These truth-is-scarier-than-fiction situations all involved real families at L.A. private elementary schools (yes, I’m one of them, but not the only one).
Depending on your perspective they are:
A. Obnoxious
B. Scary
C. Funny
D. Incomprehensible
E. Could happen at any type of school
The question is, “what would you do?”
- A mom takes her daughter over to a kindergarten classmate’s house for a playdate. The nanny answers the door. As the visiting mom goes to sit on a white sofa, the little girl orders her off the couch telling her that her mom doesn’t want it to get dirty.
- Your 5 year-old child is picked up by another parent for a playdate. You find out afterwards that she didn’t have an extra car seat so she rode without one.
- On a school field trip to an amusement park, a dad chaperone suddenly realizes the 5 kids in his supervision are missing. After a moment of panic, everyone realizes the kids are at the top of a roller-coaster ride without a parent, against the rules.
- You arrive at a playdate and the mom whose house you are visiting never comes downstairs, but instead sends her kids down. Two hours pass and still no mom. You leave.
- A celebrity mom calls, sounding hungover, and asks to take your daughter to dinner and a movie in downtown LA. She doesn’t mention she has a very recent DUI arrest that was reported in the LA Times.
- A mom sends her son to Magic Mountain with a celebrity mom. Despite a very specific time to check in by phone, she doesn’t hear from the mom. Worried, she starts calling other parents who may know where they are at the theme park. At least 12 hours pass before she gets a return call as to the whereabouts of her son.
- A mom arrives at a home to pick up her son from a playdate. She finds her 6 year- old son alone in the swimming pool. The only adult she can find is the chef, who is in the kitchen.
- A kid is in the bouncy house at a backyard birthday party. An adult friend of the host family threatens to “choke the life out of” the kid. Driving home, the kid tells his mom about the bizarre incident.
- Your child is invited to a sleepover birthday party at a hotel, which will be followed by a day spent at an amusement park. You’ve never met the family and your kids aren’t friends. You decline the invitation. The mom stops speaking to you.