Much is
made these days of the fact that children are overprotected by their parents.
I would
like to venture the suggestion that there are some children who should probably
be protected from their parents, as
the parents do not seem to be the most reliable of people. I refer, in
particular, to the following two experiences, both of which have taken place at
our home in N-o-T within the last two months.
Scenario 1
Sunday,
early afternoon. TH is busy doing the Tour du Shed (pre-burglary) and I am
pottering. The doorbell rings. In the absence of anyone else to do the deed, I
answer it.
On the
doorstep stands a rather unkempt and slightly harassed-looking man, accompanied
by a small boy.
“I’ve come
to collect Katie” he says.
I look back
at him, waiting for additional information.
“Katie?” He
says “From the party?”
“I think
you have the wrong house” I say, politely. “I do not know a Katie, and there is
no party here”
He makes a
loud “Tut!” of exasperation, turns on his heel and marches off, as if it is my
fault that we are not hosting a party, or as if maybe we ARE, and have
forgotten to issue Katie with an invitation.
I return to
my pottering, throwing a bit of muttering in, for good measure.
Scenario 2
Approximately
5.45 pm this afternoon. I am sending a few e-mails. The doorbell rings. I
answer it.
“Caroline?”
says the man on the doorstep “Caroline’s mum?”
I refrain
from jumping in with any response, pending further clarification.
“I’m looking
for my daughter” says the man. “She’s here on a playdate, and…I’ve got the
wrong house, haven’t I? My wife would kill me if she could see this, I told her
I knew exactly where it was….do YOU know where Caroline lives?”
I reply
that I’m sorry, but I don’t know any Caroline living nearby. None of the small
boys next door appear to be called Caroline, and I’m fairly certain that none
of the small girls in the immediate vicinity are called Caroline, either.
I
apologise, and, refreshingly, so does he, as he sets off in search of Caroline,
asking as he leaves whether I mind him leaving his car outside our house whilst
he conducts his search.
I wonder
how such a big thing as not knowing where you’ve left your child actually
occur, and am then reminded that the PM and Mrs C successfully left their
offspring at the pub over the weekend. It seems to be an increasingly common
oversight. And rather worrying…..
