As Ella and I were getting out of the car and pulling some totes of books out of the trunk (I am slowly moving stuff into my future classroom as it is not in use this summer) I noticed the Summer Camp group walking back from the park across the street. As they began to cross the street, a rather unsavory character happened to cross paths between the school and the group. To say he was not in control of his emotions would be an understatement. Clearly upset he was screaming at someone many profanities over and over again very loudly. He was so out of control he even punched the street sign and threw the bag he was carrying.
Now, obviously, this is not the very worst thing to come across. I don't think anyone really was in any danger except the character who could have seriously hurt his hand. We live in a big city now and coming across different walks of life is pretty normal. But we are from a very sheltered background. My kids have purposefully never been exposed to situations like this. I carefully monitor what they watch and who we spend time with (we have been blessed with so many wonderful people in our lives that this really has never been much of a concern).
As I sat and watched this (with Ella pretty unconscious of what was going on) next to the safety of my car, I watched the group of Summer Camp kids and the leaders/teachers who were with the kids. As the kids were beginning to cross the street, the teachers turned them back around and led the group back into the park area. The leaders were aware of the situation and handled it wonderfully. They couldn't stop what was happening or stop the kids from seeing what was happening, but I could tell their attention was on the kids and their safety 100%. They kept their focus on the children and I am sure did their best to distract them from the scene the character was making. At that moment I was proud of the fact that I will soon be joining the staff their. I could not have handled the situation any better.
I made my way inside after the "situation" left the area and went about my business. It was very apparent that the scene was heard from inside as well. It was that loud. As I made my way back outside to get more totes of books, the Summer Camp group was walking up to the school. I watched them pass by but my son caught my attention immediately. He was walking with the staff members in back, crying. He was clearly upset and they let me know as soon as I saw them of the situation I had just witnessed and that he had been pretty upset by it. I appreciated that they let me know right away what had happened.
This whole thing, plus the fact that John will be spending the summer with people other than me, plus stuff going around social media recently have made me wonder and question if I have properly prepared my children for the world we live in. Do they know not to wander off? Do they have a healthy enough sense of stranger danger to be aware yet not paranoid of everyone around them? Do they know not to go off with strangers even when they entice them with things? I know as parents it is our job to prepare our children for the world. Not everything and everyone is nice. Not every situation is pretty.
I have been debating on when to have that certain talk and that time came up today. The incident stuck with John and he was clearly bothered by it. I knew I needed to say something to him, and we had a talk in the car on the way home. I know I need to talk to him further about this. He is getting older and more aware of his surroundings. This is not the easy part of parenting. If I could stick my kids in a bubble and attach them to me so they would always be safe and close I would do it in a heartbeat. But I can't. I can't always keep them safe. But I can do my best to prepare them for what they will be guaranteed to face as they grow up.
You can't sugarcoat safety or common sense. I know I can still pick and choose what I tell them and what they know, but I also believe in honesty. They need to know that not everyone out there is good or can be trusted. I need them to know who to trust and who not to trust. I need them to know who they can go to when they need to be safe.I hope and pray that I do my job well and that my kids grow up safely but aware.
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