Little kids, no supervision

[lizbids]

I was biking in the park, having a great time. Some little kids up the road ahead of me (there are designated lanes, but NO kids should be wandering in the bike or car lanes where these kids were). They proceeded to lay down in the middle of the road. I shouted, "HEADS UP, LOOK OUT!" and then proceeded to tell them to play in the open fields to avoid getting killed. No parents were around, naturally.

Maybe the pedestrian shouldn't "always be right." I got into an argument with a teacher who felt that if she crossed in the middle of the street (i.e. not a crosswalk) on a green, and I hit her on my bike, that it was my fault, even if she was walking between cars and I couldn't see her. Maybe if people didn't have this attitude, fewer pedestrians and cyclists would take unneccessary, stupid risks like this.

[mimitabby]

how little were the little kids?

[lizbids]

The little kids looked to range anywhere from 7 to 10 in age.

[susiej]

Saw a pre-schooler wandering around a car park area in Philly's Fairmount Park three years ago. Kid was running in and out between the cars as we were loading bikes and getting ready to leave. Told the other group of adults in the park area to keep an eye on "their" child, and was told it wasn't their child, they had no idea who or where the parents were. ! I can't remember if we drove off or if we did see the parents return. (Now with my own kid, I'd offer to help the kid find his/her parents.)

[BellaBeauty]

This makes me mad! As a parent we always want better for our children. I swear some people can be so ignorant! People like that need not reproduce I hope my daughter has better manners when old enough to be unsupervised in the park. I also hope she respects all pedestrians as well as cyclists!

[teigyr]

From my experience, though I'm not a parent, I've noticed a lot of people just don't want to be bothered. When I worked with the public, we would try to let parents know if their children were doing dangerous things or if they were being a bothersome and a lot of parents were annoyed that they were approached.

How often have you been on a plane or something (sorry, this is my scope of existence) and a kid is kicking a seat or playing with the tray table and the parents do nothing? I realize that there is a difference between annoyances and danger but it is the same obliviousness going on.

The really scary thing is when you can't even tell who the parents are! Sheesh, I look after my bike or cats better than that