I am so upset

britfish

New member
DD just turned 6 and she is a young 6 and also little at 38lbs. She is attending a nature camp this week, her first ever day camp. Today the director asked me if I could chaperone a field trip because they have 18 kids and the bus (short school bus) only holds 14. I told her my time frame that I could help and offered to leave my cell. She said never mind they would probably just play in the sprinkler on campus and not go to the lake.
Well fast forward tonight and DD tells me she got to go to the lake and she didn't ride in the bus she got to ride with "some lady" in her car. AND...she rode there in the back seat w/ NO booster or car seat and she rode home IN THE FRONT SEAT OF THE CAR!!!! I am absolutely sick to my stomach thinking about this. I will be going to camp in the morning and withdrawling her if the information she has told me is correct. I just can not believe this I am so upset and have had horrible images in my mind all evening.
I am also angry that my state has such a lame car seat law so I can't even tell camp they are breaking the law, 6 or 55inches, really? cut me a break they worry about changing laws all the time, what about child restraint laws???
I have such a heavy heart tonight, thanks for listening, I am just so flippin upset.
 
ADS

Chely7425

New member
I would be super upset too... about the no car seat, about the "some lady" driving my kid... just everything!! I am so sorry you have to deal with that :(
 

myliljunebugs

New member
Ummm....wow, that makes my stomach sick just thinking of it! :( My DD rode home with my cousin (spent the night) and thankfully I had a seat for her because apparently HER DD rode in just a seatbelt (age 6 but same size as my 5 year old). I can't believe how anyone can think that is okay :(
 

menfusse

New member
I would be upset about the lack of seat, but what would absolutely put me over is that they took her somewhere and you had no idea? Am I right in my thinking? You were under the impression they would stay on campus, then they up and leave and you don't know anything about it?

Seat or no seat, that would be enough for me to withdraw her. Period.
 

britfish

New member
Uh, yeah, where were the permission slips for transport in a private vehicle???

nope no permission slips. I have no idea who she rode with, I asked her and she said the lady looked like a "grammy" but did not have a child in her class. I knew you guys would understand I have been thanking God all night for keeping her safe, I mean can you imagine, 38lbs. in the front seat with air bag deployment? I am sick to my stomach.
 

lovinwaves

New member
Oh wow, I felt physically sick just reading your OP. I thought you were going to say she rode on the bus without a harness or belt, and I was going to reassure you it's ok :) My daughter has the same stats as yours (well she is 36lbs) and I would be absolutely LIVID!

((((HUGS)))) Take a bubble bath, drink a glass of wine, or eat a bunch of chocolate. Or heck, do it all! You certainly deserve it. You poor thing :(
 

britfish

New member
I would be upset about the lack of seat, but what would absolutely put me over is that they took her somewhere and you had no idea? Am I right in my thinking? You were under the impression they would stay on campus, then they up and leave and you don't know anything about it?

Seat or no seat, that would be enough for me to withdraw her. Period.

Absolutely, its wrong on so many levels, especially since I told her I could chaperone! or heres a thought if you can't fit all the kids on the bus split them up in to two days. I shudder to thing if they are this careless how well they were supervised at the beach. :eek:
 

babyherder

Well-known member
Now I'm even more upset!!!! How do you not tell a kid who she's riding with???? I would talk with your dd about what to do in situations such as this. Did you sign any form of blanket permission slip when you signed her up for camp? If not, I would say the camp very much did something illegal. If you did, time to withdraw her anyway as the camp can't be trusted. Plus, make sure you never sign anything like that again. (But you probably know that being a careful parent and all. I just can't think how the camp would have taken the kids anywhere without some form of permission????)
 

Carrie_R

Ambassador - CPS Technician
Holy cow. Thank God she's okay. That's madness, absolute madness. I think you're completely right to withdraw her.

Take a deep breath, Mama, despite the danger she is okay and made it home safely. :)
 

smileybrea

CPS Technician
I am SO sorry. I am sick for you just reading this! My oldest is at his first ever summer camp. It's through my dad's work so he's staying with my dad all week and they are taking field trips every day. I verified that ALL children would be riding in a school bus and talked to B about how he needs to sit in the bus and what not. I also told him he is not to go if it was not in a school bus unless my dad was driving him in HIS seat.

There is absolutely NO way I would let this go! They transported your child WITHOUT permission and even if they had a "blanket" permission slip for trips during camp, I am almost CERTAIN it did NOT cover *private* transportation.

That being said, I would also sit down with your daughter and explain to her that she is NEVER to ride with someone she doesn't know (in this situation, anyone other than the bus driver), NEVER to ride in the front seat (until she's old enough of course) and NEVER to ride in a vehicle without her car seat.
 

Kaede's_Mom

New member
No permission to transport in a private vehicle...man, I would question the legality of that for sure! I would be beyond livid about that.

I am glad nothing did happen and she is safe!!
 

britfish

New member
Well I her out of camp today. I spoke with the lady in charge of the program and she had tears in her eyes telling me they messed up. I told her I just could not trust my child there if they are the negligent. A few hours later the director of the camp called me and apologized saying it was a big mistake and I should have been aware of the private transportation issue and that they should not have had her in a car much less the front seat and that she was looking in to to problem. She asked me to reconsider and have my daughter finish the week. I told her that I just couldn't trust them to make the right decisions and we would not be returning. I told her I was just so upset and sick about what could have happened. Thank you all for your support it helped me this morning when I spoke with them at camp.
 

Maedze

New member
Urgh. I think you made the right choice.

I would also consider reporting them to the accrediting agency in your state.

A mistake is an oversight. They didn't make an oversight. They made a conscious decision...SEVERAL conscious decisions. They chose not to inform you that they were leaving the property. They chose to put her in a private vehicle with an unknown driver. They chose to not have her properly restrained. They chose to have her in the front seat. (or the driver chose, which in the end is their responsibility.)

They need to be held accountable because I guarantee you, they've done it before and this is just the first take they've been called on the carpet for it.
 

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