Why Do People Call 911 For This???

[youretooloud]

I was at Sprouts, and there is a trampoline gymnasium next door. So, lots of kids all around.

I tend to ignore a lot, even if it bugs me.

A little boy, about three was in the very back up his Parents SUV, and he was completely naked, except for shoes. His dad was sitting on the tailgate.

Someone had called 911 saying that there was a naked child being held against his will in the back of a truck.

That is NOT what it looked like at all. It looked like a naked kid in the back of his own vehicle, with his Dad. So, the cops pull up, and the Dad asks me to be a witness that I saw nothing bad happening. They have the Dad sit next to the cop car, ask me some questions, and then the mom comes out with an older boy.

So.... can anybody guess what was happening? Would you have called 911 based on a preschool age boy with an adult in a car and the kid is naked.

*BTW, the boy pooped his pants at a birthday party, and the dad cleaned him up, but the mom was trying to get the older boy to leave the party so they could all go home.

I had an extra T-shirt in my van, and gave it to them to put over the boy so he didn't have to be naked.

[pandamom]

that's pretty crazy. But I'm glad that someone *thought* something was happening and called and had it checked out than do nothing

[countrymom]

thats so crazy.

[SilverSabre25]

People are insane. If someone was holding a child against their will...would they have them out in the open like that?! NAKED?! Sheeeesh.

This is exactly why some people are over-protective...just in case some nosy yahoo calls the cops on them. I sometimes worry about walking thirty or fifty feet away to return a cart, leaving my kids in the car for less than a minute. But since it's way safer than keeping them out of the car longer...I do it anyway.

[Play Care]

People are insane. If someone was holding a child against their will...would they have them out in the open like that?! NAKED?! Sheeeesh.

This is exactly why some people are over-protective...just in case some nosy yahoo calls the cops on them. I sometimes worry about walking thirty or fifty feet away to return a cart, leaving my kids in the car for less than a minute. But since it's way safer than keeping them out of the car longer...I do it anyway.

I do the SAME thing and I'm always saying very loudly "I"M JUST BRINGING THE CART RIGHT HERE! YOU CAN STILL SEE ME!" like a nut just in case. My girls are 6 & 7 and look at me like "mom, chill" but you know I'm not really doing it for them :: And whatever happened to someone ASKING "hey, are you guys okay?" or "do you need any help?" when a situation may seem questionable but not dangerous.

At the same time, my girls are 6 & 7 and they are times where we go to our local convenience store and (in a rural area) and they don't want to come into the store. I make them "just in case" but have wondered if they would be safer in a locked vehicle (with tinted windows no less) then getting out, walking through the parking lot, in the store, etc.

[bluemoose_mom]

I see this as being rather reasonable to call the cops, just in case. Since it was right out in the open, the assumption is that nothing fishy is going on. Still, what if

Would I ask the person outside the car if I could help first? Probably. if I had DH there.

No DH, I would call or report to the store and they could handle it (or know the whole story).

[Lyss]

I think its ridiculous. So now as parents we're no longer allowed to change our kids in the car or let them throw a fit without a police intervention. I have a "never say no" friend (although we don't hang out that much anymore because she doesn't approve of my parenting methods ) who I know would call and agree with this situation, especially if the child was crying. Not because the child was in any danger but because of the "against his will" part, she lets DS do whatever he wants because she feels telling him what to do is a form of abuse as your not letting him express his wants and needs.

[AmyKidsCo]

That does seem strange - you'd think if the man was trying to kidnap the child he wouldn't be sitting on the tailgate, kwim?

On the other hand, when our 8 yr old was 6 and in first grade he decided to walk home from school - 3 miles away. He walked along a busy road and crossed several big intersections... Long story short we realized he was missing, called 911 and the police found him about 7 blocks from our house. I'm glad no "bad guys" picked him up but was also amazed that no-one thought it was weird that such a young child was walking down a busy street by himself. He's small for his age too...

[youretooloud]

So now as parents we're no longer allowed to change our kids in the car or let them throw a fit without a police intervention.

It's scary to think that someone will call the cops if they don't like your parenting style.

The boy wasn't even throwing a fit... he was just wiping off the tops of his shoes with wet paper towels and Purell.

[Starburst]

Well, when I worked in retail there was this thing called a "Code Adam" where we have to lock the doors and screen everybody who left the store. The parents have to tell a full description of the child and tell us everything the child was wearing that day, even their shoes, because apparently some people may have completely changed the child's clothing to get past the radar. It's done out of memory of Adam Walsh, a 6 year old boy who was lost at a store and about 2 or 3 weeks later his severed head was found in a drainage canal more than 120 miles away from his home. His father is John Walsh the host of "America's Most Wanted" and the board of directors of National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Walsh; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Adam_Walsh

My point is that yes, in this case it was his parents and it was a huge misunderstanding (even jumping the gun a bit by saying the child was "being held against his will") and yes it is profiling a bit because it was the dad (a guy) and not the mom (a woman) that was seen and it may have been different if it was the mother and not the father seen with her naked kid in the back of a minivan; But those people saw something they thought was suspicious and called the police to check it out. It was outside of a public children's place where pedophiles/child abductors do tend to try to pick up kids (and try to pass off as a relative or caregiver).Also when I was a kid I watched an episode of Oprah that said sometimes predators that are familiar strangers (like neighbors down that street that you rarely talk to) "condition" kids into thinking that they can trust them and acting normal around them- also that some younger kids assume that they know someone just because they know that person's name. But remember there are so many people who see bad things happening everyday and don't say a word, at least they cared enough to make sure someone checked it out for the boys sake.

Also the "being held against his will" thing could be a big misunderstanding with the people at dispatch too, they sometimes misunderstand things or focus on the dumbest things. I once called 911 because there was a car accident in front of my house and I was literally shaking because at first I thought it was a gun shot (I lived by the mall in a gang town at the time so drive by shootings were very common in that area- that's why the cops were there in like 2 minutes) and I mentioned at first that I thought it was a gun shot at first but it turned out one car backed into another car abruptly and she kept asking me about a gun and I kept saying "There is no gun. I just thought I heard a gun shot but it was the sound of cars hitting each other!" I never called 911 before that (or since then) and I was kinda in shock because that sound spooked me. And by the way I watched the whole thing through my window (second story) and I didn't call the cops until one of the drivers shouted saying "someone call 911" after he checked on the car in front of him (I think everyone for the most part was okay but the front of the second car was meshed with the back bumper of the first car).

[hope]

I keep a little porta potty in the trunk of my SUV. I originally kept it there when my own DD and DS were potty training and instead of using pull ups for car rides, I would pull into a parking lot when needed and they could go right in the trunk. Now I leave it in my trunk because it has come in handy a few times at sporting events where there are no bathrooms close by or when the public bathrooms are just too dirty and my children are still young enough to use the porta potty.
Now I may think twice after hearing this story. I usually try to be discreet and get them undressed and dressed quickly but never wondered what others may think or misinterpret.