Tis the season to not have to watch your kids?

[PepperElf]

screw asking the manager. just call the cops. in some states age 14 and younger... it's statutory rape.
besides, if it was a relationship he was legally allowed to engage in, he wouldn't be sneaking around to get it on with her.

actually someone i know had something similar happen. the girl is only ... 15 or 16 i think and the guy who wants to date her is at least 18 or 19. the parents said hell no. and if he tries to come around he'll go to jail. (oh yeah did i mention the parents are cops? so you know they'll do it too)

as for the OP
and im reminded of a woman i met once... on three occasions (including a military base exchange) someone tried to steal her son. so yeah watch the kids

[depechemodefan]

People leave their kids at the library, or else, the kids leave school at 3 or 4 and spend time at the library until mommy or daddy gets home.

There was the M.S. next to the library I was working at in 2007. Bunch of 11-13 year olds there after school. There was this one guy who claimed to be 18, just so he could use our meeting room for a party for s ome kids from the school. There is so many levels of to that.

One day I see him making out with a M.S. student, who can't be more than 14 years old. I think our state law will give some leeway for a 18 year old having relations with a 17 year old, but if he really was 18, I really wouldn't want him making out with a M.S. student in my vision. I was all for finding out who her parents were and tell them. But the manager was pretty spineless.

[PepperElf]

personally... i'd say a nice sign on the door could be fun....

"No unaccompanied children below the age of X. Police will be called. No exceptions."

Then enforce it.

and when it happens... even if they complain to corporate, it won't erase the police report

[Gwen_Goth]

gods even if there were other kids in the store, i still would never leave my child unattended. It's never safe anymore, and such a pity lets never forget the Jamie Bulger case

[rerant]

My mom and I were in Zellers (like Target, only Canadian) and there were three kids all under the age of 10 running around like maniacs.
I think my mom said it best when she said, "You know, all it takes is one person and those kids are going to end up on the side of a milk carton. And then I bet the asshole parents will blame the store. I wish I had the power to sterilize people."

[Chromatix]

Around here, I'm perennially surprised to see that children who are just old enough to be starting school, are allowed to walk themselves to and from it. Often, they'll go to a shop on the way.

Bear in mind, though, that school starts at age 7 here, and Finns are *very* good at raising children properly.

[Gravekeeper]

And you've got to remember, the late 70s-early 80s were a different time. Things were a lot less paranoid then. I hate to say it, but the world was less dangerous than it is now. At least now they know who did it.

Honestly, its not that the world is more dangerous ( Statistically it really isn't ), its that we hear about every horrible thing that happens for months on end thanks to the global village effect and the 24 news cycle. There might only be 3 or 4 kidnappings, etc a year, but you'll hear about it on the news for 3 months straight than they do a cycle of "how to protect yourself/child/etc" crap for another month or so. Just in time to tide them over till the next heinous crime. ><

I was only allowed to wander at one mall as a kid ( 7 or 8 I think ). Because my mom was the main desk/switch board there, the owner was a good family friend and the security guards knew me by name. I had to come to my mom's workplace after school for a couple hours till she got off work since she was a single parent. Usually I was able to just hang around in the back though I was permitted to wander to nearby shops since everyone knew who I was. >.>

I know that sounds cringe worthy to a lot of you , hehe. But this was the 80's and as I said, a family friend *owned* the entire mall so everyone kept an eye on me though I wasn't far from my mom's desk.

[Pagan]

2-3 Weeks Ago:

I went into work (seasonal worker at the big, red, almost bankrupt electronics store) at 11am....

Well, about an hour or so later he comes up to me wondering where the computer games are....

After another hour I go to one of my mangers and tell them about the kid. I'm told not to worry about it. I got off my shift at 6pm that day and the kid was still there. I felt sorry for him. He looked really lonely.

Seriously, regardless of what the manger said, I would've been calling the cops. If the manger knew something you didn't, s/he should have told you.

Actually, I'm almost positive that they were in the same store- she let him stay in the toy department of a large store while she shopped in another department.

Message is the same though- it's not safe to leave your kids unattended while shopping.

No, they were both in Sear's, a few aisles from each other. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Adam_Walsh

And you've got to remember, the late 70s-early 80s were a different time. Things were a lot less paranoid then. I hate to say it, but the world was less dangerous than it is now. At least now they know who did it.

Still, though, I don't know how many times I've been in Wally World or at the mall as seen some toddler and you can't figure out who the hell they belong to.

[CrazedClerkthe2nd]

I posted a story on here probably about a year ago about a mom who dropped her boy off at my games store then had the nerve to rip ME a new one when her darling child wandered off to another store.

I really wish I could have slapped that woman silly.

[BethB]

I didn't witness this, a coworker did but apparently a long while back a couple decided they wanted to see a movie without their kids. No big deal, sometimes I need time away from jr, but instead of a babysitter they took the kids(a 6yr old and an infant) to our store, gave big brother a bottle and said we'll be back in about 2 hrs. Well, needless to say, the authorities were called and parents had some 'splaining to do'. I'm super-paranoid about my kids and they are 11,9 and 6 but I need them in my view at all times....at least until they're 30!

[VicSilver]

Thanks for the correction. I thought they were in the same store. But still -- that's proof that bad things happen when you do this and it's not the best idea in the world!

Actually, I'm almost positive that they were in the same store- she let him stay in the toy department of a large store while she shopped in another department.

