My 9-year-old son was playing outside with a neighbor who's in his class at school and another kid I've never met. I hover when my son's playing outside because something always goes wrong, but my neighbor doesn't. By the time I got outside, the kids were playing dodgeball with pecans out in the street. Not the best idea, but I didn't interfere. Then one of them got the idea of throwing the nuts at a wasp nest at a house 2 doors down from us. My son told them it was stupid and ran home. I told him we'd already had a conversation about this earlier, and I sent him inside.
(Really weird cooincidence- earlier in the day, we were having a family discussion about nuts at school. To make a point, I asked my husband if he would let a child play baseball near a beehive-in other words, you don't take risks with your child's safety).
I went inside, and considered calling the neighbor. A few minutes later I looked out to see if they stopped. I heard the 2 boys coming back towards our house. I heard one of them suggest throwing things at my truck, so I kept listening. Instead they went back to mess with the wasp nest again. So then I did call the other mom. I told her about the wasps, and I guess she called the 2 boys inside.
I don't want to meddle too much, especially since my son's in the same class with the neighbor this year. Did I do the right thing by calling the mom? Should I have told her about one of them talking about throwing nuts at my truck(even though I don't know if it was her son that said it and they didn't do it)?
If he has never been stung by a wasp and is allergic then you may have saved his life, OK that's a stretch but still........ In this instance you did the right thing.
And no I wouldn't have said anything about the truck.
I think you were in the right. Prevention, right? What if one of the boys wound up with 20 wasp stings and you could have helped them avoid it? Well, you did. I probably would have also mentioned the throwing things at the truck as an aside, even though they didn't do it. Just an fyi for the mom ...
If you have a chance to see the boys again, I think walking up to them together and saying,, "I just want you both to know If I EVER find a scratch or dent in my vehicle, I will know it was you, and I WILL call the police. You would NEVER be so foolish to do ANYTHING to hurt personal property would you? We have an understanding dont we?" Look them straight in the eye, without a smile, and then say "Im glad we could have this little talk." and walk away.
I would have let the wasp nest thing go. If they get hurt then they'll learn their lesson.
I wouldn't have done anything about the truck unless they actually threw something at it and/or hit it. If they did, I would have told the mom in front of the boys and said "I'm not sure who is doing it but someone is throwing things at my truck and just wanted you to be aware of someone running around destroying property. I hope they don't get caught b/c that is illegal to destroy someone else's property and you never know what the police might do."
I think you did the right thing--you let another mom know that her kid was in danger of being stung!
I wouldn't have mentioned the expressed "thought" of throwing rocks at your truck, but I WOULD keep an eye out for that behavior in the future, for sure.
I think you did the right thing. You protected them from possibly getting stung by messing w/ the wasps and alerted her to them throwing the nuts. Since you didn't catch them actually throwing anything at your truck I would let it go for now.
I think you made a good call. You were supervising enough to know they were up to something dangerous and stupid and you were wise to let the other mom know. I hope you also praised your son for having good judgement and not going along with something dangerous.
You did the right thing. They WERE throwing nuts at a wasp nest, and could have been injured or worse. They didn't do the truck thing - if they did, that would have been a serious yes, but thinking about it doesn't count as doing it. I'd hover when they were around, but don't tattle about what didn't happen.
I wouldnt say anything about the truck but you did the right thing about alerting about the wasps.
I think you did just enough warning her about the boys and the bees.
Yep, I would want to know.
I believe making the other mom know is appropriate. It is not like your calling her everyday for every little thing.
In the worst case scenario, a child would have received vengeance from
the wasps. That's worth regretting. You did the right thing, yes. I, as a
mother, would have been grateful for the heads-up. Some, maybe not.
I think I would not have mentioned them talking about your car as their
next target. If I did, I would hope to give it an upbeat message that even
though they thought about it, their decision was the right one. One of
the kids should be commended for stopping that one. Likely, the kid
that you did not know, did not know you and made you an easy target for
his lack of good judgement. If you knew the kid, you would probably
know his parents. That deters a lot of mischief. Good luck
Heck yeah I would've told the mom. Think of it this way...would 'you' like to know if your child was doing something he shouldn't? If your child got introuble, like say, getting stung by a wasp b/c he was aggrivating it or the nest but you didn't know he was doing that & it could've been prevented just by someone correcting them either directly or by someone letting you know, wouldn't you want to know so you can be sure to correct your child yourself if needed or pull him back inside to prevent him getting stung (or hurt some other way) due to some other kids being stupid? I know I would. Same w/your truck. In that instance you could've probably said something like "also, I overheard the kids saying they wanted to throw things at my truck. I'm not sure which child said it but thought I'd mention it to you so you can be sure to let your child know...or remind him...that this is not the thing to do..." & leave it at that. This way you're not blaming or accusing a child that you're not completely sure who did it but calling him on it nonetheless. Since you overheard the boys say they wanted to throw things at your truck, you could've gone outside & told them that you heard them say that & if they throw things at your vehicle, you WILL tell their parents & they will have to pay for any repairs. Maybe that will help if you hear them say anthing like that again. If they argue w/you, try telling them that you have hidden cameras & will catch them if they do anything they shouldn't. Hope this helps. Good luck!!
I think had you known for sure it was her son then yes you should have said something about it. So your call about the beehive was good enough for now. Boy do you have to stay extra attentive now. (now that you overheard them about the truck that is)
Yup I agree you did the right thing, and I think since they didn't actually throw anything at the truck it was OK to let that one go, but keep an eye out for the future.
Heads UP! :) The boys are throwing rocks at a wasp nest.
yup
what happened to telling the boys yourself to cut it out? we were raised like that and rarely got into too much trouble because listening ears such as yourself were around to prevent it. you should just tell the kids yourself. if they smart back to you then call the parents and let them know. we often tell neighborhood kids to not do something. were often outside.
Honestly, I would NOT have told the parents about the boys messing with the wasp's nest. Your son is smart enough to know that throwing things at a wasp's nest is stupid, and I hope you praised him immensely for not only doing the right thing and coming home, but telling the boys that it was a stupid thing to do!! I would be so proud of him! Unfortunately, it sounds like the other boys haven't been taught the dangers of such reckless behavior. I doubt telling the parent did anything but get them yelled at...it won't change future behavior. So I say let them play with the nest and stay inside =) I doubt there would ever be a 2nd incident, and maybe they would learn a good life lesson!
