Ontario parents 'hysterical' after daughter, 5, dropped off alone on first day of school

Do you have any kids? Especially young ones? I don't think the parents were overreacting at all. A five year old should not be left unattended wandering the streets. Sure she was with neighbors but the parents did not know them.

Btw I started walking to school alone at the age of eight. It really depends on the maturity of the child but 5 is too young.

hank755 wrote: ↑Btw I started walking to school alone at the age of eight. It really depends on the maturity of the child but 5 is too young.

I walked to school by myself when I was 5 - but it was just down the street, and was a quiet street (very light traffic).

hank755 wrote: ↑ Do you have any kids? Especially young ones? I don't think the parents were overreacting at all. A five year old should not be left unattended wandering the streets. Sure she was with neighbors but the parents did not know them.

Btw I started walking to school alone at the age of eight. It really depends on the maturity of the child but 5 is too young.

+1. It's one thing to intentionally plan for the child to walk alone; but quite another to drop off a 5-year old several blocks from home across a major intersection, with no one home when she gets there. I would be super pissed off.

iamskyhigh wrote: ↑ Talk about overreaction much?

Ontario parents 'hysterical' after daughter, 5, dropped off alone on first day of school

Richmond Hill parents Mukesh Gautam and Sonia Jain were “hysterical” after finding out their five-year-old daughter Esha had mistakenly been put on a school bus and dropped off at a bus stop alone on the first day of school.

“I said, ‘If a cop stops me, I’m going to ask the cop to follow me to see where I’m going,'” she said, adding she was driving 80 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.

Our society is pathetic. We are raising weak children.

5. Years. Old.

How the hell would a kid that young know how to get home?

iamskyhigh wrote: ↑ Talk about overreaction much?

Ontario parents 'hysterical' after daughter, 5, dropped off alone on first day of school

Richmond Hill parents Mukesh Gautam and Sonia Jain were “hysterical” after finding out their five-year-old daughter Esha had mistakenly been put on a school bus and dropped off at a bus stop alone on the first day of school.

“I said, ‘If a cop stops me, I’m going to ask the cop to follow me to see where I’m going,'” she said, adding she was driving 80 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.

Our society is pathetic. We are raising weak children.

True, nothing like Sparta. Should've thrown her to the wolves, only the strong survive.

Too young.

Obviously the OP doesn't have any children to understand that having a 5 year old, alone on a street corner is scary for the child and the parents.

This is news?

BarrakFoss wrote: ↑ Obviously the OP doesn't have any children to understand that having a 5 year old, alone on a street corner is scary for the child and the parents.

agree on that ... btw the "overreaction" is the highest with 1st child , it goes down a bit with next and next

You get old and you gain experience. School teachers, day care workers, and bus drivers will never care for children the way parents would (usually).

Something like this has never happened to me, but I'm risk adverse. After many children in my life, now that I'm older, I know NOT to put my children in the bus the first day of school.

Just did it on Tuesday: I drove my daughter to school the first day, then went into the office, made sure her name is in the list, wrote down the bus numbers (to get there and to go back home).

The second day she went in the bus.

Glad she got home safely in the end.

Perhaps the management responsible to put her on proper bus effed up?

When I was 6 I was going alone to kindergarten through one of the worst neighborhood in town. However it was always someone home waiting for me so I find this kid's experience more traumatic. While I don't think anything wrong could have happened I also think the parents are right to protest and demand explanations, this is something that shdn't happen and it's worrisome. There are several layers of staff that shd handle this kid: the teacher, YMCA, the school office, the personnel in charge of supervising the bus, the bus driver: none of them worked. What's going on there?

arm2000 wrote: ↑ When I was 6 I was going alone to kindergarten through one of the worst neighborhood in town. However it was always someone home waiting for me so I find this kid's experience more traumatic. While I don't think anything wrong could have happened I also think the parents are right to protest and demand explanations, this is something that shdn't happen and it's worrisome. There are several layers of staff that shd handle this kid: the teacher, YMCA, the school office, the personnel in charge of supervising the bus, the bus driver: none of them worked. What's going on there?

yeah sounds like the 3rd world....

Times have changed.
Society becomes more violent and there's more people out there, more traffic, more dangerous situations.
I used to play down the streets with my neighbours alone, as traffic was very low. Streets were safe.
Now we tend to keep our kids at home, in the yard or in parks, always with us watching them.

I could understand the parents. And I'm one of those that rolls my eyes alot at these overprotective parents today. I mean the school, those in basic authority, everybody completely dropped the ball. Especially if the kids have special markers on them that they're not supposed to get on the bus. Are the colourblind? Can't follow basic instructions? What's next.. not reading the stop lights correctly and running a red?

I will say though, it's this whole suburban living (in a city like environment) where school buses are the norm. There's always going to be issues, especially on the first day. Even if a 'parent' is supposed to be there to receive their kid, if they're not, it's going to hold up the whole bus. Then the next set up parents waiting will freak out.

I'm also hearing today that many bus routes in Toronto, something like 60+ routes are very delayed, bus drivers not showing up, etc. Basically a shortage of drivers or no shows. It's a new company they went with. I was at my parent's Mid-Scarborough home early today. I was surprised to see a school bus on their street. I grew up there and there were no school buses back then. School Buses were things you saw on TV. Just in general, they're everywhere. Basically no one walks to school anymore. Because of parents (both working corporate jobs to provide the best.. the best! For their children) and the rules in place today.

Anybody who grew up in the 90s and before will definitely attest to how much it's changed and reliance on the State to provide everything while the parents can have their cake and eat it too.

arm2000 wrote: ↑ When I was 6 I was going alone to kindergarten through one of the worst neighborhood in town. However it was always someone home waiting for me so I find this kid's experience more traumatic. While I don't think anything wrong could have happened I also think the parents are right to protest and demand explanations, this is something that shdn't happen and it's worrisome. There are several layers of staff that shd handle this kid: the teacher, YMCA, the school office, the personnel in charge of supervising the bus, the bus driver: none of them worked. What's going on there?

Back then I also left my doors unlocked. Not anymore. Times have changed.

iamskyhigh wrote: ↑ Talk about overreaction much?
Our society is pathetic. We are raising weak children.

Sorry, the only thing that's pathetic is your cold and shallow response to what was a traumatizing experience for all parties involved. The child in question was only 5 years old and in Kindergarten.

iamskyhigh wrote: ↑ Talk about overreaction much?

Ontario parents 'hysterical' after daughter, 5, dropped off alone on first day of school

Richmond Hill parents Mukesh Gautam and Sonia Jain were “hysterical” after finding out their five-year-old daughter Esha had mistakenly been put on a school bus and dropped off at a bus stop alone on the first day of school.

“I said, ‘If a cop stops me, I’m going to ask the cop to follow me to see where I’m going,'” she said, adding she was driving 80 km/h in a 50 km/h zone.

Our society is pathetic. We are raising weak children.

What is wrong with you? They have every right to react that way and be very angry.

"back in the day" is just that. Society has changed, and you can see by all the lock downs at schools and cars that speed by 80km in a 50 zone. It's not safer then it was yesterday.