Message is the same though- it's not safe to leave your kids unattended while shopping.

[RedRoseSpiral]

Oh I have two great stories about this one that happened about 2-3 weeks ago and one that happened about 15-16 years ago.

2-3 Weeks Ago:

I went into work (seasonal worker at the big, red, almost bankrupt electronics store) at 11am. White I was clocking in I noticed a boy in a blue hoodie (maybe 11 years old) looking around. I asked if he needed some help at the time he said no and that he was just looking around. I figured his parents were over in TVs or car stereos or something and the kid was wasting time in games.

Well, about an hour or so later he comes up to me wondering where the computer games are. I show him and he thanks me. It seemed kind of weird to me that he was still there. Usually people don't take too long in buying anything in here. Being that I haven't seen the kid with an adult, I keep an eye on him. After another hour I go to one of my mangers and tell them about the kid. I'm told not to worry about it. I got off my shift at 6pm that day and the kid was still there. I felt sorry for him. He looked really lonely.

14-15 Years Ago:

This one happened to me when I was 4-5 and is exactly why people need to keep an eye on their children. No, I wasn't left by myself, but this is the reason I wasn't allowed out of my mother's sight in public until I was 12 years old.

My mother had needed to do some clothing shopping for me and my 2 year old brother so she took us to the mall. It was in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday. JC Penny's was empty. It was literally just the three of us in the girl's and boys section of the store. We looked around for a bit when my mom noticed two mexican men paying far more attention to us, and especially to me, than what was appropriate.

Being that there is no one around, she takes us farther into the girl's section of the store until she finally (after a good 10 minutes) finds a store worker. She was a nice older woman who had us go hide in the changing room while she called security. Security said they were well aware of the two men and had been watching them for sometime. Seeing as there was an official complaint about them now, two officers (real cops not mall security) came up to them. The men bolted out the door. Right outside the store was a car waiting for them and I'm talking directly outside the doors waiting for them. Their full intentions were to kidnap a pretty lil' blond girl (aka me).

And this folks, is the reason you pay attention to your kids and to the people around you while shopping.

[jedimaster91]

I used to work for a toy store called Zany Brainy. They're out of business now.

I remember that store. They had some cool stuff and I was pretty bummed when they went under.

[BJD]

A bit of a lengthy reply (sorry - got carried away reminiscing!)

We ARE however right next to a major shopping center that includes 2 large electronics stores, a gaming store and several major department stores and a Toys R Us.

So parents will actually DROP OFF their kids in our store while they get their kids stuff at Toys R Us! We have watched them send the kids in, go into TRU, come out then come find their kids.

Oh yeah... one of my first real "not newspaper delivery" jobs was at a software store in Dartmouth, NS (this was way back when I was 15 and the Tandy TRS-80 was considered a 'state of the art' computer that sold for $800). We were originally located at the end of the mall next the jumbo discount grocery chain store and parents used to regularly try and leave their kids in our store while they went grocery shopping.

The store owner was former Master Chief in the Canadian Navy and while he was actually one heck of a nice guy he could make himself seem REALLY scary and intimidating when he had to.

His favourite response when people asked to leave kids there to play a couple of games (as opposed to those that just sort of shooed the kids in our door and then quickly disappeared into the grocery store) was to growl that "This isn't an arcade!"

Most people took the hint but those that persevered (often responding "But it'll only be for a few minutes!") were then firmly told it wasn't a babysitting service either.

At that point the smarter people would take their kids and leave but every now and then somebody would stay standing there and start to explain how "It wouldn't actually be babysitting because..."

The boss would come from behind the counter, stand within their sphere of personal space, look them directly in the eye and, with a great degree of command presence, and in a tone of voice that sounded like a bored college professor, would say:

"Let me think... most arcade video games provide experienced players with an average of between 45 and 90 seconds of actual game play per quarter deposited. Your two kids look to be about 6 or 7 years old which means they'd be doing well to last through 30 seconds of game play per quarter deposited.

So... that's twenty-five cents for every 30 seconds spent here and as there's two of them, that works out to $60 per hour. That amount is payable in advance, in two hour minimum increments and there shall be no pro-rated refunds when you return for the children... assuming they're even still here when you do.

Now then... this conversation has already taken up several minutes of my time so it would appear that you already owe me three dollars before I'm even willing to continue speaking with you about this matter."

At that point he'd make the universal "Where's my money?" sign (hand out at mid-chest level, palm up and open with a slight wiggle of the finger tips) and then stand there silently staring them in the eye.

Nobody but nobody stood their ground against him at that point.

The truth is, this particular conversation probably only ever happened twice in the year-and-a-half that I worked there but it stands out in my mind to this day and it was my first really exposure to what I've come regard as the 'command presence baffle math' approach to customer problem solving.

In essence, if you can't convince them with a winning logical argument, adopt an air of absolute indifference and start to confuse the heck out of them with facts and figures stated as they were absolute universal certainties.

If you do it right, they'll give up, apologize for taking up your time and then wander away shaking their heads!

If you do it wrong, they'll verbally rip you a new one or report you to a manager for insolence and attitude.

-BJD

[Belari]

If I see a child left unattended for more than a few minutes, I call the cops. I've had some irate parents threaten and scream and whatnot, but I don't freaking care. They can scream all they want. All I'm concerned with is that kid being safe.