Helping neighbor kids onto morning bus
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Anonymous
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I take my two kids to the bus every morning. For the past two weeks another neighbor has been sending their child to the bus in the morning on their own. This neighbor has been texting me each morning to ask if their child made it safely on the bus. I was happy to do this for the first few days, but now that it has been for two weeks straight, I’m a little annoyed at my newly assumed responsibility.
Do I just suck it up, be a good neighbor and continue to respond? Or can I let this neighbor know that I prefer that they find another way to determine whether their kid makes it on the bus each morning. Their DC is in 3rd grade. |
Anonymous
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I don't think you need to address it directly. I would just do a slow fade off not answering or being slower to answer.
If you wait with your kids anyway, I would be fine sending an "All good" text in the morning once they all get on. I don't see how that hurts if you're already there anyway. |
Anonymous
| You could just tell her you will be sure to text if there is ever an issue.. Hopefully she will then stop the daily check. I might also add that there will be days when you are not there for a variety of reasons. |
Anonymous
| "hey neighbor i'll text if anything went wrong, otherwise you won't hear from me" |
Anonymous
| If she really needs confirmation every day...she should come to the bus stop or get an airtag. |
Anonymous
| The two responses above are correct. The mother is just worried. She is not asking you to do anything. |
Anonymous
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I'd be really annoyed. How lazy and entitled of that other parent! She needs confirmation but can't be bothered to go to the bus stop herself? If there was a specific reason she couldn't come--she's at work, medical issues--that's different and she should first ASK if you can keep on eye on her kid. But just sending your kid on their own and then expecting another parent to make sure the kid gets on the bus without even asking is entitled and lazy.
For the next couple of days, I'd ignore the text for a few hours. Then I'd randomly drive my kids to school a few other days. Maybe she'll get the hint. |
Anonymous
| If you see th kid get on the bus say yes. If you didn’t notice say I’m sorry I didn’t notice. If she cared, she’d be there and the school will call if the kid doesn’t make it to school. The kid isn’t going to get kidnapped from the bus. |
Anonymous
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Agreed with others, I'd just stop responding, or hit it with a thumbs up. This is where being a little bit passive-aggressive might be warranted. What happens if you don't respond for a few hours?
I would NOT offer to text her if anything goes wrong. If the kid doesn't show up on the bus one day, are you supposed to text the mom to check in on whether the kid is sick or on vacation? Or if you don't, and it turns out something DID happen to the kid, are you responsible? |
Anonymous
I tried this with a neighbor who was texting me about bus issues every morning and she got really offended. I think a heads up like the below might be good, but then OP is on the hook for asking every time she doesn't see the neighbor kid at the stop. |
Anonymous
| Why does a third grader need any help getting on a bus? |
Anonymous
| do NOT respond. |
Anonymous
| I would just not respond |
Anonymous
| I would just take longer to reply. They should get the message that you’re busy and their kid is not your responsibility. |
Anonymous
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This is like the 4th post on dcum this month about people dumping some portion of the responsibility of morning drop off on a neighbor who didn’t offer and doesn’t wish to take on that responsibility. What is up?!
I think you’ve gotten good advice here. Let her know you’ll reach out if there’s an issue but that you won’t always be there and she should consider an AirTag or something if she needs daily confirmation. |