What On Earth Is A Snowday

[Little Flower]

@KwanYingirl That's unbelievable that some one left you to dig out your car. I hope my sons would never pass a lady and not help. Apparently you made it! That's the good I see come out of that. You did it :)

 

[Deleted member 1860]

My point is that its paranoia and not letting kids grow and have responsibility. I know I'm arguing with mommies so I'll never "win" this argument as those without kids are simply "clueless" when it comes to these things. But, statistically speaking, kidnapping by a stranger is RARE. A child is much more likely to be harmed by someone they know. So maybe it would be better to let the kids out on their own than keep them tethered to family and "trusted" friends!

Plant these ideas of fear into your kids heads and you're making them fear the world unnecessarily. And honestly, if the parents really gave a damn, they'd be out there WALKING with the kids so that they don't become victims of the obesity epidemic rather than chauffeuring them everywhere!

Again, we're talking VERY NICE neighborhood, MIDDLE SCHOOL aged kids 10-13, neighborhood DIRECTLY across the street from the school. By this age, yeah, they SHOULD be able to walk home alone! And yeah, I do pity the kids who have overprotective parents. God, that MUST suck! Not being able to go anywhere or do anything without proper parent supervision?!? Hell, half of the fun I had as a kid was when I was out and about and had my freedom! Must suck to be a kid these days....

 

[Eleanor]

I know I'm arguing with mommies so I'll never "win" this argument as those without kids are simply "clueless" when it comes to these things.

???? Solara, do you realize that in one sentence you've just done to others what you seem to be taking offense at your anticipating they will do to you? As we used to say in high school "defensive, much?"

You paint with a pretty broad brush, my friend.

Finding the happy medium between over-protective and under-protective is not simple. And for people who were most emphatically NOT protected by those who should have when they were children - and are now still suffering the consequences - it is even more fraught. If I'm going to err, and I am going to err, I'll do it on the protective side of the equation. Does that mean my kids don't have freedom to live their own lives? Or that I teach them to be fearful? Not by a long shot. My girls are braver and bolder than most, and they are, more importantly prudent. They have a sense of what risks are worth taking and which are simply foolish because they have a sense of their own value.

Nice neighborhoods, as too many here can attest, are no protection against predators. If only they were. Good parents, however, are a different story.

 

[Little Flower]

Go Eleanor! I'm not over overprotective because I care about my children's safety. I had lots of freedom as a child and was raped more than once. And I certainly don't consider kids a wussies. How derogatory.
Personally I only care about the children I gave birth to. I was able to make my own choices about their safety and freedom. Everyone else can do ax they please. And I hate the word "mommies" used as if we were some sort of obsessive freaks .

 

[catjudo]

WALKING with the kids so that they don't become victims of the obesity epidemic rather than chauffeuring them everywhere!

If we're chauffeuring them everywhere where do you think we're taking them? We're chauffeuring them to extra curricular activities...tennis lessons, karate, basketball, art classes, music lessons. Just because mommies drive their kids back and forth to school doesn't mean we're just letting them sit around becoming obese.

Not being able to go anywhere or do anything without proper parent supervision?!? Hell, half of the fun I had as a kid was when I was out and about and had my freedom!

Without proper parent supervision? Meaning suitable or appropriate? So you're looking down your nose and chastising mommies who give their children appropriate supervision? As Eleanor said, it can be difficult to find that balance between over- and under-protective. And the age and level of freedom is going to vary for each child because it depends on individual abilities and maturity. Just because a child has shown themselves to be fairly responsible does not mean that they've developed the ability to stand up to peer pressures. Knowing they shouldn't follow their friends if they're doing something wrong isn't the same as actually being able to stand up to ones friends. It's a skill that needs to be practiced a little at a time in smaller, somewhat supervised settings, gradually giving them more freedom at a time that is right for that specific child.

The difference between the 1980's and 2014...we have video/security cameras everywhere now. So the same kind of "harmless" or fun mischief and pranks that one might have done in the 80's is now caught on video camera so that the police can be called and charges pressed. I personally remember doing plenty of things as a teenager that while reasonably harmless, if they had been seen on security cameras my friends and I would have gotten into trouble with the police. And if it's not a security camera it's one of the kids friends taking a photo and posting it to social media and getting busted that way. Whether you want to believe it or not, today is a different world.

I don't think good mommies let their children run all over the neighborhood unsupervised, not knowing exactly where they are or what they're doing. My very nice developed community has over 1,100 single-family homes plus some villas, condos and townhouses, several playgrounds, community center, swimming pool, golf course, tennis courts, basketball courts, etc. If I let my daughter just run around wherever without limitations or supervision, it could take me hours to find her if necessary.

those without kids are simply "clueless" when it comes to these things.

I don't think it's that people without kids are clueless. But I think we've all said or thought we would handle things a certain way when we were parents. And then you actually become a parent and you realize not everything is so black & white...there is a lot of gray. You can think you'd do things a certain way but until you've actually had to live with your heart walking around outside of you, realizing that you bear sole responsibility for this small human...for teaching them, for molding them into good, kind, responsible humans, for their safety....until you actually bare that responsibility it is impossible to know what you would really do.

 

[sharke]

It isn't just the roads, it's also the students who walk to school, If sidewalks aren't cleared kids get wet and have to sit in wet clothes there is also liability with walkers because schools are actually responsible for kids from the time they leave the house until they return home. Crazy but true at least where I am, so if a child slips and breaks an arm the school system is responsible. I am a teacher I hate snow days because they cut my summer short

 

[rightkindofme]

I thought of this thread when the school across the street closed for rain. :D

Ok, there was massive flash flooding so I think it was justified. But I thought of this thread. :)

 

[apachetears]

Snow day down south is mostly when we get 1/4" (One quarter inch) of snow.

Bread and milk are swiftly bought from stores and everyone stays home for the day or two and plays in the snow.

It's an old southern tradition that has nothing to do with snow and everything to do with staying out of school and work.

On the times it does get bad it's because in the south we have wet snow that rapidly melts and then refreezes as a sheet of ice, the driving is hazardous for people and school buses.

We have the days for when we have Ice Storms which are severe for a week and the power goes down due to the trees being abundant.

The south does not have vast fleets of dedicated snow removal machines, if we did they would sit idle and waste money to be used only a few times a year.

Last year our ice storm/snow day lasted five days and the power was out in the rural areas for a week.

Yes I have been to places up north where it does really snow and know the difference.

No I don't think it's a dumb idea, slow down, sit back and enjoy it.