Daycare Sighting x2

[PepperElf]

I rather liked my nephew's old daycare (he's "graduated" now & going to kindergarten). He never came back misbehaving & the center was very good on security. I don't remember the exact set-up, but in order to pick up a child you need to have the parent/guardian permission first, sign in, and then also get buzzed in by whomever was watching the door. Very cool. (and the part about the security is kinda important for .. both stories actually.

1) Holding the door open for others - or rather NOT holding it open.
Mom & I were leaving while another woman was trying to come in. Mom could have held the door open, but she sweetly smiled while closing the door. "I'm sorry, they don't want us to do that."

The other woman didn't say anything but we're both pretty sure she was pissed.
But Mom was right. The woman probably was just a parent picking up her kid, but... we had no proof of who she was. Plus the security system logs in who you're picking up etc, so they can keep track of the kids & cover their own butts.


2) Buy a fan?
I wasn't there for this one but... sometimes people just surprise me with really stupid stuff.

Again Mom's picking up her grandson and she sees a man and woman approach the building. Since the couple can't get in, they buzz the attendant to talk to her... Apparently they want permission to sell their fans in the parking lot. The attendant says that she don't know if she can do that, but the person to ask has already left... so she can't let them sell their sell their stuff on the premises.

(My own thoughts as Mom's telling me..."WTF? If they're a legit company they can have their products sold in stores...this is not a pan-handling city!")

In the meantime, the male also tries to talk to Mom to make a sale, mentioning they have free toys with a purchase.
Man: (to my nephew directly) Would you like a free toy?
Nephew: (Hides behind his grandmother)
Mom: (Icy voice) He doesn't know you
Man: (sticks his hand out to my nephew): Hi, I'm Mike*
Nephew: (still staying back)
Mom: (ICY voice) He STILL doesn't know you.

I was pretty pissed off about that. You don't approach other people's kids like that. Especially if you're offering toys ... You know, he might have been innocent, just trying to bank of the "gimme" aspect of most kids into making a sale. But it's not worth the risk... not if he's going to try to trick my nephew into thinking "Mike's not a stranger." Thank God my nephew is smarter than that.

Needless to say... The attendant made the right choice by not letting the couple stay. Later on we found out, what they wanted was a violation of state law anyway. And as I figure... if he's got a legit product he can sell it at a legit store or a flee market.

*Mike...can't remember the real name.

[hinakiba777]

Your mom is awesome. ^.^ I loved the part where she said "He still doesn't know you"

[Becks]

Your mom is full of awesome!!

[PepperElf]

when my sis & i grew up...things were sooo different. One of Mom's stories was how she & Dad went out for dinner and some man picked up my sister (I wasn't born yet) and called her "Pickles" and carried her around the restaraunt ... just so Mom & Dad could have a nice dinner without worrying about the baby.

Those days are long gone.

One of the rules Mom taught me for this era... Approach the parent, not the child - it keeps the parent in control of the situation & how much interaction the child gets with the stranger.

I used her advice just last year... I saw a child drop his book & neither he nor his dad realized it. So I picked up the book and called out to the father, "Sir. Your son dropped this." So... kid gets his book back, Dad's still in control of who jr. talks to.

(then again...I also used her advice & common sense when the kids next door to my old apt wanted to come in and play... um no. I would bring the cat outside for them to see once or twice but never ever let them in. that's just asking for trouble)