DD 6 put on the wrong bus

[maelcu]

I had the longest hour and half of my life yesterday. My DD started kindergarten on Monday. I am a SAHM so she did not go to preschool. She was sooo happy and she loved to ride the bus home. Well, until yesterday. The teachers aid is "supposed" to put the bus riders on their buses afterschool. We also have the ID tags to get her at her bus stop. Anyway yesterday her father and I are waiting at the bus stop. The bus pulls up and the driver said I don't think I have her. He gets up and checks the bus, nope she isn't on the bus. My husband and I go to the school-it is less than a mile from our house-she isn't there either.

OK she is on the wrong bus, I wasn't out of control at this point, the school was calling the bus dispatcher and he was calling all the buses, there are only 4. Her teacher was standing with us and said the last two buses had pulled in in different order so she was sure she was on the wrong bus and my dd could have fallen asleep-ok I buy that.

All the bus drivers report back in NO THEY DO NOT HAVE HER. They have no idea where she is. The room started spinning on me. The school had them call all the bus drivers again. And again nobody had her. The teachers aid that was supposed to put her on the bus had already gone home. She had signed off on a paper saying she had put my DD on the right bus.

Then someone at the school said "you didn't see her walking down the street on your way here?" OMG!!!! I lost it. The bus dispatcher told the school to have us come over and go though the video to see where she got off the wrong bus. I have never been so scared in my life. I yelled What are these (fill in the blank) ID tags for.

So we get to the bus garage(sp) and the dispatcher is asking a driver who the child is that he has THANK GOD IT WAS MY DAUGHTER! But this driver had told the dispatcher at least 2 times that he did not have her. Everyone said she must have been asleep. Guess what she wasn't asleep she was sitting right behide the driver the whole time. SCARED TO DEATH. Her and her friend from her class tried to tell the driver she was on the wrong bus he told them to sit there and be quiet.

My DD tells me that the aid did not put her on the bus an older kid did. I asked her if the aid or her teacher put her on the bus the previous days she said yea but sometime the older kids come in the class and take them to their buses.

I think I aged 15 years from 2:30 to 4:00 yesterday. I am going in to talk with her teacher and try to remain calm with the aid this morning. DD has been up since 4:00 am this morning. She said she didn't think she was ever coming home yesterday...she was thinking about the movies she wouldn't ever watch again and that she wouldn't have another pb & j sandwich. It was heartbreaking.

I wrote this to the board hoping it would make me feel better....Thanks for listening!

Beth

 

[JPN4265]

Sometimes things just happen.

 

[lewdyan1]

 

[EeyoreFan1]

Oh goodness! I would have called the police by then.

 

[castleview]

I'm so sorry that happened. I know with the Kindergarteners this can happen the first few days, but it's usually with the kids who go to daycare and/or take a different bus a few days a week.

Still, you have every right to feel the way you do. I grilled my 1st grader with her bus number and address because I feared that might happen. On the first day of school, I was relieved to see her get off the right bus.

Given the events of yesterday, I'm sure the school and bus company will be ABSOLUTELY sure that your little girl is put on the correct bus.

 

[maelcu]

Thanks..

My BIL works for the ATF before that he was a State Trooper. He was my husbands first phone call. The police were on the way.

 

[cheyita]

Oh I feel for you! I would have been terrified and furious. I know mistakes happen - but that wouldn't have stopped me from being angry. After the second time they called around to the drivers to see if anyone had your daughter, you'd think that they would've realized this was getting nervewracking and they would've been very sure that she wasn't on their bus!

That's about the point that I switch from "everyone makes mistakes" to anger.

But I guess I'm not helping you any with this attitude. I guess right now you just need to try damage control so she approaches riding the bus with enthusiasm again. Here's hoping today is a better day!

 

[T1130]

My dd is starting k on Tuesday. She is also suppose to take the bus. I am so nervous about my dd taking the bus. I haven`t slept for two nights.

I am sorry that happened to you.

 

[Sparx]

Oh my! That was scary just reading. With the things that happen to kids nowadays, thats must be just terrifying for you.

Something like that happened to me when I was in kindergarten. I got on the right bus, but the busdriver let me off two blocks away from my stop, so a kindergartener and a firstgrader had to walk home. Its not that bad now, but those were long streets, I came home exhausted. And we dont live in the city. we were totally alone for a long time.

 

[Grumpy's Wife]

How scared she must have been. Thank goodness it ended that she was safe. My son is in first grade. Each bus gets assigned a color for the first week of school. The children that ride the bus must wear a colored bracelet/arm band to match the bus for the first week. The school puts them on the students the first day of school. It's the bracelets that can't be torn off. Maybe they need to think of a different strategy than they were using because theirs didn't work.

