on 9/11/01 Did you pick your child(ren) up at school early?

[wovenwonder]

I didn't --- and DS had to listen to bits and pieces of what was going on during school. I've regreted that to this day --- I should have brought him home with me. By the time the plane crashed in PA -- I thought it could have been HERE! School was announcing early dismissal by that time -- so I just waited for him to get home.

God forbid -- I hope nothing else happens here at home. BUT if it does -- he will be home with me as soon as I can get to him. I could be to him within 5 minutes.

 

[AirForceRocks]

Yes, I picked my kids up from school and took them to stay with their grandparents for a few days.

 

[amid chaos]

No...I had every faith in the schools (3) to keep my children safe...I also knew it wasn't going to be topic of conversation in the classrooms. I applaud each school in how they handled that day allowing parents to discuss how much information they wanted their children to have when the school day was over.

 

[Krisu]

I remember only having a radio to hear the events. At the time I worked at a doctor's office and people were coming in saying they left work early. I started to get a little panicky and called the school around 10:30-11:00. They said they parents were picking up kids now. I left then to get DS. As soon as I left another person called to announce the early dismissal. I couldn't get home fast enough!

 

[cgcw]

I wanted to but I didn't. I called the school several times and they told me they were on lock down -- no outside recess, no visitors. They kind of discouraged it over the phone. DH also called and got the same type of response.

However, I was a bit disappointed that the DS8 came home from school, there was a letter from the principal that if we had picked our children up that day, it would have been an excused absence. Seemed like they were contradicting themselves.

In hindsight, I wish I would have picked him up. As it was, he was awfully scared hearing bits and pieces of news on the bus. The school did not discuss it with the kids in class-but the kids on the bus did.

 

[browneyes]

No, I didn't. My kids told me they watched the news all day. I know some people have a problem with kids watching stuff like that, but I don't. They didn't show them some of the graphical things (like the people jumping), and they discussed things with them.

 

[Breezy_Carol]

I left my kids at school but I think they did have early dismissal. I remember discussing the issue right here on these boards and trying to make the right decision.

 

[aahmom1]

Yes, I picked them up. I just felt better having them home with me.

 

[Serena]

I picked up my oldest because she was just too far away for comfort. My youngest is really close. I can get to her school in less than a minute if I had to.

 

[Buckalew]

I also wanted to but didn't. I did have her sleep with me that night (DH wasn't home). THAT was a first around here. I just wanted her close to me.

 

[Regina]

I was covering for the school secretary at my DD's high school that day. Keep in mind that we're about an hour and a half north of NYC and there are many parents who commute to their jobs in the city.

We were inundated with phone calls, which is understandable. Some parents confided in me that their spouse worked in the WTC. They wanted to relay a message to their child that their mother/father was safe. (At the time, they had no idea if this was true or not but they did not want to alarm their child.) Miraculously, we didn't lose any parents.

Please reconsider picking your child up. You have absolutely no idea how chaotic it is. Your child's safety is of the utmost concern, as well as maintaining some sense of normalcy.

You can imagine what it's like trying to stay informed while the phone is ringing non-stop and you have parents rushing in and out. (A few did pick up their students, but they were in the minority.)

I will never, ever forget that day.

 

[snoopy]

Couldn't get to the school fast enough to get mine. I was driving to work when I heard about the first plane to fly into the WTC, had my serious doubts that it was an accident, but continued driving to work. By the time I heard about the second plane, I turned the car around so fast because I *knew* it was only a matter of time before we were hit here in D.C. One of the few times I can actually remember being in a panic, that day was. Anyway, I had my kids out of school and in the house by the time the plane struck the Pentagon.

Its a good thing that I did get them, because after that, D.C. was in chaos, and it would have taken me literally hours to get from one side of the city to the other to go pick them up.

 

[AirForceRocks]

By the time I heard about the second plane, I turned the car around so fast because I *knew* it was only a matter of time before we were hit here in D.C.

