterall you are still leaving your son with them if you are keeping him in the camp the rest of the week.

Not acceptable, not over reacting. You cannot simply decide to end camp early and leave children (and a 7 is a young child) without adult supervision. That's risky, irresponsible and possibly illegal. The coaches on duty that day should all be fired, even if it means shutting down the camp. If you haven't gotten an apology yet, I'd go above their heads. Don't complain within the camp, find out what the next step is.

you have every right to be upset over this. It is the responsibility of those running the camp and/or the coaches to make sure each child is picked up by the person who is suppose to pick them up and they stay until each child has been picked up. The liability of releasing a child to someone who is not listed on the paperwork or leaving before the parents arrive is insurmountable. It doesn't matter if the child is 1 or 18. If it is a drop off camp, it is their responsibility. Even had you not returned on time! Although you had.
I am just furious thinking about this. I hope that you call them also.

So glad your son had his angel (as well as that mom) watching over him! My girls attended a SkyHawks baseball camp last year and I appreciated that each morning at dropoff they checked off the child's name and made a point to get to know me. The same coach checked in each day, so I'm sure that helped, too. Then each afternoon the kids had to sit in the dugout or play toss with a coach until a parent/okay-ed adult came and the name was again checked off. This was very smooth and ensured at least a low level of safety as well as my confidence in leaving them there for the day. What you experienced was not acceptable, and definitely needs follow up.

You did not over react. I would be making sure someone lost their job.

No you did not overreact at all!

If your son was 17, then yeah, you might be overreacting...but 7??? Definitely NOT! I would be absolutely livid.

No, I would be pissed too! That's not right that the coaches did that!

I haven't read all your responses. But I don't see anyone asking you this. Yes the coaches did absolutely wrong in leaving your son there. But why would you leave your son there by himself with someone you really don't know, and with coaches you don't know? This day and age you really cannot be that trusting. You should have stayed with your son the whole time. I never left my kids alone at that age at sports. I have a 17 year old and stuff still goes through my mind when he is out on his own.