LOL I bet she won't either!

Its good you'd talked this over in case it ever happened though.

I wasn't taught how to take the bus, but I remember the stories of mom and dad teaching my older sister. They took her a few times and taught her to pay attention, where to get on, how much to pay, where to get off, and all. Then, they allowed her to go alone, only they followed behind in the car unbeknownst to her. She was 11, and that was 43 years ago - a very different time. My daughter has never been on a bus. When she was growing up, it was already too dangerous.

Play it off as her test LOL. She won't know the difference.
And then forgive yourself.

Oh, gosh, Talley, I'll bet it seemed like forever to get to the phone! She knew exactly what to do, including calling home! Good for both of you. Congrats on a job well done.

But I'll bet the family won't be able to resist a bit of teasing...
Sherry

OH gosh, I'm so scared of something like that happening too. I've talked about it with Sophie - what she should do in various situations if we ever get separated. It sounds like a grand adventure to her, and she's bound and determined that we'll get seperated at some point. So I have to keep an extra close watch on her at all times.

When Benjamin was a couple of weeks old, I walked away from him and his stroller in the Bulk Barn. I was in the next aisle for probably close to a minute before realizing that I had forgotten him. I went running back and there was a man and woman standing there beside him looking like they weren't quite sure what to do. They looked at me and said "I guess this is yours?" :)

I felt SO guilty!!!

I wasn't scared--Grace is nearly 14, she does this commute daily. It may be NYC, but it's not dangerous. I've put her on the bus and left her on her own; she just made the us transfer without me, that's all.

And I don't think she was scared; her feelings might have been a little hurt is the most I was worried about there.

Mostly I'm a little sheepish.

(if she'd been younger, I wouldn't have been willing to stand so far away from her on the train, and it wouldn't have happened)

Nicole, that situation is what I was worried about, all those years ago. I probably did something similar at some point. (I do know at least once, in the house, I thought, "what's the bassinet in the living room--OH, I have a baby!")

At least neither of us forgot our kid was in the car seat on top of the car!!
(that has happened to people)

Nicole, that talking you're doing w/ Sophie is very important, I think. It teaches them what to do, PLUS it teaches them how to be prepared, to think ahead about contingencies, etc. Two levels of preparation.

i shudder to think the walk i did everyday to school any kid doing it today!

I remember those shirts! I always wanted to get the one that said "Oh, my God! I forgot to have children!"

Does your daughter have a cell phone with her that she could have used to alert you or your husband? I know they don't always work in the subways but she could have used it on the bus. Perhaps it would have lessened your fears. Now that it's happened once you should be good for at least another decade!

I think every Mom has those worries. I drove my girlfriend to the supermarket once when her car was in the shop. She put the baby's car seat on the hood of my car while she loaded the groceries in the trunk. Then she climbed into my car and said "I feel like I've forgotten something." Well duh!!! How could she forget the baby - the car seat was right in front of her on the hood of my car while she sat in the front seat. But then we always thought she was a little ditsy.

Tally Sue, I'm glad your Grace got to school okay, she sounds very mature and level-headed, just like her Mom. The dopiest thing I ever did was about ten years ago. I took my daughter Vicki to the mall, along with three of her friends. We paired off, met at a certain time at the food court. I was proud nobody got "lost". Then we walked out to my parked car, I got in and locked the doors. I was about to drive off when somebody pounded on the door and I realized they had been locked out!

Glad you trained your DD so well. I am sure you were scared but at the same time proud of her.

Jannie, that's funny! I can see myself doing it.

I was pretty proud of Grace that she thought to call home, to let us know. Just in case we were worried. (though I wonder if mostly she called to tell Dad what a doofus I was).

We haven't done the cell-phone thing. It's against school policy to have a cell phone in schools in NYC--even if it's in your locker! Her teachers, though, have an unofficial "don't ask, don't tell" policy. As long as they never know, they don't care. And apparently, if someone's accidentally goes off, everyone in class starts fumbling w/ their pockets, backpacks, purses, etc., to "camouflage" the true culprit until he/she can turn it off. And apparently they all laugh, hoping the noise will disguise what directions the ring is coming from.

But next year, I think we'll have to have one, bcs she'll probably travel to and from school on her own.

I think I'd worry more about her if she were walking to school in my hometown, or a small city or a suburb. In NYC, there is ALWAYS someone around (usually thousands of someones), and I'm confident she'd get help if she needed it.

I know somebody who left her newborn baby in a shopping cart at the supermarket. She was home for at least an hour before somebody asked where the baby was! This was years ago, and if I remember correctly it was investigated etc.

DH used to bring DD to daycare before I even got up in the morning. I would check the crib when I got up to make sure he didn't forget her. I would even move the blankets around to be "sure".

Some days I would be halfway to work and suddenly think - did I forget to check for the baby? And I would have to turn all the way around and make sure the crib was empty. When it got really bad sometimes I would have to turn around two or three times (which of course made me late for work). OCD sucks sometimes LOL

Or DOES it? There was one fateful day when DH thought I had the day off and he was working 'holiday overtime' but it wasn't a day that I got off. When I checked the crib before leaving, there she was sleeping peacefully! Good thing I checked.

there was a horrible story of a family in Canada who left their infant in the CAR overnight in sub-freezing temps.

Each of them thought the other had brought the baby in (they'd arrived home at like 2am or something, and they had like 3 other kids, most of whom were asleep in the car and had to be carried in). Each of them visually checked the crib, and each of them thought the baby was there, bcs of lumps, whatever. They didn't think to "stir" the blankets.

When Dad dragged himself out of bed to go to work the next morning, he found the baby in the car seat. I don't remember if the baby died; the only news story I read, the baby was in the hospital, and nobody was saying one way or another. The parents were pretty distraught.

I'm glad she handled it well.

The worst I've done so far is to leave 4 yo dd up at the top of the down escalator last Christmas. Dh and dsis had gotten on and then the two boys. I stepped on because dd was right behind me. I didn't realize she was scared to step on. She had a look of disbelief on her face. I couldn't climb back up fast enough to get her because my hands were full. Then dh started laughing and she started crying Poor baby.