Important question.

[mommasita]

If a child needs a lift to a football game or practice, do you ASSUME he needs one home as well?

 

[JimmyPicker]

Unless I was otherwise instructed, if I picked them up, I would take them home.

 

[Pooh67_68]

Never assume, ask said child if he needs a ride home too.

 

[BuffettFan]

I would. Usually when my kids friends ask for rides place I auutomatically assume they need a ride home as well.

 

[Mom2Nick]

No I wouldn't assume a child would need a ride home unless I was asked if I could drive them home as well.

 

[famofsix]

probably but I would ask cuz assuming is never a good thing

 

[mommasita]

This is what happened today, and I still feel sort of bad.

My son's friend called and said could you drive me to the park, my mom is shopping. So I called his Mom and said sure I will drive him, BUT I am on call, and IF I get called in, I have a back up for my son (to get him home), so I told her right then, that she would need to be back there to get him, in case that happened.

Naturally I got called. I left the game and went to work, knowing that the coach (who was the backup) would bring my son home. I felt secure that his friend's mother knew this was possible. I could not wave him down mid game to tell him that this other child needed a lift home.

She actually called me and said that her son waited 45 min looking around. I mean . I felt badly, but this was daylight and she went to get him. The best part was she was home then.. Why not go to the park. All of 15 min away BTW.

I tried her cell phone to tell her I got called in, but she did not answer.

I really feel I was not wrong, but still this boy was sitting outside for 45 minutes.

 

[Mom2Nick]

Nope - not your fault.

 

[DizneeMommy]

No way she should be upset with you! You told her you might get called in and that she needed to be back to pick him up. You're in the right--she needs to be apologizing to both you and her son!

 

[MushyMushy]

Ack. You were definitely not in the wrong here.

To answer your question, if someone said their child needed a ride TO something, I would just think they needed a one-way ride. If they said they needed a ride period, I'd think it was there and back.

 

[famofsix]

This is what happened today, and I still feel sort of bad.

My son's friend called and said could you drive me to the park, my mom is shopping. So I called his Mom and said sure I will drive him, BUT I am on call, and IF I get called in, I have a back up for my son (to get him home), so I told her right then, that she would need to be back there to get him, in case that happened.

Naturally I got called. I left the game and went to work, knowing that the coach (who was the backup) would bring my son home. I felt secure that his friend's mother knew this was possible. I could not wave him down mid game to tell him that this other child needed a lift home.

She actually called me and said that her son waited 45 min looking around. I mean . I felt badly, but this was daylight and she went to get him. The best part was she was home then.. Why not go to the park. All of 15 min away BTW.

I tried her cell phone to tell her I got called in, but she did not answer.

I really feel I was not wrong, but still this boy was sitting outside for 45 minutes.

I think I would call and say it was a misunderstanding since you thought she had a plan to get him home since you said you were on call and just taking him to the game. Then tell her you did get called in and your son went home with the backup person that you arranged ahead of time.

 

[dislal]

It that situation it is not your fault, but normally i would just assume the child needed a ride home.

 

[clh2]

You fully explained the situation to the mom. AND - you tried to call the mom and let her know the score.

I am going to ask the "can of worms question" - why didn't the kid just call his mom/dad to ask for a ride home? My DD is fully aware that if she doesn't have a phone with her that I expect her to network to find a teammate with a phone.

My DD just started HS, and with her being in a sport and me working full time has been interesting to stay the least. My DD often needs a ride TO somewhere, but most of the time, I can take her home. So - when DD asks about help with a ride, she is very specific on the 1-way or 2-way point.

I would just relax and not worry about this!

 

[mommasita]

You fully explained the situation to the mom. AND - you tried to call the mom and let her know the score.

I am going to ask the "can of worms question" - why didn't the kid just call his mom/dad to ask for a ride home? My DD is fully aware that if she doesn't have a phone with her that I expect her to network to find a teammate with a phone.

My DD just started HS, and with her being in a sport and me working full time has been interesting to stay the least. My DD often needs a ride TO somewhere, but most of the time, I can take her home. So - when DD asks about help with a ride, she is very specific on the 1-way or 2-way point.

I would just relax and not worry about this!

I didn't ask why he did not call. After the game everyone just starts leaving after the locker room.

I just went over the whole situation with her. I bring this boy to practice, and back 3x a week, because he lives a street over. I have no problem doing this, but today I specifically specified the issue.

I don't feel guilty per se, just sad about him sitting there sooooo long.

 

[DebbieB]

It's not the middle of winter, 45 minutes isn't that long.

How old is he?

 

[mommasita]

It's not the middle of winter, 45 minutes isn't that long.

How old is he?

12. No, it is not the middle of winter. I was not worried for his safety at all, obviously neither was she.

I just would personally not like to wait 45 minutes for someone, so I think that way.

 

[allison443]

Usually if someone needs a ride to practice, it's cause their parent is still at work or something else that conflicts with practice. It doesn't necessarily mean they need a ride home. Usually I would ask just to make sure. It sounds like you made sure she understood the situation, but I guess she didn't. Not your fault.

 

[koalababy]

Who was he waiting for? You, his mother? Poor kid, but it's his mom's fault. To answer your question if I was asked to take another child somewhere, I would assume to bring him back unless otherwise specified. However, if I was asking someone to take my child I would assume nothing and make sure it's clear the other person is bringing them home or not. As a parent you can never assume someone else would bring your child home. What if they were going somewhere else immediately afterward.

Just today I had overlapping soccer games and asked a friend to bring my older son to his game. But I let them know that I would be there later to bring him home.

 

[mickyzzzzz05]

You explained everything upfront. You are in the clear. I understand that you feel bad that the child was outside for 45 minutes but the parent should have made it clear what her child was to do in case you got a call. You did for your child and assumed that she would do so for her child.

 

[DebbieB]

12. No, it is not the middle of winter. I was not worried for his safety at all, obviously neither was she.

I just would personally not like to wait 45 minutes for someone, so I think that way.

Obviously no one likes to have to wait, but a 12 year old will get over it. It's not like he was 5 and scared to death.