The other day I was left scratching my head after hearing the following story.
It appears that a kindergartener in Upstate New York somehow managed to get on the wrong school bus. It seems there was a substitute bus driver that day, who didn’t recognize the little girl, and so she was taken to the wrong school.
An ironic twist to this story is that the 1st grade class at this other school was also expecting a new arrival on the very same day.
When the young girl arrived at the wrong school, you’d assume she’d be crying and frightened – perhaps even calling out for her mommy to make it all better. But that’s NOT what happened. No instead the young girl (whom I might add was your average ordinary 5 year old) decided she was going to play along with the situation.
When she approached a secretary in the main office, she was asked if she was the new 1st grade student they were waiting for. She replied “yes”. Perhaps even more perplexing is that this kindergartener continued to carry on this charade throughout the day – introducing herself as the “other” girl and even writing her “new” name on assignments and forms.
How many 5 year olds do you know that would be able to pull this off without a single tear or call-out for their parent’s security?
When the kindergartener’s mother finally got a call from her actual school asking why she wasn’t in, the mother panicked. Eventually the mystery was figured out and the young girl was returned safely to her family. But as you might expect, the mother is blaming the school, the bus company and anyone else she can think of for her daughter being on the wrong bus in the first place.
So I ask the question…
What sane and rational mother leaves her five year old daughter standing outside by herself to wait for a school bus? You call that parenting? I call that neglect.
Lady, you have no one else to blame for this situation but yourself. And as for your daughter, I suggest you start worrying about why she was only too happy to pretend to be someone else for the day. Maybe she’s trying to tell you something.