I felt the exact same way - I was on my way to get them when I saw the plane hit the Pentagon.

 

[sharbear]

Oh Snoopy how scarey. I didn't pick up my kids from school. I only live a couple of blocks from the school so I knew I could get there in a hurry. The police were on high alert and were circuling the school so I felt that they were in as safe a place as they could be. My DH on the other hand works in a power plant and I was more worried about him. He NEVER calls me during the day and he did then just to tell me he was ok. I was very glad to see him that night.

 

[Saphire]

Reading these posts brings back the awful feelings of that day. I had to use every bit of strength to not pick my kids up. I was at work and had patients to see, but all I could think about was getting home and having everyone safe and under one roof. My oldest son was working at a Boston hospital and they let all non-essential people go. He said the subway was packed and everyone was somber but orderly. At my work we also had to get busy and try to discharge as many patients as we safely could, because we would be receiving patients from Boston hospitals, so they in turn could receive patients from the WTC. As the day progressed, we realized there would be no need, and that was a further blow to realize there were no survivors.

 

[zurgswife]

No...We didn' pick our kids up at school...because we were in WDW....It was an extremelly difficult few days until we got home....While we had a wonderful College Age Babysitter...she was no subsitute for Mom and Dad.....After that we decdied we wouldn't go away unless and Adult family member could stay with our kids....

If anything happens in the near future I will definately be one of the first to make sure my kids are home safe with me...

 

[SeaSpray]

I didn't pick up DSs from school that day because: 1. Their schools are VERY close to where I live, just about a 3 minute drive, so I know I could be there very quickly if I needed to. 2. Our town is VERY small, so I knew there wouldn't be a big traffic mess if I had to get them quickly. 3. The incidents weren't happening nearby, so I thought rather than scare them further, I'd leave them in school.

I DID call the elementary school to ask if they'd be metioning what happened, to the kids. She said she thought the older grades would discuss in their classrooms.

Of course I watched TV like a hawk that, (as did almost everyone else!) and IF I had seen anything that indicated an attack on Boston (I live only a half hour away from there), I definitely would've gotten my sons and brought them home.

I definitely understand the parents in and near the NYC and D.C. areas who picked their kids up. Or really, ANY parents who felt they needed to pick their kids up and bring them home. It was such an uncertain time for all of us.

I also feel I made the best decision for my own DSs that day. When they both came home from school that afternoon, I asked them what they'd heard already, then took it from there. We let them watch a LITTLE of the news that day, then didn't let them see it at all. We made sure to keep cable channels on while they were around. I believe it would've been hard for them to see it over and over and over, and hear all the speculation that was being discussed at the time.

 

[Mskanga]

Yes I did, I didn't want to in the beginning because I thought they were in a safe place and also because when the first plane hit I thought honestly it was a freak accident. When the second plane hit I started thinking about it , when the third plane hit I decided this is it, and then on the way to school I heard on the radio about the fourth plane, at that time I thought that I didn't care if the school would think I was overreacting, but when I got there there were at least 50 parents trying to get their kids and I found out days later that about 80% of the kids were picked up. Our school is less than a mile away from a military base , and the military personnel were calling everyone they knew to ask them to please pick up the kids from school.
DH also came home early from work.

 

[CourtasanSatine]

I did stay on campus(college student) but ditched three classes to watch coverage

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Oh, I agree, reading all of these stories brings back the horror of that day. I wanted to pick up DS soooo very badly. The moment of panic set in when my friend and I were on the phone. We were discussing what to do. We heard that malls and big public areas were being shut down. All of a sudden the phone cut off, the cable went out and I was in a near panic. It turns out some local construction company cut a line on accident, but in the briefest of moments, I thought we had a communications disruption. I ended up keeping him in school with fear all day long. In retrospect I am glad that he stayed there, the school was safe and secure, and he would probably have been exposed to the horror from me, as I am sure my panic would have come through, as well as I couldn't shut off the tv. I was mesmorized by the sheer horror and couldn't believe it was happening.