Parking lots and pre-schools

I wrote this for my son's pre-school but I thought it wouldn't hurt to post it on the blog too.

As I was pulling into the parking lot to drop my son off to pre-school the other day, I noticed a mother backing up her car while she was talking on her cell phone. For me, seeing this simple act in a parking lot full of children triggered some very unwelcome memories.

In a former life (the one I had before I had kids), I was a police officer in California. By the very nature of the work, police officers tend to see a lot of things they would just as soon forget. For me, the memory that haunts me most is an accident that occurred outside a local pre-school.

While a Mother was dropping off her older son off at pre-school, her younger son unexpectedly pulled away from her grasp (it was a hot day and their palms were sweaty and slick). She immediately reached out for him but before she could grab him, he was struck by a passing car. The Mother told me he had been laughing just before the car hit him, he never saw the danger he was in. The little boy suffered a severe head injury and other officers and paramedics struggled to stabilize him at the scene. When he was ready to be transported, I was tasked with driving the Mother to the hospital. The Mother’s cries and screams of anguish in that fifteen minute drive is a sound I will never forget.

The little boy survived, but had significant brain damage. He would never be the same. His Mother, Brother, Father and other family members and friends would never be the same. In this instance, there was nothing the driver could have done to prevent the accident, but she was horrified and traumatized. She would never be the same.

The tragedy took less than five seconds to unfold but the pain and loss would last a lifetime.

There is one question I would like you to ask yourself…is that phone call really that important? Is it worth risking someone else’s life? Is it worth risking forever altering your life, your family’s life?

Inattention and distractions in school parking lots are not problems unique to the parking lot at my son's pre-school. I watch the same things happening when I take my daughter to her elementary school. Many parents drive talking on their cell phones, or talk to each other out the window of their cars, they often drive too fast, and can be extraordinarily impatient and reckless. Due to the way children’s brains develop, small children have poor impulse control and by their very nature are impatient and unpredictable. Putting all these factors together in a crowded and busy parking lot is a recipe for disaster.

We are the adults and so it’s up to us to act responsibly and attentively. Put down your cell phone, ignore any incoming phone calls, slow down and pay attention. Just because your child seems to be responsible, don’t trust them to make good decisions while they are in a parking lot. Carry them, or hold them firmly by the wrist and don’t start chatting with your friend until they are safely inside the school. Avoid walking your kids through the parking lot behind other cars, use the designated walking areas and medians, even if the route is considerably longer.

Slowing down and paying better attention might cost you a few seconds of your time but it also just might save you a lifetime of regret.


****************************************************************************
Additional comments. Donna T. made some important additional points in the comment section. Donna is also former law enforcement and her observations about little ones being too little to be seen by cars backing up is incredibly important. I needed to keep my letter for the school at one page and I struggled with space and wanted to add this important aspect to parking lot hazards but just didn't have the room. Thanks Donna for taking the time to point out how vulnerable little kids are walking in any parking lot, school or otherwise.