 

[Lars624]

2 years ago wen my DS was in 2nd grade he didn't come home (he was a walker) after about 5 mins of waiting his older (high school) brother went looking for him on the path from the school....there was no sign of him.......I went to the school & into the office & the secretary said he had been in school but that she had no clue where he was now............at this point I began to panic.....my friend had her cell out to call the police but I just happened to pass the art room & there he was working on a project with the art teacher, she had kept him after to work on it without letting me know She said she had mentioned it to DS a few days ago & she just assumed he had remembered to tell me.
According to DS he didn't even remember he was supposed to stay after w/o her reminding him that day. I was FURIOUS!

 

[mbw12]

DD has been up since 4:00 am this morning. She said she didn't think she was ever coming home yesterday...she was thinking about the movies she wouldn't ever watch again and that she wouldn't have another pb & j sandwich. It was heartbreaking.
Beth

OMG....I am so sorry and cannot imagine how worried you must have been. Thank goodness that everything turned out OK....and when I read the last part above....tears came to my eyes thinking of your daughter. Poor thing.

 

[Horseshoes]

Similar thing happened to my DD when she was in K.

She had the tag on her back pack, and the teacher put her on the wrong bus. I was waiting at the stop and a bus comes in the other direction.

It was my DD, she was going to get off at a stop WAY down the street, thankfully, one of the moms at that stop recognized her and told the driver where she lived. And the driver went out of her route to drop her off at my house.

And when I was in K, many, many years ago. I remember that my road was blocked off for constuction. So I got off somewhere else and thought I could walk home. I didnt know it was miles from my house. My mom called the police when I didnt get home, and they found me just standing next to a mail box. I really scared my parents. And the saddest thing for me was I left my art project on the bus and never got it back.

 

[Mskanga]

When my youngest started kindergarten four years ago they had to take one bus from home to one of the schools and then transfer to another bus that would shuttle them to their building one block away.
I used to be a wreck always thinking she would get lost and get on the wrong bus , so I always told my oldest ( who was in the first school ) to always look for her sister on the bus before they pulled out of the lot , if her sister was not on the bus she was to tell the driver and not let the bus leave until her sister showed up. If I knew the youngest was not going to be on the bus that day , I always told her so she would not freak out.
I have had my share of extra kids at the bus stop too....second graders that didn't know where they went and got off the bus.....of course the kids did not know where they lived or their phone number so I had to call the school and let them know where the kids were.

 

[Devil_Dog99]

So sorry to hear about what happened but glad to hear it all worked out.

You may want to give a stern finger wagging to the bus company about the driver's behavior. Perhaps the driver did not realize the implications of the confusion, but to twice deny having her and your dd claiming she told the driver she was on the wrong bus and getting her pleas ignored is dead wrong.

Yes, accidents happen and this is what this is. But the drivers must be made aware that when a missing child report goes out, they must be treated with the highest of priority and sensitivity, even if all it is a 6 yo getting on the wrong bus.

 

[Annette_VA]

OMG, what a terrifying afternoon!!

I have a DS starting K on Tuesday and this is one of my biggest fears. We've been quizzing him on his bus #, room #, & teacher's name ever since he found them out yesterday. But, he is a very passive kid and if some older kid tries to put him on a different bus, he'd just follow orders. Guess I better work w/ him on that, too.

I am enraged at that bus driver! I sure as hope he suffers some kind of reprimand for what he did - like being fired!!

 

[Frantasmic]

The biggest problem with this story is the "big kids."

That is NOT something an older kid should be in charge of. The aids and teachers should ensure the children get on the correct bus, not a "big kid" helper. They are liable and despite their willingness to help, they are more likely to make mistakes.

The school system deserves to get an ear full from you.

Your school board representative should also hear about the bus driver's attitude as well.

 

[maelcu]

I just returned from the school. The County Board is involved needless to say everyone at the school was super nice. They assured me that action would be taken and I will get a full report. I told them that older kids- which means 5th graders- putting kindergarteners on the buses is completely unacceptable. They stated they dont do that, well it happened.

She is going to ride the bus, the right bus home today. She is putting on her brave face. What the school and my DD dont know is my husband is going to be in the parking lot to make sure she is on the right one and I will be at the bus stop just like normal.

 

[ilovejack02]

Im sooooo sorry that happened! My stepson was holding hands with a little girl in line in Kindergarten and she pulled him on to her bus. Thank goodness that was the one and only time that happened.

 

[Miller1412]

The biggest problem with this story is the "big kids."

That is NOT something an older kid should be in charge of. The aids and teachers should ensure the children get on the correct bus, not a "big kid" helper. They are liable and despite their willingness to help, they are more likely to make mistakes.

The school system deserves to get an ear full from you.

Your school board representative should also hear about the bus driver's attitude as well.

I completely agree! I teach 5 and 6 year olds, and getting them on the right busses is single handedly the most difficult part of the day, especially this early in the year. Kids at that age can get very confused. I can't imagine leaving that task to other kids. I'm glad she's home and safe. That must have been so scary for you!!