In Which My Kids are Left Alone ON THE EDGE OF A STEEP CLIFF! DAMMIT!
My in-laws’ house in LA is built on a hill, about 50 feet away from a steep drop into a large ravine. The view is breathtaking and their small backyard patio is Punky’s favorite place to be when she’s here- but with no backyard fence, my trips to LA aren’t complete without about 1,000 horrific mental images of her toppling over the edge and down into the ravine.
Last night, I was sitting on the patio with Punky and three others who shall remain nameless (but should have freaking known better! Gah!). Bruiser was beside us in his bouncer. I went inside to get something and came out about five minutes later. Punky and Bruiser were still on the patio. Everyone else was gone. The doors were closed. No one was watching them.
It’s going to be a long week.
>Things like this make me a nervous wreck. Have fun.
>Oh but they’re YOUR kids! I run into that a lot too, where it seems like no one else in the world will take responsibility for my son, including close family members. Like the time my mom let him go in her backyard as a reward for learning to undo the deadbolt. They have a pool. C’mon, I can’t leave him with grandma for ten minutes?
>I feel the same way about little kids and swimming pools. Apparently I’m in the minority since everyone around here seems to have a 2 year old and a swimming pool in the back yard (with no fence!).
>good luck!
>Yikes! I would’ve freaked out, too. Here’s hoping the rest of your trip goes along much smoother.
>Oh man…cliffs and kids don’t mix! I’m already scared about taking my future kids to their grandparents’ farmette. That place is a case of lockjaw waiting to happen.
>A trick I learned from large family gatherings, where everyone assumes that someone else is responsible for the little ones and they get lost in the shuffle is to just specifically designate one person to watch them. That person, usually a tween, can’t leave the children unattended without first designating someone else as the kid watcher.It works for grown-ups too. If you say to one person, “Could you keep an eye on the kids for a second I’m going inside?” That person suddenly becomes aware of your children and becomes responsible.And yes, they should know better and you shouldn’t have to say anything, but since they don’t and you do, I hope that helps.
>Good topic. Yikes! That is scary. I was once at the beach with my neighbor a few years ago. She had twins and I had one child at the time. I left my son with her (outside)to go into the bathroom and when I came out, about 10 minutes later, he was standing at the edge of the parking lot crying his eyes out. (He was four at the time.) No one was with him and he told me he was crying because he couldn’t find me! (It almost broke my heart.) It turned out my neighbor’s daughter had gotten a splinter and she rushed her to first aid and evidently ‘forgot’ my son. A splinter does warrant that, and besides, when you leave your kids with someone, you expect them to be able to handle an emergency.Ever since, I have found (like the last poster) that I need to ‘designate’ people to watch my kids also. Even if they are responsible I always remind them that I am leaving the room or area and that I need their help with watching my child. I even remind my older sister, who has two grown boys, and who is quite reliable and helpful. People forget if they are someone else’s kids. It’s wild.
>Oh, I meant to say before that “A splinter does NOT warrant that.” I need to proofread.
>I agree with the other posters, always ask someone to keep an eye on your kids. I even do that to my OWN husband! I always tell him to keep an eye on the kids when I leave the room. I’d be po’ed if it happened to my kids but at the same time, I just don’t trust other enough to realize that if I leave the room, they’d better keep an eye on the kids. Have a great vacation!
>I think this is the first year I have really enjoyed visiting my in-laws at their home on a lake, at least since I had kids. Between the delicate antiques in the house and the lake outside, I worked harder during my “vacation” than I ever did at home. This year the kids are 4 and 7, so it was actually kind of fun.
>I would be pissed. Have a fun week.
>AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
>I think that a tranquilizer for you and the kids might make the week go faster. That is what I do when we visit my moronic in laws. How their 5 children survived to be adults I will never ever know…I am praying for you that everyone ends up okay and without any broken appendages!!
>Oh boy! There woulda been some serious a$$ kicking going on if I had been around….Reminds me of the day a little while ago I asked my step sons (16 and 12) to watch my youngest son (about 9 months at the time) while I took a shower…. I came out and (16) was in the other room eating a bowl of cereal and (12) was zoned into the TV…. where is my son? Under the fishtank chewing on wires!!!!!!Their excuse… “I thought (insert the other’s name) was watching him!A$$ KICKING!!!!!
>Time for a big family meeting in which you explain to everyone else just how you are going to KILL THEM if they don’t pay more attention!!!
>Goodness! I’m a nervous wreck for you!!!! Hope the week improves. You have made me grateful my kids are a little older now…. UGH! I hate being on death watch 24/7!!!!
>But one day you’ll be thrilled with the fact that you can leave the room to, say, go the bathroom without having to announce to every adult in the vincinity that you are now leaving the room and someone else is in charge for that five minute span.
>I know exactly how you feel. My inlaws have a steep bank that leads to a creek in the back yard. brother in law’s kids were running wild and I looked like the looney for wanting my kids to have adult supervision so that they would not fall into the creek.
>I would have been pretty upset too. So far I have been lucky. My in-laws and my family are all reasonably aware and watchful. I’ve never had this happen.Actually, my in-laws are usually telling ME I need to be more careful. Ha ha.
>Yikes!!!! I would have had a coronary.
>I was reading an interesting book about the Grand Canyon, where they pointed out that every death by falling there involves an adult. No child, in the history of the tourism at the Canyon, has ever been stupid enough to fall off the edge. Lots of grown ups have, though…
>OMFG!! We have no kids, but we regularly hang out with our friends who almost all have them. This includes camping trips at the lake and everywhere else, including our home and their homes. I swear, my hubby and I are the most paranoid ones, land we’re the ones WITHOUT kids. We’re constantly counting heads and watching every little body to be sure they’re not on the verge of making themselves dead. Ack! Sorry Punky and Bruiser were alone – how freakin’ nerve-wracking!. ~Monica
>I would have to pick up a roll of temporary, vinyl mesh fencing from Home Depot for the next trip. (The orange stuff you see at construction sites).Just in case.
>Ack! Glad they’re okay!
>GAH! I disagree with some of your commenters. When you’re together as a family, I think it’s every adults job to keep an eye on the kids. Whoever was the last one to walk inside should have noticed that those kids were out there alone, whether you asked them to watch or not. Glad everything was ok!
>Where’s the cluestick when you need it? I hope that some grownups were bleeding from their eardrums when you were finished.