I stopped off at a little park in my neighborhood today. When I got there and sat on a bench, I was the only one in the park. I sat there sipping my iced Starbucks and enjoying the birds and scenery, and after a few minutes, a woman's yelling caught my attention. I looked over in the direction of the yelling, but saw no woman. Instead I saw a little boy on his bike...all alone. Then I heard her yell again, "BRIAN!" The little boy was ignoring her and just pedalling slowly around the park. The woman kept screaming his name, "BRIAN!" I expected to see, any second now, the woman appear and be frantically running after him.
Nope.
Instead she just kept screaming his name. Now Brian had peddled over to the side street, which was heavily shaded. Just then a pickup truck pulled to the curb and crept closer to Brian before it stopped. "Uh oh", I thought. I was certain that Brian would promptly peddle in the opposite direction because even at a distance, the truck had a creepy feel to it, and it was obvious there was a lone man in the cab. But to my amazement, Brian PEDALLED UP TO THE TRUCK! See pic above. You can see Brian's little helmeted form in the yellow oval, and the truck in the violet oval. The woman kept yelling for Brian, and because she was so loud, the driver of that pickup would surely now know the little boy's name... as surely as I heard it from the other end of the park. I decided that if the man got out of the truck, I would intervene. "Maybe he knows the driver?" I thought. Nope.
The little boy now pedalled away, slowly, toward the main street (see pic above). Finally, I saw the woman make an appearance, but she stayed WAY over on the other side of the park (see pic above. She's in the green oval, barely noticable) I just couldn't believe what I was seeing. First I was worried about the potential pedophile, now I was worried he'd get run over.
"BRIAN!" she kept screaming. But not moving. Just screaming. Finally Brian started back toward the screamer. As he passed me, he noticed my camera phone, and hid his face behind his hand. I thought that was odd... I mean, he's worried about having his picture taken (granted, I was a stranger on a park bench), but he freely pedalled up to a strange pickup truck on a side street. Sigh. I'm glad Brian didn't get pulled in to that truck, but now I understand how that could happen to a child.
2 comments:
As the parent of a very curious, fearless & adventurous toddler, I cannot really tell you just how much concentration and focus it takes to keep her "on leash" in public places. However, when we are in public, I make it a point to remind myself constantly that [a] I need to keep her in sight at all times and [b] her safety is the most important thing in the world. Nothing else comes close, not my wallet, not my lunch, not anything.
It's hard to fathom that a parent would let a child "roam free" at such a young age. I suppose living in a "safe" area like yours can lead to complacency... and as the child ages, one has to loosen the apron strings a little.
No easy answers, eh? I don't want to be a "helicopter parent", hovering so intently that I stifle my children's independence and self-reliance. Nor will I ever let someone touch them (trust me, the cops will think he'd been mauled by a bear).
~little brother
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